PS PR 1 · Porto Santo
Vereda do Pico Branco e Terra Chã
Porto Santo's best walk: up the green north-eastern corner of an otherwise dry island, on a path cut into the rock.
- Distance 2.7 km
- Walking time 1 h 30
- Highest point 450 m
- Difficulty Moderate
- Route There and back
Official figures. Walking times are moving times: they assume you never stop.
The route
The walk
Porto Santo is flat, sandy and brown for most of its length. This corner is not, and that is the reason to come up here.
The path climbs from the road to Pico Branco and on to Terra Chã, cut in places into the Rocha Quebrada rock face, with a scramble up to a fissure at Cabeço do Caranguejo. Two point seven kilometres each way, an hour and a half up.
There is a small house at Terra Chã used for growing endemic plants. It is not a visitor centre and there is nothing there for you.
One thing to sort before you go: the official sources disagree about which road the trail starts from — the tourism board says the ER 120 and the IFCN says the ER 111. Ask at your hotel or take a taxi and let the driver find it.
Exposed sections cut into rock, and a climb at the top. Nothing to shelter behind if the weather turns.
Before you go
By bus
The island's five bus routes all run out of Vila Baleira and none is documented as reaching this trailhead. A taxi from Vila Baleira is the realistic way there.
What to bring
Water and sun cover. There is nothing on the route.
In the app
Everything for the day you walk PS PR 1
- You, on the line The whole trail on the map with your position on it, from the car park to the end.
- No signal needed Kept on your phone for the valleys and tunnels where the network goes.
- Today's free slots Every half hour of the day, live from SIMplifica, and booking in a tap.
- A timer for the walk Private, it counts from the trailhead and stops by itself at the end.
- To do, and done Mark the walks you want to do and the ones you have walked.
- Open or closed, every morning The IFCN status on every trail, read again each day.
Questions people ask
Is PS PR 1 open today?
Yes. The IFCN lists PS PR 1 (Vereda do Pico Branco e Terra Chã) as open.
Do I need a licence for PS PR 1?
Yes. Every visitor over twelve books an entry slot on SIMplifica, the regional government's portal, before walking, and pays €4.50. Madeira residents, children aged twelve and under and people with a disability of 60% or more do not pay, but still register.
How long does PS PR 1 take?
The official walking time is 1 h 30 for 2.7 km. It is a moving time that assumes you never stop, so allow more for photographs, food and rests.
Can I get to PS PR 1 by bus?
The island's five bus routes all run out of Vila Baleira and none is documented as reaching this trailhead. A taxi from Vila Baleira is the realistic way there.
Checked against
- Visit Madeira, official trail sheet PS PR 1 (2.7 km each way, 1:30, moderate, 184–450 m)
- IFCN classified list (route given as ER 111 – Pico Branco – Terra Chã, against ER 120 on the tourism board sheet)
- IFCN / SIMplifica (licence €4.50 over 12, free at 12 and under)
Status as the IFCN publishes it. This page was last rebuilt on 15 October at 07:00, Madeira time. Trails close without warning after storms: check again on the morning you walk.