Madeira – updates – official PR walking routes
From ‘Shirley Whitehead’s Madeira Walks’
If you’re off to Madeira, take a look at the island government’s website to check which routes are currently closed or undergoing work. Walking conditions can change quickly due to weather, landslides or other factors.
The Madeiran authorities recognise the importance of walking visitors to their lovely island and are quick to restore paths and levadas to good order.
From ‘Shirley Whitehead’s Madeira Walks’.
It’s a useful website and updated frequently.
Here’s the link to the English language version http://www.visitmadeira.pt/?s=menu&e=/madeira/trekking&i=eng
La Palma Updates 11 Feb 2014 – thanks to Chris S
Our thanks go to Chris S who has just sent us his observations after using Walk! La Palma on the island:- 
From: Chris S
Date: Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 1:56 PM
Walk 1 : Coming from the west, there is now a turn-off just before the tunnel, which leads to the LP301 (presently in a very poor state of repair, like most of the island’s roads).
Walk 6 : The walk starts just west of Centro de Visitantes de El Paso (Caldera de Taburiente also prominently displayed on the building).
Walk 7 : Descent from Birigoyo now starts with some tight, but easy zig-zags where there is insufficient grit or steepness to skitter. It’s not until you get down to the crater that you encounter a few inches of grit underfoot.
Walk 10 : Walking the rim of San Antonio crater now 5 euros pp. You might be able to sneak past the ticket office if you ignore the sign forbidding pedestrian access to the car park from the Fuencaliente side, but you have to present tickets to the young lady at the entrance to the visitor centre : the only realistic gateway onto the path. There is now chain fencing along the rim and on the narrower bit, it’s on both sides of you.
Walk 14 : The road up to El Pinar was surprisingly the best surface we drove on and the tarmac now extends further than the start point.
Walk 20 : Where the narrow tarmac lane taken at wp2 bends to the right in less than a minute, a waymarked path heads off to the left, rejoining the lane just above wp3. According to the signpost at wp2, the distance to Don Pedro is 6.n km.
Walk 30 : There are 2 signs to Pico de la Nieve on the track by the start of the walk, but they don’t indicate distance.
Walk 32 : The track leading to the car park at start of walk is now only suitable for 4WD, imo. Most of the hire cars which attempt it ,don’t make it all the way. The alternative signposted, but not waymarked, route to/from the ridge is very worthwhile. It involves a little bit more ascent and is a bit longer, but there are several points where different aspects of the peak and caldera are seen. Shortly after the last signpost : ‘1400 metres to Pista de Valencia’, the track forks and it’s the left branch, which soon dwindles to a path that leads more directly to the tarmac.
I’m going to write a review on amazon to emphasise the practical superiority of your guide over *********. I will certainly be buying your guides to the other Canaries, rather than wasting money on “updated” versions of **** ********* efforts, good though they were at the time they were written.
Regards,
Chris
La Gomera Update – thanks to Terry
It’s in the nature of walking trails that they may become impassable (usually temporarily) due to landslides, flood damage or forest fires. The good news is that nature and/or man usually repair the route before long.
Terry M just sent us this update which affects Walk 13 on the island of La Gomera:-
On 10 February 2014 Terry M wrote:
Hi,
We tried Walk 13, La Gomera but had to abandon it. A forest fire has made it impossible to follow the directions between waypoints 7,8,9 and 10. The trees are unrecognisable and the path obliterated. Herbs, mostly Cistus, have grown over the whole area and the donkey trail is unrecognisable. Even with GPS we could not find the way and had to retreat to the road.
Regards,
Terry
Madeira – the Garden Isle
If you were standing, right now, on the Pico do Ruivo, Madeira, and looked west, this is the view you’d be seeing. After one of the gloomiest, darkest northern European winters on record, wouldn’t this do your soul good, not to mention your fitness 🙂 ?
Madeira has long been an A-grade walking destination, offering levada walking along man-made water canals as well as trails for the most adventurous mountain hiker. Then there’s the wonderful endemic plant life too. The best thing is – simply go and see for yourself.
Here’s the map that goes with the photo.
There’s more information here :- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mad.htm
Europe’s 10 Best Adventure Destinations? What’s Your Opinion?
According to the Huffington Post, these are the 10 best adventure destinations in Europe.
We’re pleased to see two of our top favourites, the Canary Islands (Spain) and Madeira (Portugal) included.
Take a look – which destinations would make your top ten?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minube/europes-10-best-adventure_b_4315349.html
Get Away From Winter – there’s wall-to wall sunshine now in La Palma
If you’re in the UK or northern Europe you have most likely had enough of gales, floods and dark skies. On the teardrop-shaped volcanic island of La Palma, Canary Islands, the forecast ahead is for almost wall-to-wall sunshine with daily highs of 20-22C and not much less than 16C in the night.
Even better, it offers dramatic and wonderful walking. And you could be there within 5 hours’ flight time from UK and many European airports.
The image (right) was taken while following the Ruta de Los Volcanos.
And how about following the route of the southern volcanoes (left)? Much of the walk is along the volcanic ridge that bisects the island west-east, offering super views. Here’s how it looks on the La Palma Tour & Trail Map.
The image below shows a walker starting out on the Roque Palermo route; La Palma’s famous observatory can be glimpsed in the background.
There’s more information here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/lap.htm
A Taste Of La Gomera’s beauty – a free walk to download
You’ve heard of Tenerife – but where’s La Gomera? It’s just a short ferry ride from Tenerife yet as different as chalk from cheese.
The island is almost circular and resembles a giant cake cut again and again by dramatic barrancos (ravines) running from centre to sea, topped by an ancient and mysterious laurel forest.
The taster route is Walk 26, ‘Las Mimbreras’, offering a tantalising sample of the island’s adventures. Here’s a map section of the route.
Find your free walk here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/walkla.htm
Costa Blanca Mountains – how would you like a free walk?
Inland of the famous holiday coast of Spain’s Costa Blanca lies an unspoilt walker’s paradise.
Do you want a taste? Take a look at this free sample walk. Click on this link to access the download:-
http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/CBM.htm
Walk 7 ‘Castell de Confrides’ lies not far from Benidorm – here’s the objective, the remains of a stronghold hundreds of years old from which there are amazing views.
Tenerife – How About A Free Sample Walk?
Here’s a great idea – download a free sample walk taken from Walk! Tenerife. You’ll get the full walk description, mapping and images. There are 46 walks in the book, covering the island’s best walking areas.
Your free download is Walk 41 ‘Las Mercedes – Llano de Los Loros’. Our pic shows one of the great views from the route, over the Tahoido Dam and down to Tenerife’s north coast.
Here’s the link you need to access your free download; print it out on one sheet of A4 or save the pdf to your computer:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/ten35walks.htm
Nearly Spring In Menorca
Menorca might not be the first destination you think of for a walking holiday. We find it surprising and fascinating. It has beautiful wild countryside and great walking. The island is full of interest, especially if you have an interest in ancient history, archaeology, geology, birds or flora.
And if you’d like to escape the winter, you’ll find Spring starts a little earlier here.
Above; on the Cales Coves route, Walk 30.
This pic (right) was taken on a coastal route (Walk 8) in the island’s south-east, crossing limestone ‘tables’.
– and here’s a view (below) along the rugged north coast on Walk 39.
More about walking on Menorca at http://dwgwalking.co.uk/men.htm
discoverywalking 