Madeira - Sunrise at Pico de Areeiro & Cabo Girao Viewpoint

November 20^th, 2025 

One of the suggested “must dos” on Madeira is to head up to the third highest peak on the island called Pico de Areeiro, which is only 43 meters shorter than the highest peak, Pico Ruivo, and catch sunrise or sunset.  We opted for sunrise which meant an early wakeup, although not too early as sunrise wasn’t until 7:41 am.  However, we did have a 45-minute drive to get there, and we aimed to be there for 7 am, in case parking the car ended up being a challenge.  Our experience so far on Madeira is that every activity/attraction is busy, even though it isn’t peak tourist season.

 

We arrived in the dark with misty rain falling and sure enough, the parking lot was already almost full.  After 5 minutes in the lineup to get our parking ticket from the machine, we walked up to the main building which housed a café, washrooms and who knows what else as it was all closed and locked up for the night.  We walked around, trying to figure out the best spot to catch the sunrise, if it happened as it was still quite cloudy.

It was chilly, maybe 6 degrees and windy.  We couldn’t help but chuckle at a few of the seemingly ill prepared tourists, some in shorts, some with no jackets…silly people.  There was also a couple with one- to two-year-old baby in a backpack which seemed a bit crazy.  The kid was well bundled up in a one-piece ski suit, but his hands were exposed and within 5 minutes he was starting to cry.  The parents figured it out.

 

The skies started to open up with the sky turning a bit orange.  We could see some of the peaks to the south and west from the peak.  Streams of clouds were rolling over some nearby peaks, but that was short lived, and it socked in again.  That was as close to seeing the sun that we would get while at the peak.

 

Everyone is hopeful that the sun will appear.

What are we doing up here so early in the morning?!? 

A big radar dome at the top of the mountain.

I think it's about to pop out...

Looking to the west, we could see more of the nearby peaks...

...and the clouds were rolling over this peak.  Super cool!

It's still looking promising...we think...

But then it was gone…the clouds completely obscured any view of the sun.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Umm...well it's officially sunrise time at 7:41 am, and here's our view.

The trailhead for a hike to the highest peak, Pico Ruivo, begins here, but we had read online that it was restricted, and you could only hike the first 2 kilometres of the 6-kilometre trail.  We decided to check it out, even though the visibility was only about 100 meters.

Let's check out the scenic hike!  ;)

Sometimes you have to take what you can get.

This is a red-legged partridge, hanging out beside the trail.

Seemed like a happy, rotund bird.

And why not, he's got a mate!

We just had to imagine what the views were like on a clear day.

It almost seemed surreal hiking along the trail that worked its way along the spine of the mountain.  Most of it was easy walking on a stone path and steps with wire fencing to prevent you from falling down the precipitous slopes.

We were near the end, but Naomi stopped to check out this viewpoint while I continued on for another half a kilometre or so.

The fog gave it a cool feeling, like this was a walkway in the clouds.  Wait a sec, it was!

The end of the line, at least today.  We never did find out why the trail was closed from this point on...most likely for maintenance.

What to do?!?

Well, I can head back.

This was a narrow part of the trail that I knew Naomi wouldn't have liked.  Good thing she stopped where she did.

It got a bit blustery and chilly near the end.

Well, it wasn’t the sunrise we had hoped for, but still a cool experience and we were glad to have made the effort to get up to the peak that early…but then it was time to drive back to the hotel, enjoy a well-deserved breakfast followed by a nap!

We were treated to a rainbow as we drove back to Funchal.

Talk about a steep road!  When there are stairs for sidewalks...

One of Funchal's cute, narrow roads.

We had to stop for a while for a bunch of school children to cross the road...super cute.

After a relaxing 3-4 hours at the hotel, we decided to head out and check out a viewpoint on the coast, to the west of Funchal called Cabo Girão.  At 589 meters above sea level, it is the highest cliff skywalk in Europe.  Kind of a funny claim in my mind.  Yes, it is technically part of Portugal, but Madeira is closer to Morocco than it is to Portugal.  Regardless, it did provide a lovely view.

The highest cliff skywalk in Europe!

With a beautiful rainbow to boot.

The ocean looked so immense and unending from this vantage point.

That's a long way down.

That little white spec on the water, near the top just to the left of center, is a catamaran sailboat!  A decent ocean-going sized one too.

The rainbow just wouldn't let up...but the rain was coming and we reached the car just in time.

There's that catamaran again, heading to the Funchal harbour.

Another great day on Madeira, but tomorrow we will head to the north coast and stay at a winery near the town of Santana.