Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
%
View to the North
^
View to the West
Tothenorthbeyond
thevillage,aroadheads
upthevalley,currently
endingjustafteritdisap-
pearsfromview.There
areplanstotunnel
throughtheisland's
mountainouscentreand
taketheroadtothenorth
coast,endangeringthe
tranquillityoftheCurral.
Tothewestisa
serratedridgewiththree
prominentpeaks:Picodo
Cavalho,PicodoSerradhi-
noand,highestofallat
1,654m(5,427ft),Pico
Grande.Beyond,thenext
greatvalleyrunsfrom
RibeiraBravatoSãoVice-
nteviatheEncumeada
Pass
(see p81)
.
&
Footpath
Toprolongyourvisit
totheCurral,youcan
walkdowntothevillage
alongthecobbledfoot-
path
(above)
thatbegins
inthecarpark.Thepath
has52bends;atthebot-
tom,turnrightandwalk
uphilltothevillage.You
canreturnbybus81.
*
Road
Untiltheroadwas
builtin1959,theonly
wayinandoutofthe
valleywasthefootpath;
buteventheroadislittle
morethanaledgecut
intothecliffface,and
withtwostretchesof
tunnel,itcannotcope
withbigtourbuses.
Pirates Ahoy!
Pirateswereaserious
menaceintheearlyhis-
toryofMadeira,which
iswhyFunchalhasno
lessthanthreeforts.
Theworstattack
occurredin1566,when
theFrenchpirateBer-
tranddeMontluc,land-
edatPraiaFormosa
with1,000menand
plunderedthecity's
churchesandmansions
overa15-dayperiod,
massacringallwho
stoodintheirway.
Montlucgainednothing
fromhispiracy,ashe
diedfromawoundhe
receivedintheattack.
(
Chestnut Woods
Thedescenttothe
villagetakesyouthrough
chestnutwoods
(left)
.
Thetreesbearwhite,
sweetlyscentedlower
stemsinAugust,and
produceediblechestnuts
inOctober.Lowerdown,
thereisnatural
laurisilva
forest
(see p23
).InJune,
lookoutforwildorchids.
)
Village
Thecaféownerswill
urgeyoutotrytheir
chestnutdishes
(right)
-
roastedsaltedchestnuts,
richchestnutsoupand
sweetchestnutcake.
Sample,too,thedelicious
chestnutliqueur
castanha
.
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