Ponta Do Pargo

When planning a trip to Ponta Do Pargo, you can choose from several points of interest: the historic lighthouse, viewpoints with different subjects, a protected natural and cultural landscape, and hiking trails with distinctive features. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay in Ponta Do Pargo, it helps to first consider whether you would like to include viewpoints, the protected area or specific routes in your plans. The destinations and routes differ in their history, landscape features and distances.

Lighthouse and protected landscape

The Farol da Ponta do Pargo lighthouse began operating on 5 June 1922. The Miradouro do Farol da Ponta do Pargo offers panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding rock formations. It is located on Ponta da Vigia, Madeira’s westernmost cape, on a 290-metre-high cliff.

In the marine area, the Área Protegida da Ponta do Pargo includes the Parque Natural Marinho da Ponta do Pargo. On land, it includes the Monumento Natural da Ponta do Pargo and the Paisagem Protegida da Ponta do Pargo. The protected area therefore covers not only the marine area, but also two forms of protection on land.

The area includes natural plant communities as well as nesting and resting areas for land and seabirds. The Paisagem Protegida also includes traditional agricultural storage buildings known as palheiros, terraces and retaining walls made of dressed stone. Palheiros are storage buildings associated with traditional agriculture; together with the terraces and stone walls, they point to the protected area’s cultural-landscape features. This makes it possible to distinguish natural features from agricultural landscape elements as different aspects of the area.

Viewpoints and what you can see

The Miradouro da Boa Morte offers views of Madeira’s west coast, the ocean and the cliffs. The panoramic views at the Miradouro do Farol da Ponta do Pargo have a different focus: the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding rock formations. If you are looking for different kinds of views while planning your trip, you can distinguish between these two groups of features rather than treating both simply as general panoramas.

Hiking trails by distance and character

The footpath to the Cascata da Garganta Funda viewpoint starts in the village of Pedregal, is short and easy, and measures about 600 metres each way. At about 250 metres, the path to the Miradouro da Boa Morte is shorter than the roughly 600-metre route each way to the waterfall viewpoint. Along the Vereda do Pesqueiro, there are uninterrupted views of the Atlantic and striking cliffs throughout the route. Thus, the Cascata route is distinguished by its short access path starting in Pedregal and its one-way distance, while the Vereda do Pesqueiro is notable for its uninterrupted views.

In Ponta Do Pargo, the Levada Nova da Calheta has several crossings along the regional roads. It adds another planning consideration to the hiking routes: a route that crosses several roads.

Discover more destinations: Porto Moniz, Caniçal, São Vicente, Arco De São Jorge, Paul Do Mar, Ponta Delgada, Porto Da Cruz, Machico.

For the broader travel overview: Madeira.