Caixa dos Moinhos Traditional Cache

The „Levada dos Moinhos“ (Levada = water channel) is an excellent option when the weather is too bad for the mountains or for those who don’t want these catwalks with hundreds of others. It’s not so infested like Rabaçal or Ribeiro Frio. But it leads you also into a very typical part of Madeira the “Ribeira do Porto Novo” .

Make your own mind while gazing the picture gallery. The ER 204 (estrada regional) leads you to Assomada. There you go/drive up to Moinhos. At (N 32° 39,829 W 016° 49,553) spoiler 1 you enter the levada. At N 32° 40,631 W 016°50,076 look carefully for some steps which take you 3 m below the footpath. Spoiler 2 helps you to find the cache.

Between Moinhos and the cache you will see caverns (view gallery). Try to find out for what it had been good for in the past. If you like, you can finish the Levada till the end (N 32° 40,744 W 016° 50,187). Ten meters before the end you will see the sign post “Assomada” (the village you came from) – spoiler 3. Here go up the steps to Camacha (or you have to return to starting point). Don’t continue the Levada beyond this point. It will become terrible and dangerous. Other possibility: you go the other way round, start in Camacha and end in Assomada. Be aware between Camacha and the Levada exists an altitude difference of round about 270 m.