PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes

PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes is on the IFCN classified-trail table updated on 2 October 2026 and read here on 12 October 2026. The official distance on that table is 4.3 km each way (8.6 km there and back). The places named there are Rabaçal and 25 Fontes (Lagoa das 25 Fontes). The status on that table is: open, with one-way traffic out on the levada and back on the bypass. Route Summary: 4.3 km each way (8.6 km there and back) · 3 h 00 min – 3 h 30 min · +300 m / -300 m (960 m – 1,000 m) · Moderate · Returns to car via bypass loop. As covered in PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes is one-way, the directional loop is the official operating pattern on the IFCN table, designed to prevent head-on bottlenecks along the narrow final levada ledge leading into the lagoon amphitheatre.

How the one-way levada + bypass return works from Rabaçal

Every walker on PR 6 starts and finishes at the Rabaçal car park on the ER 105 plateau road, returning to the same vehicle without needing an external transfer:

1. Descent from ER 105 to Casa do Rabaçal: Private cars are barred from driving down the 2 km tarmac forestry road into the valley. From the ER 105 car park, you either walk down the forestry road or take the local daytime shuttle minibus to the Rabaçal forestry house.
2. Outward leg along the levada (one-way): From the forestry house, descend the forest steps to the Levada das 25 Fontes channel and follow the one-way flow of walkers along the narrow laurel-shaded ledge and stone staircases into the mossy amphitheatre of Lagoa das 25 Fontes.
3. Return leg via the bypass: Leaving the lagoon, follow the signed one-way return bypass track rather than walking back against incoming hikers on the narrow water channel. The bypass rejoins the Rabaçal approach so you climb back to the same ER 105 car park.

Shared Rabaçal car park: PR 6 vs. PR 6.1, PR 6.2, and PR 6.3

Four classified PR routes share the Rabaçal parking area on the ER 105:

• PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes: 4.3 km each way, one-way out on the levada and back on the bypass.
• PR 6.1 Levada do Risco: 3 km each way to the Cascata do Risco balcony, listed open in both directions. The one-way rule for PR 6 does not apply to PR 6.1.
• PR 6.2 Levada do Alecrim: 3.5 km each way along the upper plateau channel to the Dona Beja spring, listed open.
• PR 6.3 Vereda da Lagoa do Vento: 1.8 km each way to the upper lagoon above the Risco cliff, listed open.

Parking timing, footwear, and before you go

Before driving onto the ER 105 plateau road toward Rabaçal, check morning visibility across Paul da Serra and confirm return shuttle hours if you do not plan to hike the access track back up from the forestry house. Because PR 6 is one of the three highest-volume hikes on Madeira, the ER 105 roadside car park fills rapidly between 08:30 and 11:00. Arrive early or start in the early afternoon (leaving enough time before the last forestry shuttle or for walking the 2 km tarmac road back up to the ER 105). Underfoot, the stone steps and narrow channel wall stay damp under the Laurissilva canopy; wear shoes with dependable wet-rock grip and bring a rain jacket. See What to carry on a levada. The IFCN fee FAQ lists €4.50 per person for one classified route other than PR 1. Residents of the region, children aged 12 or under, and covered disability cases do not pay the fee and still need a reservation; see PR trail fees and reservation rules on Madeira. This site does not publish a live forecast. Source: Percursos pedestres classificados, table updated 2 October 2026, read here on 12 October 2026. The fee figures are from the IFCN fee FAQ.

Channel history and waterworks notes

• Water intake (Madre): Ribeira dos Cedros (972 m)
• Terminus (Fim): Câmara de Carga da Central Hidroelétrica da Calheta, Lombo do Doutor (966 m) [historic branch: Covinhas, Arco da Calheta (940 m) & Lombo da Igreja, Estreito da Calheta (900 m), 17 km]
• Total hydraulic channel length: 4.8 km (active branch) / 17 km (historic branch)
• Traditional and local names: Levada Nova do Rabaçal · Levada do Furado Novo
• Engineering and basin context: Proposed in 1768 by Governor João António de Sá Pereira and engineer Francisco de Alencourt; tunnel and channel works executed between 1835 and 1890 across the Rabaçal divide.

Designed to bring the abundant northern waters of the Rabaçal basin through the central mountain ridge to the dry agricultural lands of Calheta, the Rabaçal levadas were first proposed on 8 October 1768 when Governor João António de Sá Pereira commissioned engineer Francisco de Alencourt to survey the distance, cost, and agricultural benefit of the diversion. Work was finally authorized in 1834, began on 16 September 1835, saw its main channel inaugurated on 16 October 1855, and concluded in 1890 at a total cost of nearly 186 contos de réis (roughly equivalent at the time to half a ton of gold). While Levada Velha do Rabaçal (Levada do Risco) irrigated Prazeres, Fajã da Ovelha, Ponta do Pargo, and Paul do Mar, Levada Nova do Rabaçal (Levada das 25 Fontes or Levada do Furado Novo) supplied Calheta, Estreito da Calheta, and Arco da Calheta across a historic 17 km branch ending at Sítio das Covinhas (940 m) and Lombo da Igreja (900 m). Today the active 4.8 km hydraulic branch runs from its intake on Ribeira dos Cedros (972 m) past the Ribeira da Água Negra (where the Lagoa das 25 Fontes cascade enters), Ribeira Grande (Lajeado), and Ribeira do Alecrim (where Levada Velha do Rabaçal joins it since the 1950s), passes through the 800 m Furado Novo tunnel completed in 1877—wide enough to be traversed on horseback by 19th-century visitors carried in hammocks from Calheta beach—and terminates at the Calheta Hydroelectric Power Station forebay at Lombo do Doutor (966 m), completed in 1953.