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Compare trails

Which trail suits your trip? Pick a month for typical weather, or your own dates for the forecast, rated at each trail's lowest and highest point. The best match comes first; the table below has the details. For winter trips, start with hiking in Europe in winter.

Best in October

Good no real weather drawbackMixed walkable, with one drawbackPoor a serious drawback, or out of season
How the ratings work
Good
Typical weather suits walking: no snow expected at the high point, not hot low down or cold up high, and under 200 mm of rain in the month.
Mixed
One drawback in a typical year: snow or ice possible up high, a warm or cool month, or a wet one (200 mm or more).
Poor
Snow likely at the high point, heat of 33 °C or more low down, days below 3 °C up high, or outside the published season.

From typical weather: the 1991–2020 averages at the trail's lowest and highest point, corrected for height. A published season (a park that closes, huts that open) overrides the weather. A rating is a planning aid for the area, not a report of the trail: check the official warnings before you go.

  1. 1
    Madeira Portugal
    Mixed
    1. January: Mixed
    2. February: Mixed
    3. March: Mixed
    4. April: Mixed
    5. May: Good
    6. June: Good
    7. July: Good
    8. August: Good
    9. September: Good
    10. October: Mixed
    11. November: Mixed
    12. December: Mixed

    0 of 11 walks rated good on typical weather. Wet on 6 walks.

    • 6–26 °C(Typical: a night at the high point to a day at the low point)
    • 307 mm rain(Rain in a typical month, at the wetter end)
    • 11 h 25(Daylight in the middle of the month)
    Open the guide

Side by side

Trail
Madeira
Portugal
At a glance
Weather in October Mixed 0 of 11 walks rated good on typical weather. Wet on 6 walks.
Typical weather
Temperature, lowest point 26° by day, 20° at night at sea level
Temperature, highest point 12° by day, 6° at night at 1,848 m
Rain in a typical month 307 mm
Snow at the high point Typically snow-free (model) High point 1,848 m
Daylight mid-month 11 h 25 Sunrise 08:11, sunset 19:36
The trail
Kind of trip Day walks from a base: 16 routes
Length 16 day routes, 6–25 km each
Total climb Per walk
Highest point 1,848 m
Days to allow One route a day Plan them by weather and bus on the guide page
Practical
Places to sleep 3 suggested bases Funchal; Machico; Santana
Official status and season 9 open, 2 partly open of 11 walks Read 18 September 2026
Rules and permits Book each IFCN walk, even when it is free; Fees since 1 January 2026; One-way sections and closures; Crossing the island
Getting there Madeira airport (FNC); Island buses, then taxis
Official weather warnings Official weather warnings (Meteoalarm)
Sources Climate: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages; Pico do Areeiro station on the Madeira peaks; Forecast: Open-Meteo

Where they are

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Ratings are planning aids from typical weather or the forecast, not statements about trail conditions. Typical weather: TerraClimate 1991–2020 at each trail's lowest and highest point, corrected for height, with the Pico do Areeiro station on the Madeira peaks. Stays and status come from each guide's dated records.