The Madeira Crossing in 4 days: day-by-day plan

This express plan splits the crossing into four days of 20 to 26 km: Poiso on the first evening, Encumeada on the second after the PR1 and Pico Ruivo, then the Ribeira do Alecrim camping zone, 800 m from the route on the edge of the Paul da Serra.

The last day descends via 25 Fontes, Fanal and the Levada dos Cedros to Ribeira da Janela. It is the pace of trail runners and fastpackers, with as light a pack as possible.

Day-by-day plan

Day	Leg	Distance	Ascent	Descent	Walking time	Overnight
	Poço do Gil → Poiso	26.2 km	1,900 m	730 m	9h30 – 11h	Chão das Feiteiras and Poiso
	Poiso → Encumeada Via Pico do Areeiro, the PR1, Pico Ruivo and the PR1.3.	21.6 km	1,170 m	1,570 m	8h15 – 9h45	Encumeada and Chão dos Louros
	Encumeada → Ribeira do Alecrim Ribeira do Alecrim camping zone 0.8 km from the route.	20.3 km	1,350 m	940 m	7h30 – 9h	Rabaçal and Ribeira do Alecrim
	Ribeira do Alecrim → Ribeira da Janela Via 25 Fontes, Fanal and the Levada dos Cedros.	22 km	540 m	1,910 m	7h – 8h15	Ribeira da Janela
Total		90 km	4,960 m	5,150 m

Distances and ascent calculated on the waymarked main route; “≈” marks a day on a variant (estimated values). Walking times according to the DIN 33466 standard, without breaks.