The mystic and mysterious Fanal Forest

Posted on by Marta

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, there is a European Paradise, called Madeira. This archipelago has rich forests, high peaks and thousands of kilometres of hiking trails for you to explore all the nature that the island has to give.

On one of these peaks, in the northern part of the island, you can find one of the most beautiful, mysterious and even sometimes eery forests of Madeira. The name of this forest is Fanal and it consists of massive centenary Tis (Ocotea foetens) trees.

It is not just the trees that made this forest famous, however. These trees are located in the mountains (more than 1000 meters above sea level) which makes this a perfect place to create a beautiful foggy atmosphere. It is this atmosphere that made the forest famous and it is also why sometimes people call it the forest of the fairies.

Overview

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What is a Laurissilva Forest?

There is no doubt that the forest provides beautiful landscapes, a peaceful atmosphere and incredible features for those that love photography. However, more than that, this forest is also part of Madeira’s Laurissilva Forest. The Laurissilva forest in Madeira is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Laurissilva forest, or Laurel, is a type of forest typical of places where you have high humidity and mild temperatures. These forests have trees with leaves all year round. Thus, they are perfect places to enjoy a bit of shadow away from the sun, which makes them super refreshing.

These forests have the perfect characteristics for the appearance of fog, especially if they are close to the ocean because its moisture will condensate and fall. This is also the case of Fanal forest since it is located on an island. The fog also is more present when the forest is located at high altitudes, like Fanal, creating “cloud forests”. This landscape is what people usually try to find in Fanal forest.

Why is Laurissilva Forest of Madeira a UNESCO world Heritage Site?

The short answer is: Laurissilva Forest became quite rare, especially in the European continent. As a result, the Laurissilva Forest of Madeira is considered one of the last and the best examples of the vegetation that once existed all around Europe. That is the reason why it was considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The type of forest that characterizes Laurel Forests used to cover large parts of Europe and other continents such as Oceania, Africa and America. However, the climate in those places changed over time, and this type of forest was pushed to smaller and smaller regions of the globe.

Nowadays, the Laurissilva forest found in Europe only occurs in the Macronesia region (Madeira belongs to this region, alongside the Azores and the Canary Islands). Because of this, the Garajonay National Park (La Gomera) and the Laurissilva in the Madeira island were designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1986 and 1999. If you want to know more about how and why this region was chosen to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, you can check their website here. 

Where can I find Laurissilva forest in Madeira?

The Laurissilva forest in Madeira covers around 20% of the island, 15 000 hectares. Most of this forest is located in the north half of the island, preferentially in the highest regions. In this part of the island, it concentrates between 300 and 1400 meters. In the south part of the island is occurs between 700 and 1600 meters.

It is really easy to come across a beautiful Laurissilva forest in Madeira, especially if you want to walk on the island. Besides Fanal, most of the recommended routes are, at least to some extent, covered by this type of forest. This is true especially in the case of Levada hikes, such as 25 Fontes or Caldeirão Verde (and many others).

If you want to know exactly which part of the forest is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site you can take a look at the map from 1999 that they make available on their website here.

How to get to Fanal?

Fanal is located in one of the areas that belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Paul da Serra plateau, the biggest plateau of the island. It is easy to get to Fanal because there is only one road to get there. This road goes from Ribeira da Janela to the ER110, the main road that crosses the west part of the island.

It is closer to go from Ribeira da Janela to Fanal than from São Vicente or Ribeira Brava, however, the road is much steeper and has many more curves. From Ribeira da Janela, you just need to drive for less than 15 minutes, but the road becomes particularly scary if fog, sometimes quite dense, is covering it. However, if there is fog, you’ll be able to get the amazing atmosphere that you wish for at the Fanal Forest.

There is no public transportation in the region, so you need to get there by car, which you can rent at Funchar airport. The parking near the forest is not a problem because there is a big parking lot near the entry where you can park. Another option to get to the Fanal Forest is with this cool 4×4 tour, which also includes a visit to the Porto Moniz vulcanic pools.

Which is the best time to go to Fanal?

Because of the weather in Madeira, you can visit Fanal at any time of the year since the conditions are similar. However, what is special in Fanal is not the good weather but the fog between the trees. This fog is not that rare, but you still need a bit of luck to be able to see the forest with fog.

The forest is located more than 1000 meters above sea level, which means that it isn’t that uncommon to be cloudy up there. However, even if you get there and the sky is clean, (which you probably will suspect from Ribeira da Janela) you can try to stay for a while to see if the weather changes. This isn’t uncommon and may not take long, since in Madeira the weather is constantly changing, and especially in the mountains, a clear sky can turn into a foggy wonderland in a second.

However, if you want to increase the probability of getting to Fanal and see fog right away, you can try to go to the forest in the morning or the evening. If you go later in the day, you can also try to be there at night and shoot some epic night photographs. If you go in the morning, even if there is not fog yet, you still have time to enjoy what Fanal has to offer while you wait.

There is also important to note that the weather, even with fog, can also not be completely perfect. It can be quite windy, cold or the fog can be too dense or full of rain. This can make the experience less enjoyable, but I guarantee you that it will be magical and wonderful nonetheless.

What to bring to Fanal?

You can spend in the Fanal Forest a long time if you wish to, so what you’ll want to bring depends on what you wish to do.

Near the entrance from the parking lot, you have picnic tables where you can spend a long time eating, playing board games and talking to your group if you wish to. Near the parking lot, you also have a bathroom if you need it. In this case, you may want to bring food, games, a blanket, picnic activities,…

Fanal is not the warmest place on the island, especially if you go there on a foggy day. As a result, you should bring warm clothes and even an impermeable coat to be more comfortable in that the fog is wet.

One of the most important things to bring to the trip is probably your camera to shoot the most beautiful pictures and later in your life remember the incredible magic atmosphere of the Fanal Forest.

In case you are wondering, all these pictures were taking with the following equipment:

What should you expect to find in Fanal?

One of the things that you can see in the forest as soon as you leave the car and enter the green field is big cow poop, so be careful where you step. This is because there are a few resident cows in the forest that you can see and hear in the distance sometimes.

As for the experience in the forest, it is a bit hard to predict what to expect because it is so different if you go there on a sunny day or a foggy one.

In the case of a foggy day, you’ll be welcomed to a beautiful fairy-tale forest. It will be just like you imagined, only you and the scenery most of the time (especially if the weather is not ideal). This is also because with the fog, even if people are exploring the forest, they soon get hidden in the whiteness of the fog. There will be silence and peace all around you, and you can relax in the forest, even if the weather is not as you hoped.

In the case of a sunny warm day, you’ll be surrounded by probably more people, people picnicking, walking or just enjoying the beauty of the forest. On warm and clear days, the atmosphere is not as magical and surreal and you may even feel a bit disappointed by the scene. But don’t just give up on the place, you can enjoy a sunny afternoon there and explore, for example, the viewpoints (that in the fog are a bit pointless) and the hikes (that with fog are more dangerous).

What are the Best Hiking Routes in Fanal?

There two most well-known recommended routes that start or finish in Fanal, the Vereda do Fanal (PR13) and the Levada dos Cedros (PR14) These two walks are better to be done on a clear sky day since they both have amazing viewpoints and landscape to appreciate that you can’t do in a foggy day. Besides that, they are also safer to do in a day without fog.

Vereda do Fanal (PR13)

Vereda do Fanal is the most famous one and it isn’t too hard. It is however quite long, 11 km one way, so it would take you a while to walk the full route if you would want to go back to the beginning. This hike starts at Assobiadores (Paul da Serra) and finishes at the Fanal forest, crossing the region’s Laurissilva forest. It is worthy to note that the hike has a constant downhill direction if you finish in Fanal and an uphill one if you start there. However, along the route, you’ll have stairs both up and downhill regardless of the side where you begin. As a result, your choice is more about where you want to finish the hike and not about the inclination).

The hike has some not flat regions and beautiful landscapes all around. In some regions, you have a viewpoint to appreciate the amazing landscape, while in other regions you’ll walk in the refreshing Laurissilva forest side by side to the water channel (the levada). The viewpoints are particularly amazing over the Ribeira da Janela and Chão da Ribeira valleys.

Levada dos Cedros (PR14)

This is a smaller trail with “just” 7 km one way. This Levada starts at Fanal and finishes in Curral Falso, following the Levada dos Cedros until you reach Ribeira da Janela (following the PR15 hiking trail until the town). This hiking trail is known as Vereda da Ribeira da Janela and is a 3 km long hiking trail. From Curral Falso to Ribeira da Janela, the route is always downhill, and you’ll drop 400 meters in 3 km.

Even though the Levada dos Cedros (PR14) hike is flatter and smaller than the Vereda do Fanal (PR13), it has a huge drop at the beginning, where you drop 200 meters in just one kilometre. So it is important to keep in mind that you’ll have to climb up later if you want to do a round trip.

In this hike, besides the amazing Laurissilva forest through where you’ll be hiking, you can also find a beautiful viewpoint to the island peaks and an incredible waterfall at the halfway of the hiking.

But there is more!

If you felt inspire “just” by the incredible views and photographs of one of Madeira’s hidden gems, just wait until you see everything that you can do in seven days with this epic one-week travel guide to Madeira!

In case you are wondering, all these pictures were taking with the following equipment:

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