{"id":58353,"date":"2026-10-12T23:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T23:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realdreams.pt\/?post_type=to-visit&#038;p=58353"},"modified":"2026-10-13T17:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T17:04:16","slug":"floresta-laurissilva","status":"publish","type":"to-visit","link":"https:\/\/realdreams.pt\/nl\/attractions-to-visit\/regions-of-portugal\/madeira-region\/floresta-laurissilva\/","title":{"rendered":"Floresta Laurissilva"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Laurissilva of Madeira is an ancient laurel forest that once covered much of southern Europe and North Africa. Today it survives on the island&#8217;s wet northern slopes, protected as a nature reserve and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site \u2014 one of the largest and best-preserved forests of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A forest from another age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The forest is made up of laurels, bay trees, holly and ferns, with mosses and lichens covering every surface, fed by the island&#8217;s constant moisture. Its canopy is home to endemic birds such as the Madeira firecrest, and the levadas \u2014 the island&#8217;s water channels \u2014 run through it, opening paths into the wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to see and do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Levada walks through the forest, including the route to the Balc\u00f5es viewpoint.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Ribeiro Frio area, with its trails and trout farm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Endemic plants and birds of the Madeira archipelago.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Views over the island&#8217;s steep northern valleys.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Visiting the forest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Laurissilva covers the northern slopes of Madeira, with the best access from Ribeiro Frio, Seixal and Porto Moniz. Walking is free; because the forest is a protected reserve, stay on the trails and check local conditions before your visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visitor information: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitmadeira.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">visitmadeira.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Image credit: Floresta Laurissilva, Madeira, by Ricardo Martins, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ancient laurel forest of Madeira, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the last of its kind.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58348,"parent":12392,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1074],"tags":[1072],"attraction-categ":[1059],"localidade":[167],"content-type":[],"grupo-de-experiencias":[],"experiencia-tipo":[],"regioes_turisticas_term":[119],"class_list":["post-58353","to-visit","type-to-visit","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city","tag-region-of-portugal","attraction-categ-natural-wonders-parks","localidade-madeira","regioes_turisticas_term-madeira"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - 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