28 campsites and shelters · 2027 season
In route order from Caniçal: altitude, capacity, prices and how to book each campsite and mountain shelter.
2026–2027 season: camping permit compulsory on SIMplifica, €5 per tent per night for non-residents; wild camping prohibited. The IFCN does not publish the capacity of the zones; facilities vary widely. Our camping guide.
25 m
©Ponta de São Lourenço, near the Casa do Sardinha (end of the PR8)
The only authorised camping spot on the São Lourenço peninsula, at the end of the PR8 (4 km on foot from Baía d'Abra)…
965 m
Chão do Pasto, above Santo António da Serra (tarmac road)
Forest area reachable by car above Santo da Serra, about 2.4 km as the crow flies from the route (Portela–Lamaceiros…
1,290 m
Terreiros, above Camacha (tarmac road) · Madeira Crossing km 21.7
High-altitude clearing reachable by road, about 1.5 km as the crow flies south of the Levada do Furado section of the…
925 m
©Ribeiro Frio, forest park (access on foot) · Madeira Crossing km 24
Small zone reachable only on foot near the hamlet of Ribeiro Frio, about 700 m from the route. The hamlet has…
1,230 m
Chão das Feiteiras, plateau north of Poiso (dirt track) · Madeira Crossing km 24.4
Grassy plateau surrounded by cedars, right by the route at the end of the climb from the Levada do Furado. It is the…
1,355 m
Cruzes de Baixo, above Camacha (tarmac road) · Madeira Crossing km 25.1
Zone with no facilities (apart from a car park) by the road, about 850 m south-east of the route between Chão das…
1,125 m
Carreiras, Estrada das Carreiras above Camacha (tarmac road)
Forest area reachable by car, about 2 km south of Poiso and the route. No facilities apart from a car park according…
1,300 m
©SurroundingsMontado do Pereiro, near the north gate, on the ER103 south of Poiso · Madeira Crossing km 26.2
IFCN forest house, rented as a whole (8 people maximum), in the Montado do Pereiro park, about 600 m south of Poiso…
1,395 m
©Poiso, junction of the ER103 and ER202 roads · Madeira Crossing km 26.2
Roadside zone at the Poiso pass, on the route, about 1.5 km after Chão das Feiteiras and at the foot of the climb to…
1,530 m
Between Chão da Lagoa and Poço da Neve, on the Pico do Areeiro road · Madeira Crossing km 30
Small IFCN forest house at 1,530 m, in the protected area of the central massif, about 600 m from the route as it…
900 m
Parque Florestal do Pico das Pedras, next to the Polícia Florestal station (ER218 towards Achada do Teixeira)
IFCN forest house rented as a whole (10 people maximum), in the Pico das Pedras forest park, on the road from Santana…
895 m
Parque Florestal do Pico das Pedras, ER218 road Santana – Achada do Teixeira
Forest park on the road from Santana to Achada do Teixeira, about 4.5 km as the crow flies from the route. An option…
1,760 m
©Below the summit of Pico Ruivo, junction of the PR1 / PR1.1 / PR1.2 / PR1.3 · Madeira Crossing km 37.7
Stone mountain hut, renovated and reopened in August 2019, a few minutes below the summit, at the trail junction. Its…
1,790 m
©Pico Ruivo, near the Casa de Abrigo (access on foot only) · Madeira Crossing km 38
Camping zone on the ridge, at the junction of the PR1, PR1.1, PR1.2 and PR1.3 trails, a stone's throw from the hut and…
780 m
Boca das Voltas, laurel forest above São Jorge (dirt track)
Isolated zone in the forest above São Jorge, about 5.4 km as the crow flies north of Pico Ruivo. It is off the route…
805 m
©Parque Florestal do Chão dos Louros, on the ER228 below the Boca da Encumeada (north side) · Madeira Crossing km 47.8
Large forest park by the road, about 700 m as the crow flies from the Boca da Encumeada, on the São Vicente side. It…
1,224 m
Lombo do Mouro, Encumeada – Paul da Serra road, next to the Casa do Lombo do Mouro
Small annexe of the Casa do Lombo do Mouro (4 people maximum), rented separately by the IFCN. Same access: a 10-minute…
1,224 m
Lombo do Mouro, Encumeada – Paul da Serra road (10 min on foot from the road)
IFCN forest house rented as a whole (10 people maximum), a 10-minute walk from the Paul da Serra road, about 3 km from…
1,255 m
Caramujo, on the PR17 (Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal), above the Levada do Norte · Madeira Crossing km 56.2
Small zone beside the PR17, about 8 km after Encumeada via the Levada do Norte and Folhadal. No water, WC or fire pit…
1,560 m
Bica da Cana, edge of the Paul da Serra (tarmac road), near the forest house · Madeira Crossing km 58.5
Equipped zone (water, WC, fire pits, bins) about 200 m from the route, at the end of the open part of the PR17 coming…
1,540 m
Estanquinhos, Paul da Serra plateau (dirt track) · Madeira Crossing km 60.9
Zone on the Paul da Serra plateau, about 150 m from the route, on the link path laid out by the IFCN between Bica da…
1,510 m
Fontes Ruivas, Paul da Serra plateau (access on foot) · Madeira Crossing km 62.4
Camping zone on the route, about 1.5 km after Estanquinhos. It is the overnight stop chosen after the Encumeada → Bica…
1,375 m
Ribeira do Alecrim, Paul da Serra, near the Rabaçal road (tarmac road) · Madeira Crossing km 68.1
Zone with no facilities other than a car park, about 800 m from the route, in the Rabaçal and Pico da Urze area…
1,135 m
©Fanal, forest of centuries-old til trees (ER209 tarmac road) · Madeira Crossing km 79.5
Clearing in the Fanal forest of centuries-old til trees, on the route, just before the descent via the PR14. It is the…
1,225 m
Fonte do Bispo, high plateau above Fajã da Ovelha (access on foot)
Equipped zone (water, WC, fire pit) about 3 km as the crow flies west of the route, above Fajã da Ovelha. Off the…
1,235 m
Cruzinhas, high plateau above Fajã da Ovelha (dirt track)
Zone next to Fonte do Bispo, about 3.5 km as the crow flies west of the route. Water, fire pit and car park according…
655 m
Forest area above Porto Moniz, at about 655 m (tarmac road)
IFCN forest camping zone above Porto Moniz town, about 3.3 km as the crow flies from the finish at Ribeira da Janela…
20 m
Ribeira da Janela, at the mouth of the valley near the old ER101, between the village and Porto Moniz · Madeira Crossing km 89.8
Madeira's only proper campsite, run by the municipality, at the bottom of the Ribeira da Janela valley, very close to…
Madeira has no network of staffed mountain huts: in the mountains, you sleep in a tent, in one of the 21 designated camping zones of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN). Nine of them are on the crossing or less than 300 m from it, from Chão das Feiteiras to Fanal. The camping permit is obtained online on SIMplifica and is checked by the forest police.
The official pages do not publish the capacity of the zones, and some, like the one at Pico Ruivo, only take a few tents: book as soon as your dates are fixed. Their pictograms show very varied facilities, from nothing at all (Poiso, Caramujo, Estanquinhos) to water, toilets and a fire pit (Bica da Cana, Chão dos Louros). At the finish, the Porto Moniz municipal campsite, in Ribeira da Janela, has hot showers and a cooking area.
The Pico Ruivo hut (Casa de Abrigo) sells drinks and snacks during the day. For a long time it offered a few beds, but its official website now only mentions the bar and the shop: call before counting on sleeping there. For a night indoors, a few places to stay line the route: the Mountain Spot Lodge at Achada do Teixeira (near Pico Ruivo), the hotel on the Encumeada pass, a few IFCN houses to rent and, at the finish, the hotels of Porto Moniz. The former pousada on Pico do Areeiro no longer lets rooms. Find them all in the full list of accommodation.
