Cabo Girão Cable Car: Riding Down to the Fajãs

• Top choice Skywalk and Fanal 4WD tour from US$79 Duration8 hours^[5]Rating4.87 from 9,297 reviews^[5]Guide languagesPortuguese, Spanish, English, FrenchCancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours^[5] Check availability
• Enchanted Terraces 4WD from US$80 Duration8 hours^[7]Rating4.78 from 5,647 reviews^[7]Guide languagesSpanish, English, French, Portuguese, GermanCancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours^[7] See this tour
• West Madeira Waterfalls tour from US$40 Duration8 hours^[8]Rating4.70 from 3,827 reviews^[8]Guide languagesGerman, Spanish, English, Portuguese, FrenchCancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours^[8] See this tour

The Cabo Girão Cable Car, Explained

The Cabo Girão cable car is the Teleférico do Rancho, and it runs from the cliff top beside the skywalk down to the Fajã do Cabo Girão, the narrow shelf of land that sits between the cliff face and the Atlantic. A return trip on the cable car costs 10 euros.^[1] Cabo Girão stands 580 metres high, and the ride is short, with a very direct view over the edge and down to the fields below.^[3] The station sits right beside the viewpoint, so you can walk from the platform to the cabin in a couple of minutes.

Down below, the fajãs do Cabo Girão are the small terraced shelves that farmers have worked for generations. The Fajã do Cabo Girão beach is known for the impressive fertility of its agricultural land, and this narrow, lush piece of land can be accessed by cable car.^[2] Expect stone paths, small plots of vegetables and vines, and the sea close enough to hear while you walk. There is no resort down there, no promenade and no queue of sunbeds, just working land, a few buildings and the water. Take your time at the bottom, because the ride back up is quick and the light changes fast along the cliff.

Getting There, Entry and Opening Hours

Cabo Girão is approximately 15 kilometers west of Funchal, on the south coast, and most people reach it by road or on a guided day tour with pickup from their hotel.^[4] The skywalk was completed in October 2012.^[9] The site is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.^[3] The coast road climbs steadily once you leave the city, with the sea on your left the whole way and the cliffs getting higher as you go.

There is an entrance fee of €2, except for residents and children up to 12 years old, who are exempt.^[3] The viewpoint, the cable car station and the parking are all in the same small area, so you can look over the edge first and then decide about the ride down. If you drive, you pass Câmara de Lobos on the way, and its bay was immortalised by Winston Churchill when he painted it in January 1950 while sitting at the Espírito Santo Viewpoint facing the sea.^[10] The town is a good stop for a coffee before the climb.

Parking at the skywalk is tight at busy times, and the approach road is narrow and steep in places. Many people arrive on a tour instead, and the Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal 4WD Tour lists 11 pickup location options.^[5] Either way, keep the skywalk and the cable car in the same block of time, since the station is a few steps from the viewing platform.

Terraces, sea and the long drop below the Cabo Girão skywalk

What the Ride Down Is Like

The cabin leaves the cliff top and drops quickly towards the water, with the terraces and the fajã opening up beneath you. Halfway down you can pick out the paths, the small fields and the line of the coast running both ways, and on a clear day the curve of the bay at Câmara de Lobos sits behind you. The sea is loud at the bottom and the air feels different, heavier and saltier, with spray on the rocks after any swell.

Once you are down, you can walk along the fajã, watch the waves and take your time before riding back up. Wear shoes with grip for damp, uneven paths, and carry water, as there is little shade on the lower ground at midday. If you enjoy walking, one Levada do Norte route runs from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos to Cabo Girão, so the cliff can also be the finishing point of a longer walk.^[11] Allow enough time at the bottom to walk a little way along the terraces before you head back up.

Pairing It With a West Madeira Tour

Cabo Girão is often the first big stop on a west coast day out, and the cable car fits neatly into that plan. The Madeira: Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal, and Fanal 4WD Tour takes 8 hours and starts from US$79, with live guiding in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.^[5] It is rated 4.87 from 9,297 reviews, and private or small groups are available on this listing.^[5]

The route includes the Cabo Girão Skywalk, Seixal, Porto Moniz, Ribeira da Janela, the Fanal Forest and Paul da Serra.^[5] Pickup is included, with the details shown when you check availability, and free cancellation is available up to 24 hours in advance.^[5] Reserve now and pay later is also offered, which suits travellers who like to keep a plan flexible.^[5]

With your own car you can follow the same coast road and stop where you like, adding the cable car at the start or the end of the day. Without one, the guided route handles the driving, the parking and the viewpoints, and a live guide explains what you are looking at as you go.^[5] It is a relaxed way to see the west without studying a map the night before.

Porto Moniz, Seixal and the North Coast

At Porto Moniz the natural swimming pools are the main draw. The complex has a lounging area of approximately 3,217 m2 and a swimming area of 3,800 m2 that is 2 metres deep, holding around 7,600 m3 of seawater.^[12] Swimmers share the water with small fish, and the rock edges are smooth but slippery in places, so take care near the outer walls.

Seixal brings dark volcanic sand and a sheltered bay, and the north coast road west of São Vicente has waterfalls that drop straight onto the tarmac after rain. Further along, the Véu da Noiva viewpoint looks down on a waterfall above the old coastal road. These are short stops on a driving day, and each one rewards leaving the car, even for a few minutes with a camera.

The pools at Porto Moniz are the kind of place where people stay longer than they planned, between the rock walls and the open sea. Seixal is quieter, with a beach that turns dark where the volcanic sand meets the water. Both sit on a stretch of coast where the road bends around cliffs and small villages, and both work well as a break in the middle of a west coast day.

Fanal and the Laurissilva Forest

Madeira's Laurissilva forest has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.^[13] Fanal sits inside that older laurel world, and the island's tourism board presents it as a mystical century-old forest that visitors are invited to discover.^[13] The trees are old and twisted, moss and lichen cover the trunks, and cows often stand among them, unbothered by walkers passing through.

Mist moves in and out quickly up here, so the same view can look completely different twice in an hour. Bring a warm layer and a waterproof, even if the coast below is sunny, and stay on the marked paths, as the ground stays wet under the trees. Photographers often wait for the fog to thin, when the trunks appear one by one out of the white.

The Fanal area sits high on the plateau, where the forest is often in cloud while the coast is bright. Walking among those trees, with the lichen hanging and the ground soft underfoot, is one of the quietest experiences on the island. Keep to the paths, take your rubbish with you, and watch for cattle and for the roots that cross the trail.

Weather, Timing and What to Pack

Madeira has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with even temperatures all year round, and the average annual temperature is 20°C (67°F).^[6] That does not mean every corner of the island feels the same on the same day, since the south coast, the high plateau and the north coast can differ sharply.

Pack layers, a light waterproof and shoes with grip. On the cliff top the wind can be strong, and the plateau around Paul da Serra is often in cloud while Funchal is clear. Ride the cable car in the morning for softer light on the terraces, and keep an eye on the cloud line over the mountains as you plan the rest of the day.

If the cloud sits low, head west anyway. The weather on Madeira changes with height and with the side of the island, and a grey morning in Funchal often turns into sun on the north coast by the afternoon. A spare pair of socks and a dry bag for a camera are never wasted on a day that crosses the plateau.

Plan your Cabo Girão visit

1. Reach the cliff top

   Cabo Girão is approximately 15 kilometers west of Funchal, on the south coast.^[4]

2. Pay the entry fee

   There is an entrance fee of €2, except for residents and children up to 12 years old.^[3]

3. Ride down to the fajã

   A return trip on the Teleférico do Rancho cable car costs 10 euros.^[1]

4. Walk the skywalk

   The skywalk was completed in October 2012, and the cliff is 580 metres high.^[3][9]

5. Continue west by 4WD

   The Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal tour takes 8 hours, from US$79, with pickup included.^[5]

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