Pico do Facho, Machico: The Best Hiking Routes — and Is It Worth It?

Pico do Facho, Machico, is one of my go-to hikes in Madeira. The small mountain sits on the eastern side of Machico Bay and overlooks Madeira’s original capital city.

At only 517 metres high, Pico do Facho is one of the easiest mountain hikes in Madeira. From Praia de Machico, the average person can reach the summit with a short climb of 30 to 40 minutes.

I have made it to the rocky summit a handful of times in the past couple of years. I particularly like this hike because it’s on my doorstep — I stay in the city of Machico — but also because it’s one of Madeira’s least busy hiking trails.

There are a few ways to do the Pico do Facho hike, but my favourite is extending the hike from the summit to Praia da Ribeira de Natal, a stunning, remote pebbly beach on the edge of Caniçal.

In this blog post, I’ll explain the best routes for climbing Pico do Facho, as well as whether it’s worth a spot on your Madeira itinerary.

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. If you decide to click through and make a qualifying purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you – thanks for your support.

Where is Pico do Facho?

Pico do Facho (often misspelt as Pico Facho) is located in Machico, a small but historically significant city on the east coast of Madeira.

Machico was also the first landing point for the Portuguese when they discovered the island in July 1419. Therefore, it became the island’s first capital city, before being overtaken by Funchal in 1508.

The mountain is on the eastern side of the bay, between Machico and the neighbouring fishing town of Caniçal.

From parts of the mountain, you can also see the easternmost point of Madeira, São Lourenço.

The hike to Pico do Facho is directly accessible from Machico’s sandy beach, Praia de Machico.

As you can see from the map, there is also a road that goes directly from Machico to Miradouro do Pico do Facho, making it possible to drive to the summit.

The only thing is, there are only a few parking spaces at the top. This ‘car park’ is very narrow, so making a three-point turn in a large car will prove a little difficult if there are several cars in the vicinity.

Is Hiking Pico do Facho Worth It?

If you’re willing and able, hiking Pico do Facho is better than driving to the top of the mountain.

The views are stunning on the route up. The mountain looks back over Machico Bay, where you can make out the two separate beaches, the terracotta tiles of the city, and the airport runway.

The higher you get, the more you can see, including several more valleys behind the runway.

However, nearer the top, you can also see all the way to São Lourenço, the otherworldly easternmost point of the island.

The Pico do Facho hike is quite entry-level, with just over three kilometres and just over 500 metres of elevation gain to its name.

If you’re not experienced in climbing mountains, it will be a challenging climb, but well within the ability of the average person. It’s also a good place to practise before tackling one of Madeira’s bigger peaks.

Pico do Facho Hike: What to Expect

To hike up and down from the summit of Pico do Facho, I recommend following the beginning of the Pico do Facho – Machico Beach – Nossa Senhora do Amparo Fort route on AllTrails.

Once you reach the summit, it’s more scenic to hike the same way down. If you choose to complete the loop on the map, you will detour onto a tarmac road through the city instead (far less scenic, from my point of view).

So, the hike begins at Praia de Machico, the city’s sandy beach. Just across the road from the beach’s entry ramp, you will spot a set of stone stairs that climb up the side of the valley (past some houses).

This is the start of the hike. If you’re having trouble finding the stairs, it’s directly opposite the Praia de Machico location on Google Maps.

After the stairs, the trail bears right at the levada, following the narrow strip of water past farm pastures until you reach the foot of the mountain.

Most of the trail is uphill, following rock-and-dirt stairs. However, nearer the top, there are also steel staircases to help you get up the rockier sections of the mountain.

After 30 to 40 minutes, the trail emerges at the road, ‘car park’ and Pico do Facho Miradouro. This viewpoint has several picnic benches overlooking the city.

Now, this is where you want to pay attention, because many people miss spotting that there is a further section of stairs to the official summit, marked by steel transmission towers.

From there, I also like to scramble a little off-piste. There is an area a little further up with some rock boulders with views all the way to Pico do Areeiro (only on clear days) and over the back valleys of Machico.

This section does involve good balance and scrambling experience, so please only proceed if you’re absolutely comfortable and confident.

It has the best views out of anywhere on the mountain, and chances are, you will also have the views to yourself.

That’s the end of the official Pico do Facho hike in Madeira.

However, I love to extend this hike as follows…

How to Extend Your Hike to Praia da Ribeira de Natal

From the summit of Pico do Facho in Machico, I almost always extend my hike to the stunning Praia da Ribeira de Natal.

This rocky beach is on the edge of the fishing town of Caniçal, backed by steep mountains and a long, tarmac boardwalk.

It’s only an extra half an hour’s walk along the coast from Pico do Facho – and every single time, I have only had to share the beach with a handful of other people.

What to Expect: Praia Ribeira de Natal Hike

The Praia Ribeira de Natal hike begins a short five-minute walk from the summit of Pico do Facho. If you follow the road around to the right, you will quickly arrive at what looks like a farm track.

For this hike, I very much recommend following the Alltrails map because it’s easy to lose track of the path. This wouldn’t be a fun place to get lost, between the mountain and the sea.

The trail hugs the hilly coastline, following a dirt track up and down a couple of small slopes. After around 40 minutes of walking, you will arrive at a small bridge and the road leading to the beach.

Down the road is Praia Ribeira de Natal, a long, rocky beach with very blue water.

At the entrance to the beach, there is a beach bar with blue shutters and benches with pink, white and blue stripes.

I quickly worked out that the bar only opens on weekends during the summer (and not every weekend, mind you).

There are toilets next to the bar, which are sometimes open and sometimes locked. I haven’t figured out the logic to this just yet, because sometimes they are open even though the bar itself is closed.

In general, I tend to assume that they will be closed so I don’t get my hopes up. The nearest toilets are in Caniçal, within 15 minutes walk.

There are also a couple of outdoor cold-water showers, which are always accessible.

At Praia Ribeira de Natal, I like to walk out along the fishing pier. Depending on how high the water is, I jump from the pier into the ocean.

If the water level doesn’t look high enough, I climb down the staircase on the side of the pier instead. Wading out across the rocks is a bad idea because they are slippery.

In summer, there is a swimming pontoon located at the beach. It’s a short swim from the pier to the pontoon, where I lay back and sunbathe.

After spending a couple of hours at the beach, there are a few options for your return route. You can, of course, hike the same route back to Machico.

If you don’t want to do that, you can do what I often do, which is to stroll around 15 minutes into the fishing town of Caniçal for some coffee and seafood. From Caniçal, there is an hourly bus back to Machico: number 113 from the SAM bus stop.

I also ordered a Bolt car back to Machico once, although whether you get a driver or not is a matter of luck because this isn’t a busy route.

---

I hope you found this guide to the Pico do Facho hike useful!

Suggested reading:

• 10 Things to Do in Machico, including hikes, viewpoints and more.