Pico do Arieiro – PR1

Pico de Arieiro was the most impressive and awe inspiring hike for me during our visit to Madeira.

We set out to do this hike from our little house in Ponta do Sol around 7:30 am so we would arrive just after sunrise. We had been on the island for six days and were still getting accustomed to driving through the narrow, winding streets and our drive to this hike was yet another eye opener. Our route took us up ER 107 and at one point, I stopped the car because I simply did not think we could make it up the street we were being told to take. It was, quite literally, a 45+% grade ascent and I was worried that our Citroen C3 may not make it and backed up into a small parking area to gather my resolve. 

An older man walked over, tapped on our window and asked us if we were going to Pico Arieiro. We said yes and he gestured to continue up the road I was hesitating to drive up so we gathered our courage and hit the gas.

After that section, even though the balance of the drive was hairpin switchbacks, I felt pretty relaxed.

Since we were visiting in January, the parking area wasn’t full when we arrived and we found a spot easily and headed up to the main building to use the washrooms and get ourselves set for the hike.

Driving up through and above the clouds on a crystal clear morning, I was excited to be heading to this world famous trail.

A Little Bit about the PR1 Trail

A little bit of research prior to our trip informed me that the entire PR1 Trail from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo was just over 6.5 kilometres each way, which meant it would probably take us about 7 hours in total if we hiked there and back, but we had no plans to try and complete the full hike.

There had been a forest fire prior to our arrival and we knew the trail had been shortened to just under 3 kilometres, which we knew would allow us to experience all the lookouts and mountain ridges we hoped to hike. 

We started at the Visitor Centre to orient ourselves and make sure we were all bundled up. We had purchased balaclavas and merino wool leggings prior to arrival because it was January and this hike starts at 6,000 feet above sea level. Once we were ready to go, we headed to the beginning of the trailhead, paid the $3.00 Euro entrance fee and started down the trail. I was tingling with anticipation.

Rated as a challenging, hard hike due to the elevation gains and physical fitness level required to hike these peaks, at 70 years old, I personally did not feel any sense of exertion while hiking out and back on the sections we were able to travel, but that was possibly due to my excitement.

Being able to visit and hike along these world famous trails on a near perfect day makes me very grateful for my life.

Maybe it was because we visited in January, maybe due to the forest fires or maybe a combination of both, but the trail was not very busy during our visit, which I was also very grateful for. It’s a pretty narrow trail, so with large crowds you would have to wait for groups of people to pass and take turns at certain stretches of the trail.

From Pico do Arieiro, you’ll hike along a trail that descends down a ridgeline between two deep valleys. The trail is narrow, with steep staircases and some sections have sheer drop offs, but guardrails are in place for safety. Despite the sharp drops the trail feels secure. However, if you have a fear of heights, you may find this trail very challenging.

The first part of the trail, with its narrow, cliffside paths, viewpoints, short climbs, and panoramic views in all directions, make this a gorgeous hike.

Our first real stop along the way was Miradouro do Ninho da Manta, also known as the Buzzard’s Nest.

Miradouro do Ninho da Manta is located a short distance from the beginning of the trailhead and from this vantage point, views over São Roque do Faial and Fajã da Nogueira Valley open up in front of you. The scene is dominated by rock formations which jut up, above and through the clouds right in front of you. It’s an obvious must-stop for hikers.

Watch the 30 second video from Miradouro do Ninho da Manta

From there, we wound our way up, along and down the trailhead towards the Stairway to Heaven, the most famous part of the PR1 hike in Madeira.

This can best be described as a narrow set of stairs with guardrails and vertical drops on each side but you hike down it on the way in to the trail, so you won’t actually see the view, and may not even know you’ve done it unless you turn around, so if you are interested in photography, at this point, you have to re-orient yourself and look back the way you just came down. That’s how you get that nice dramatic photo of the actual stairway to heaven. If you get to the narrow part of the trail with this view, fourth photo below, in front of you, you’ve just descended the stairway.

This point is called Miadouro Pedra Rija and that is where the trail was closed during our visit, so we took a break here, sat down and allowed ourselves to be immersed in just where we were. 

On our way back, I knew I would have the chance to photograph Yim in this once in a lifetime spot – descending the Stairway to Heaven – and she was brave enough to turn around while heading back up the stairs.

If you look in at the second photo below, in the top right hand of the photo, you will see a tiny silhouette of a hiker rounding the tip of the cliff for scale. It’s a long way up. There’s a lot of steps and there are vertical drop-offs on both sides of the trail.

This is truly a unique sight, and one of the most beautiful views in Madeira and I am really pleased we got to share this.

The sun was high in the sky, it was a beautiful clear walk back, Yim was a little more comfortable with her surroundings and we both enjoyed the experience of being up here.

On our way out, the clouds were moving up and over the mountain top and I watched as we walked. In the first of the series below, you can see several people within the cloud cover coming towards us. As the clouds reached the top of the peak, they were just as quickly pulled back down into the valleys on the other side of the trail, which made for a magical experience.

I believe this is what is called a Cloud Inversion. A cloud inversion, or temperature inversion, is when the normal temperature distribution of air – warm at the bottom, colder as you go up – becomes inverted or flipped upside down. This means you have a cold layer of air trapped at ground level, overlain by warm air.

It created the perfect mystical vibe to end our hike.

If you are a hiker, this is a hike you absolutely have to put on your list. In fact, the entire island of Madeira should be on your list because there are at least a dozen must do hikes here, but this one should be at the very top of the list and try and come more than once. If I was to visit Madeira again, I would do this hike several times at different times of the day and I certainly would like to see it in the summer months as it must be much greener. There are so many absolutely breathtaking vistas.

This was one of my bucket list hikes, for sure.