Not recommended
Unknown trails
These walks are not on the classified list updated on 2 October 2026, read here on 12 October 2026. They are not a tourist set. The list has 128 names. Distance, difficulty, time, climb, and the two ends are the published figures. For levada routes, the page also records the water intake (Madre), terminus (Fim), full channel length, local alias names, and field photographs. A field stays blank when nothing was published.
Porto Santo walks are left out. Classified PR routes that do not yet have a brief here stay off this page. A name that was never written on a public web page is left off.
None of these figures is an official open or closed line. The hiking map stays with the classified PR routes.
Showing 7 of 128 walks in Santa Cruz. Show every walk.
Levada da Azenha, Not listed
Levada da Azenha is an unclassified 2.4 km levada channel in Santa Cruz running from Ribeira do Caniço (295 m) to Sítio do Livramento, Caniço (240 m). Not on the IFCN recommended PR list.
- Distance
- 2.4 km (channel length)
- Difficulty
- Not printed
- Elevation
- 55 m drop (295 m to 240 m)
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira do Caniço (295 m) → Sítio do Livramento, Caniço (240 m) (2.4 km)
Levada da Serra do Faial, Not listed
Also known as: Levada Antiga da Serra do Faial
Levada da Serra do Faial is 10.1 km, moderate. Not on the IFCN list.
- Distance
- 10.1 km
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time
- 3 h 9 min
- Elevation
- 121 m ascent, 298 m descent
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira Seca, São Roque do Faial (982 m) → Caminho do Meio / Choupana, Funchal (54 km (historical full channel))
Levada do Caniço, Not listed
Also known as: Levada dos Moinhos do Caniço
Levada do Caniço is 4.2 km, moderate. Not on the IFCN list.
- Distance
- 4.2 km
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time
- 2 h 4 min
- Elevation
- 152 m ascent, 208 m descent
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira do Porto Novo → Assomada, Caniço (4.5 km)
Levada do Pico dos Eiroses (Levada de Gaula), Not listed
Also known as: Levada de Gaula · Levada do Pico dos Eiroses
Levada do Pico dos Iroses is an unclassified 10 km levada channel in Santa Cruz running from Ribeira da Serra de Água (955 m) and Ribeira dos Vinháticos (925 m) to Porto Novo, Gaula (80 m). Not on the IFCN recommended PR list.
- Distance
- 10 km (channel length)
- Difficulty
- Not printed
- Elevation
- 875 m drop (955 m to 80 m)
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira da Serra de Água (955 m) and Ribeira dos Vinháticos (925 m) → Porto Novo, Gaula (80 m) (10 km (17 km including branches))
Levada dos Moinhos de Santa Cruz (Moinhos da Serra), Not listed
Also known as: Levada dos Moinhos da Serra
Levada dos Moinhos de Santa Cruz is an unclassified 6 km levada channel in Santa Cruz running from Sítio da Madre d'Água, Ribeira de Santa Cruz (435 m active branch / 440 m historic branch) to Sítio da Bemposta, Santa Cruz (220 m, 6 km active branch) / Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (170 m, 7.5 km historic branch). Not on the IFCN recommended PR list.
- Distance
- 6 km (channel length)
- Difficulty
- Not printed
- Elevation
- 215 m drop (435 m to 220 m) on active branch / 270 m drop (440 m to 170 m) on historic branch
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Sítio da Madre d'Água, Ribeira de Santa Cruz (435 m active branch / 440 m historic branch) → Sítio da Bemposta, Santa Cruz (220 m, 6 km active branch) / Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (170 m, 7.5 km historic branch) (6 km (active branch) / 7.5 km (historic branch))
Levada Nova de Santa Cruz, Not listed
Also known as: Levada Nova do Poiso · Levada Nova do Santo da Serra
Levada Nova de Santa Cruz is an unclassified 10 km levada channel in Santa Cruz running from Ribeira de Santa Cruz (490 m) to Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (150 m). Not on the IFCN recommended PR list.
- Distance
- 10 km (channel length)
- Difficulty
- Not printed
- Elevation
- 340 m drop (490 m to 150 m)
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira de Santa Cruz (490 m) → Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (150 m) (10 km)
Levada Nova, Santo da Serra, Not listed
Also known as: Levada Nova do Santo da Serra · Levada Nova do Poiso
Levada Nova, Santo da Serra is an unclassified 10 km levada channel in Santa Cruz running from Ribeira de Santa Cruz (490 m) to Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (150 m). Not on the IFCN recommended PR list.
- Distance
- 10 km (channel length)
- Difficulty
- Not printed
- Elevation
- 340 m drop (490 m to 150 m)
- Channel (Madre → Fim)
- Ribeira de Santa Cruz (490 m) → Sítio da Igreja, Água de Pena (150 m) (10 km)
How to read the unclassified walks index
Madeira has two very different layers of walking paths. The first layer consists of the 24 classified PR routes maintained and monitored on the official IFCN table. Those routes carry official PR (Pequena Rota) signage, scheduled maintenance inspections, a published open or closed status table, and the regional non-resident trail fee system. The second layer — collected on this page — covers 128 regional levadas, historical royal paths (Caminhos Reais), coastal footpaths, and municipal forest tracks surveyed across regional municipal paths and levadas but absent from the IFCN recommended list.
Understanding the route statistics
Every figure on an unclassified trail page — distance, estimated walking duration, elevation gain and loss, start and end coordinates, tunnel counts, and irrigation channel parameters (madre intake, fim terminus, and total channel length) — reflects on-site trail walks and on-site channel records rather than the IFCN status table. Where on-site field surveys omit elevation or duration, this site leaves that field explicitly unlisted instead of guessing.
Why status reads “Not listed”
Because these routes are outside the IFCN recommended network, the forestry authority does not publish daily or weekly open/closed notices for them. A badge of Not listed means there is no official IFCN status line — it is neither an endorsement nor a guarantee that a channel wall, tunnel, or hillside ledge is passable on a given morning.
Field preparation and when to choose an official PR route instead
Many unclassified levadas were built strictly as working agricultural maintenance ledges for water tenders (levadeiros). Handrails may be discontinuous or absent, tunnels can be long and completely unlit, and winter rockfalls can block a remote gorge for months without a notice at the road head. Before setting out on any walk listed here, read our comparison of official PR routes and unclassified trails and our levada equipment checklist. If you want a signposted route with verified segment status and car-park day checks, start from the classified Madeira hiking map.