Madeira may be renowned for its hiking and breathtaking landscapes, but it is also a major banana producer.
The south coast, where we stayed, is adorned with banana plantations, and Madalena do Mar boasts the largest one on the island – Rota da Banana – where we spent a delightful 90 minutes wandering through a maze of plants.
What makes this experience special is that you are able to wander freely through the banana plants.
The trail comprises of three short walks: RB1, RB2, and RB3, collectively spanning a delightful 1.5 kilometres, so it’s a pretty easy outing. The trails weave you through dense banana plantings, offering an easy and enjoyable journey along narrow paths and the iconic, ever-present levadas.
RB1 is the only route where you can follow a levada, which provides an extra layer of interest and in several locations along the path, we could see how they use steel doors to divert water flow along different sections of bananas.
What we were really impressed with were the terraced banana plantings, which run up and along the rugged cliffs, within and above the village.
I was really pleased when the workers arrived. It made our visit so much more authentic.
Within minutes of arriving, they were cutting bunches of bananas, hefting them up onto their shoulders and then hauled them a considerable distance down the uneven staircases zig zagging through the planted areas to a truck waiting below, where each bunch was carefully laid down on thick blankets before the foreman sliced off the excess stem and carefully wrapped each bunch in another blanket to prevent bruising during transport.
One of the guys was eager to take a break and spoke english quite well, so he chatted with us for about ten minutes. It was interesting to learn that the bananas grown on the island are primarily intended for consumption on Madeira. Only a very small portion finds its way to mainland Portugal and parts of Spain. Madeira was once a major exporter to Europe until strict regulations regarding length and curvature led to rejection at auctions, which is a shame, considering the wonderfully soft and sweet taste of Madeiran bananas.
I was told I was welcome to show up for work the next day, which I think I would have loved to have done.
You can find Rota da Banana here >
Local Banana Facts
• The annual banana production in Madeira is equivalent to what Europe consumes in just one day.
• Each bunch of bananas can bear up to 200 fruits.
• A typical Madeiran dish, “Espada com Banana,” features a surprising combination of Madeiran bananas with blackened swordfish.
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