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Trail guide · PR1.3

PR1.3 Vereda da Encumeada

The long western continuation from Pico Ruivo towards Encumeada, and still only part open.

Checked against IFCN sources on July 26, 2026.

What IFCN’s register says today

Quoted from IFCN’s classified-routes register, updated July 24, 2026, and its notices feed, updated July 14, 2026. We read both on July 26, 2026.

Partially open

Open from Pico Ruivo to Boca das Torrinhas — about 3.9 km — since June 18, 2026. From Boca das Torrinhas to Encumeada it stays closed.

The notice that set this is dated June 18, 2026.

This is a dated quotation, not a live mirror. Closures here are set off by weather and by works, and they change between our checks — so the date above is the whole of the promise. Open the notices feed on the morning you walk.

What the register publishes

Distance
11.2 km, one way.
Runs between
Pico Ruivo and Encumeada.
Island
Madeira
Managed by
IFCN — Instituto das Florestas e Conservação da Natureza

The thing people get wrong about this route

About 3.9 km of it is walkable, from Pico Ruivo to Boca das Torrinhas, reopened on 18 June 2026. Boca das Torrinhas to Encumeada stays closed, so this is not a way across the island — but from Boca das Torrinhas IFCN names PR2 as the onward walk, down to Curral das Freiras or Boaventura.

The PR1 rule that governs this route

PR1 reopened in full on May 1, 2026 and runs one way beyond the Pedra Rija viewpoint, in the direction Pico do Areeiro → Pico Ruivo. Since June 26, 2026 it opens every day of the week rather than Friday to Sunday. That is why this route matters: it is part of how you get off the mountain, and you cannot walk the crossing backwards to undo a mistake.

What the register does not publish, for this route or any other

No difficulty grade, and no walking time. The official table has six columns — panel, code, name, distance, the places the route passes, its state and who manages it — and that is all of it. Durations exist on the physical panel at the trailhead; grades exist nowhere official at all. So a time or a “moderate” you read elsewhere came from a person, not from IFCN, and we do not repeat either.

IFCN publishes no difficulty grading for any Madeira trail. We checked three ways: the official register, the trail information panels, and the governing law — which contains no occurrence of the words for “difficulty” or “grade” at all.

Booking and fee

Booking is compulsory and a slot costs €4.50, paid on the SIMplifica portal and nowhere else.

Also covered by the €10.50 full PR1 ticket, which admits you to PR1.1, PR1.2 and PR1.3 without paying again. On its own it is a €4.50 slot like any other route.

Two or more routes in a day cost €9.00; in three days €22.50; in seven days €52.50. None of the three includes PR1, and none can be bought directly — the system applies the cheapest price once you have booked the routes.

Residents of Madeira, children of 12 and under, and walkers with a disability of 60% or more with one accompanying carer pay nothing — but every one of them still has to hold a booked slot. Exemption is from the money, not from the reservation.

The 1, 3 and 7-day rates are not passes, and IFCN’s own FAQ is emphatic about it. They grant no free or unlimited access, every trail still needs its own slot booking, and there is no way to buy a multi-day rate directly — you book the trails and the system applies the cheapest pricing at checkout. “Pass” is the searchers’ word, and no other page corrects it.

This regime has been in force since January 1, 2026, under Portaria n.º 801/2025 as amended by Portaria n.º 48/2026.

Refunds essentially do not exist. Only an official closure qualifies. Wrong date, wrong trail, changed mind, rain, a cancelled flight, illness and missed transport are all explicitly excluded.

Back to trail tickets and fees

Where every figure on this page came from

Distance, waypoints, state and managing entity are IFCN’s classified-routes register, updated July 24, 2026. Closure detail is IFCN’s notices feed, updated July 14, 2026. Fees are IFCN’s own fees FAQ. Nothing here is a blog’s summary of any of those.

IFCN classifies 42 routes: 39 on Madeira and 3 on Porto Santo. The numbering has gaps — there is no PR24, PR25 or PR26 — which is why counts copied from other sites disagree.

Live right now

These are live cameras, not photographs. They start on their own as you reach them.

Out on the high plateau — the only live camera up there, and the catchment the 25 Fontes levada drains.

Camera operated by Portal Netmadeira

The road east, and the last shelter before the Ponta de São Lourenço trailhead.

Camera operated by Portal Netmadeira

The cameras are hosted on YouTube, so opening this page contacts Google. Nothing else on the page does.