Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Curral das Freiras
The easiest way to get a feel for the sublime grandeur of Madeira's mountainous
interior is to visit Curral das Freiras (“Nuns' Refuge”), the hidden valley used as a
hideaway by the nuns of Santa Clara Convent (see pp16-17) whenever pirates
attacked the island. (The same name is also given to the little village that now
nestles there.) From such a beautiful spot, they must have returned to their city
convent with a heavy heart. Visiting in 1825, H N Coleridge (the nephew of the
English poet) described the Curral as “one of the great sights of the world”.
Top 10 Features
1 EiradoSerrado
2 Miradouro
3 TheSublime
4 ViewtotheEast
5 ViewtotheNorth
6 ViewtotheWest
7 Footpath
8 Road
9 ChestnutWoods
0 Village
Nuns Valley Café,
Curral das Freiras
At the Nuns Valley
Café, coffee is served
on a terrace with
spectacular views.
Many tour companies
in Funchal offer half-
day trips to Curral
das Freiras, often in
combination with
Monte (see p26) or
Câmara de Lobos
(see p75) . Most of
these trips go only
as far as Eira do
Serrado, the
viewing point above
the village.
! Eira do Serrado
Admiringthisvistafrom
EiradoSerrado (right) isas
muchapartofavisitto
CurraldasFreirasasthe
descentintothevillage
itself.Thereisahoteland
restaurant,soifyoufallin
lovewiththeromantic
view,youcanstayforlunch
ordinner,orevenspend
thenight (see p116) .
@ Miradouro
£ The Sublime
Tocatertothe18th-
andearly19th-centurytaste
forthe“sublime”inart,
paintersofthetimevisiting
Madeirawoulddeliberately
exaggeratetheheightof
mountainsandwaterfalls.
$ View to the East
Fromthecarparkin
frontofthehotel,ashort
footpathleadsuptoa mira-
douro ,orviewingpoint
(below) ,highabovethe
SocorridosValley.From
here,thevillagefarbelow
lookslike“Shangri-La”-
theutopiaofJamesHilton's
novel Lost Horizon (1933).
Curral das Freiras is
on the route of Auto-
carros da Camacha
bus 81.
• Map G4
Becauseofitscauldron-
likeshape,earlyexplorers
thoughttheCurral
dasFreiras,withits
dramaticcliffsrising
sheertotheeast,
wasacollapsedvol-
cano.Infact,thecir-
cularformispurely
theresultofmillions
ofyearsofriverand
rainerosion.
30
 
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