Off-grid adventures: discover the diverse, dramatic landscapes of Madeira

Wherever you are in Madeira, wilderness is never far away. The island rising from the Atlantic, 17 degrees west of Greenwich, comprises a compelling mix of rock, forest and seascapes – best appreciated at the island’s traditional pace. If you need to get somewhere in a hurry in Madeira, there are loads of impressive, highly engineered tunnels that will speed you across the island. But if you have time to spare, you can aim high.

At 6.30am on a midsummer morning, I found myself perched on a chair on a hillside a mile above sea level, waiting for the dawn. Many visitors drive up to Madeira’s high points to greet the new day, but it’s well worth signing up with a professional tour to ensure you’re in the right place at the right time. If you’re late, the cosmos won’t wait. And your guide will also provide somewhere comfortable to prepare to welcome the dawn.

“Ninety-three million miles away,” I scribbled in my notebook. “And right now performing the greatest show on earth.”

On that particular morning, a layer of mist seemed to be resting on this portion of the planet. Yet once the cosmological clockwork began, cloud cover melted away as the sky took on a palette ranging from blood orange to Barbie pink.

Each new day brings fresh possibilities for exploring the landscapes of Madeira – which have been discreetly modified by man to the benefit of 21st-century travellers. Meet the levada. The highlands of Madeira look like a natural wilderness. Yet they conceal a gigantic hydrological project with thousands of kilometres of irrigation channels and paths beside them, which make for wonderful walking.

The levada is found only in Madeira. These channels were ingeniously devised to distribute water from the west and northwest of the island to irrigate the drier southeast. And now they distribute holidaymakers across the higher altitudes of Madeira. Many hikers become addicted to this simply beautiful way to travel gently through spectacular landscapes.

One of the joys of the levada is that you are walking on the flat. That has another consequence: some really tight swerves. The levada hugs the contour of the hill. Organise your own linear walking trip, using the excellent maps that are available and working with the very good local bus schedules. Either way, wear good footwear and you are guaranteed a thrilling journey.

I feel guilty having a favourite landscape viewpoint in Madeira. But if you were to push me – and please don’t – I would settle on Eira Do Serrado, a lookout point that’s over 3,500 ft above sea level. If you are driving, set the controls for the heart of the island. Or hop on the ever-reliable bus number 81 and take a bit of a walk up to this dramatic rocky ledge overlooking the Nuns’ Valley – Curral das Freiras. Although this natural amphitheatre might look and feel like a volcanic crater, it was actually carved by the river flowing through it.

The valley owes its name to the sisters from Funchal’s Santa Clara convent, who fled here to escape an attack by French pirates. Once you’re finished exploring, the town square provides sustenance in the shape of a bica, the local name for espresso coffee and a queijada – a tasty pastry, which in the Nuns’ Valley, includes chestnuts and cottage cheese.

I love a coastline view – except, perhaps, when the coastline is nearly 600m – that’s 2,000ft – directly beneath you. Welcome to Cabo Girão, which perhaps I should have researched a little more thoroughly in advance. I now read that it is: “An attraction that’s certainly not for the fainthearted.”

If you, like me, have a fear of heights, you might want to stop reading now. The Skywalk is a viewing platform, an arc that juts out from the cliffs of Cabo Girão – some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Such attractions, I find, are best viewed by keeping one’s eyes firmly on the horizon. But you cannot resist looking down – at the glass floor that reveals just how high you are above the Atlantic shore. Magic.