Fanal Forest

In Madeira’s northwest, on the edge of the windswept Paul da Serra plateau, a meadow of centuries-old laurel trees stands twisted by wind and time. Fanal is one of the most haunting corners of the island: when the cloud rolls in, the gnarled trees appear and vanish like ships in fog, which is exactly what draws the photographers.

A relic of a forest older than the island’s cities

Fanal belongs to the Laurissilva of Madeira, the laurel forest inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List in 1999 as the largest surviving area of its kind in the world — a subtropical forest type that once covered much of southern Europe and now survives mainly here. The area is protected within the Madeira Natural Park, and its pastures and woods are kept as they have been for centuries, with cattle grazing under the trees. The wet, cool air that feeds the mosses also feeds the fog, so visits are a matter of luck and patience; the same ground in full sun looks like an ordinary meadow. A short drive down the north road, the lava pools of Porto Moniz make the classic pairing, and the island’s famous Levada das 25 Fontes starts across the plateau to the east.

O que ver

• The centuries-old, wind-twisted laurel trees
• Fog drifting between the trunks on most days
• Cattle grazing free under the trees
• The open plateau of Paul da Serra nearby
• Walking paths through the laurel forest

Informações práticas

Fanal lies in the northwest of Madeira, on the high ground between the north coast and the Paul da Serra plateau, and is reached by narrow mountain roads from either side. The air is cool even in summer: bring a warm layer and waterproof shoes, and drive slowly in cloud.

Image credit: Fanal (Madeira, Portugal), Lorbeerwald by Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.