Sunday 17th March 2019. An ascent of Pico Ruivo de Santana 1862m/1862m and Pico do Arieiro 1818m/263m. 9.0km, with 900m of ascent. 5 hours 30mins.

The mountains of Madeira form an east to west spine along the island, with three main ranges. To the west lies the Paúl da Serra plateau, reaching its highest point on Pico Ruivo do Paúl da Serra 1645m/645m. To the east of the Boca da Encumeada pass is the central range, reaching its highest point on Pico Casado 1725m/280m. To the east again, on the other side of the Boca das Torrinhas pass, are the highest peaks, including Pico Ruivo da Santana 1862m/1862m, the highest mountain on Madeira.

These mountains, and indeed the whole island, are composed of a suite of volcanic rocks – for an account of their formation, see at https://www.madeira-a-z.com/facts-and-essentials/geography/geology.html

A trail was constructed in the 20th Century between Pico Ruivo da Santana and Pico Arieiro, winding a circuitous route along the precipitous connecting ridge and avoiding the two intervening mountains – Pico das Torres 1847m/232m and Pico do Gato 1712m/117m. This path is a feat of engineering, using a series of metal stairways, tunnels and cut-ins into the cliff faces to bear the hiker to his or her destination.

I undertook this hike on the final full day of my stay on Madeira, as a member of a KE Adventure Travel hiking holiday, along with twelve others and our excellent guide Roberto. We drove up from our hotel in Santana on the northern side of the island to a car park at Achada do Teixeira (1592m). From there the PR1 paved marked trail headed west-south-west towards the summit of the mountain along its broad east ridge. We were in cloud, with mizzle on a cold northerly wind necessitating the donning of hats, gloves and waterproof layers.

We followed the trail, at an easy angle, into the fog. It only took thirty minutes to reach the large stone refuge at 1800m. It was closed, but the toilets were open. A short sharper ascent brought us onto the summit, disappointingly with no view, due to the cloud. It was rather a dreich place, levelled and paved to form a sort of lofty patio, with a tall narrow cemented cairn to mark the summit. It was cheered somewhat by a flock of chaffinches, there to steal a crumb or two off the human visitors.

We returned to the refuge, taking a trail that branched off south-east down the east flank of the mountain. We were still in fog, and the white-charred trees, burnt in a recent wildfire, made eerie shapes that loomed over us as we descended. Flights of steep metal stairs got us over a series of crags. We crossed the ridge, continuing our descent on the western face of Pico das Torres to a plateau on the west ridge of this impressive mountain. A rock climb is needed to reach its summit, and it was not on our route today. As we lunched, watched by an inquisitive hungry partridge, the fog began to clear as the sun warmed the vapours. Valleys and spiky mountains surrounded us – our first view on the hike.

We continued on our trail around the south face of Pico das Torres to a col. From there the path was cut into the cliff-face, with the yawning drop protected by a flimsy fence. Pico do Gato lay ahead. The path bypassed this rugged obstacle by plunging into a long tunnel straight through it, (head-lamp recommended), emerging on the eastern face of the mountain. We were now on the lowest point of the trail, and the ascent of Pico do Arieiro commenced. A ‘stairway to heaven’ ensued, with a mixture of steep metal stairs and rock-hewn steps enabling our ascent in this rugged environment. Before levelling off, the trail passed through a rocky arch hewn out of a basalt dyke which looked, for all the world, like a castle wall.

After making a slight detour to a viewing point (Miradouro Ninho da Manta) to gaze on the spectacular view of the serrated peaks lapped by white cloud, a short ascent brought us up onto the busy summit of Pico do Arieiro, crowded with people making the short hike to the top from the car park below. The white radar dome just below the summit gave the place an alien feel. As with Pico Ruivo, this was rather a disappointing place. All the natural features on the summit had been swept away, replaced by a stone platform on which stood a trig point on a plinth.

We descended to the café and souvenir shop for a coffee, followed by a motorised descent to Funchal for a celebratory meal and our last night on the island.

As much as I greatly enjoyed this hike, I was left with the impression that the highest mountains on Madeira are environmentally stressed places, victim to a constant stream of visitors. Natural hollows in the rock were popular toilet stops, with wet-wipes strewing the ground. As much as I admire the ingenious trail that has been carved between these two mountains, I felt that a pristine montane environment had been too much terra-formed by the hand of man. Of course, I am thankful that the trail took me to places where a hiker would not normally venture, to experience some unique mountains, but I was left with a tinge of sadness that these fantastic wild places had been rather violated.