PR 7 Levada do Moinho

PR 7 Levada do Moinho 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 10.5 km. The places named there are Ribeira da Cruz and Lamaceiros. The status on that table is: closed. Route Summary: 10.5 km · 3 h 30 min – 4 h 00 min · +120 m / -540 m (840 m to 420 m) · Moderate · Point-to-point transfer required. Do not walk a closed classified route because an older guidebook or third-party trail page still calls it open. On the 2 October 2026 IFCN table, the entire 10.5 km line of PR 7 between Ribeira da Cruz (on the ER 101 in the municipality of Porto Moniz) and the Lamaceiros water house above Porto Moniz is listed closed.

Why PR 7 is kept in the catalog and how to distinguish it from other "Moinho" walks

Several walks across Madeira share the name Levada do Moinho ("Mill Levada"), which frequently causes confusion when checking closure notices:

• PR 7 Levada do Moinho (Ribeira da Cruz to Lamaceiros, 10.5 km): This is the official classified PR route in northwestern Madeira (Porto Moniz municipality), also known historically as Levada Grande. It is closed on the 2 October 2026 IFCN table.
• Levada do Moinho and Levada Nova, Ponta do Sol: This is an 8.9 km loop in the southern municipality of Ponta do Sol (Ribeira da Ponta do Sol). It is an unclassified walk indexed under unknown trails, not PR 7.
• Levada do Moinho, Paul da Serra: This is a separate 6 km unclassified plateau channel near Estanquinhos on Paul da Serra, also indexed under unknown trails.

Open classified alternatives in northwestern Madeira (Porto Moniz / Fanal)

While PR 7 remains closed between Ribeira da Cruz and Lamaceiros, hikers based in Porto Moniz, Ribeira da Janela, or Seixal have three nearby classified PR routes that are listed open on the 2 October 2026 IFCN table:

• PR 13 Vereda do Fanal: 10.8 km from Paul da Serra (Assobiadores) to the ancient laurel forest at Fanal along the ER 209 plateau corridor.
• PR 14 Levada dos Cedros: 7.2 km through undisturbed Laurissilva forest from Fanal down to Curral Falso on the ER 209.
• PR 15 Vereda da Ribeira da Janela: 2.7 km descending the historic cobbled footpath from Curral Falso to Ribeira da Janela.

Before you go

Respect all physical barriers and closure signs at the Ribeira da Cruz and Lamaceiros access points. When PR 7 reopens on a future IFCN table update, the standard fee FAQ rule applies: €4.50 per person for one classified route other than PR 1, with residents of the region, children aged 12 or under, and covered disability cases paying €0 while still needing 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 da Cruz / Ribeira Grande (1040 m)
• Terminus (Fim): Levada Grande / Junqueira, Achadas da Cruz (720 m)
• Total hydraulic channel length: 9 km
• Traditional and local names: Levada do Moinho das Achadas da Cruz · Levada Grande das Achadas da Cruz
• Engineering and basin context: Shareholder-financed northwestern parish mill channel (heréus syndicate) linking the upper Ribeira da Cruz catchment with the watermills above Junqueira and Achadas da Cruz.

Known in the northwestern parishes as Levada Grande das Achadas da Cruz or Levada do Moinho das Achadas da Cruz, this historic channel was financed by local shareholders (heréus) who built and operated watermills along its course between the Madre da Água intake on Ribeira da Cruz and the distribution boxes above Junqueira and Achadas da Cruz in Porto Moniz. Before modern road transport reached the northwestern plateau, grain grown on the Porto Moniz slopes was carried along the wide earthen and stone bank beside the watercourse to the parish mills.