Perhaps the biggest outing I had during our holiday in Madeira was a trip I took to the Nuns’ Valley where the village of Curral das Freiras nestles amongst the mountains. The valley is so-named after the nun’s who retreated there as it was out of sight from the coastline and the threat of passing pirates.

I had originally planned on booking an excursion, but then found I could DIY it for much less money by simply catching a bus! I forget how much the excursion would have cost, but the bus fare was around three Euro each way, so a noticeable saving.

So, after working out which bus I needed to catch, and where in Funchal I needed to catch it, I decided to take the trip on the last day of June.

The bus took a route through the centre of Funchal before rising up into the outskirts and residential areas on the steep hillsides, often following roads that you might not expect a bus to fit – but it obviously did. From there it rose into the mountains, one moment through thick and steeply sloped woodland, then next alongside vertiginous drops to the valleys below.

While Curral das Freiras was my destination, for this trip it would very much be a case of the journey being the destination as well as, rather than going directly to the village, my plan was to leave the bus at Eira do Serrado, the location of a scenic mountain-top viewpoint. From there I would follow the mountain path 1,300 feet down to the village below.

Before I began my descent, and after a quick refreshment break in the small hotel and shop that sits at the peak, I first walked to the scenic viewpoint. On the way I met a curious chap playing an accordion and wearing a flag-bedecked hat. As I approached he asked where I was from. “The UK”, I said, and he began to sing me a song. I gave him a few Euro in thanks and asked if I could take his picture.

The viewpoint itself was both spectacular and fear inducing. An amazing view out across the mountains and down into the valley floor, albeit with a vertigo inducing sense or terror when I looked over the waist high fence to a drop of maybe a thousand feet! After (very carefully) enjoying the view for ten minutes, I made my way back down the path to the hotel area. The accordion man asked again where I was from – I clearly made little impression before!

The two pictures below were made from the viewpoint and the path back to the hotel.

Past the hotel I found the top of the hiking trail and began my descent. The trail followed a zig zag down the mountainside, but the first section ran through a stand of trees where the air was refreshingly cooler – the day of my visit featured empty blue skies and a hot sun that gradually brought more of the valley into light as the morning progressed. Part of me wished for more cloud to add some (literal) atmosphere but I guess I was lucky in a way as, while I find empty blue skies uninspiring, they were probably preferable to the low cloud I had seen enveloping the mountaintops on other days and which would have both completely obscured the view and, worse, required me to descend the path in what would effectively be fog.

The path was cut from natural rock in places, and in others paved with placed stones. Sometimes the angle was gentle, sometimes steep. There was an occasional section with a wire guard-line, but it crossed my mind numerous times that a trip or loss of footing might easily see my rapidly stumbling out of control and into nothingness.

At one stage I was a little worried that the path might take me on a precipitous looking ledge hugging a cliffside, but thankfully not. You can get and idea of my concern from the picture below.

As I descended, the village below grew from tiny specks of white to recogniseable buildings, as seen in the next two pictures. I did shoot quite a few colour frames during the hike but I’m not satisfied with how most of them look. The one below is ok though. If you look closely at the bottom right of the frame, you can see a small rest area with a bench and viewpoint about halfway down the mountainside. The next picture was taken from the rest area if I remember correctly.

As the descent continued, so the trail began to pass through more wooded areas. There was also one section with thousands of bees flying all around. Thankfully they were just interested in going about their business rather than the sweaty englishman passing among them.

I walked with another English couple during this lower stretch of the path, and it was nice to share the experience with others. I also passed at least two other couples walking up the trail from the bottom, which must be a real feat of endurance.

As I got down into the valley floor I took some pictures looking back up at the mountainside, and from where I had come. In the first picture you can just make out the hotel up at the viewpoint and the path zig-zagging below.

I’ll finish the post off with a couple of pictures I took in Curral das Freiras itself. The village is small and mostly quiet with a few touristy shops and restaurants (in one of which I treated myself to a nice piece of cake and a very welcome ice-cold drink) and is apparently famous for it’s chestnut dishes. I spent an hour or so wandering around the place, looking inside the church (which has a lovingly kept graveyard where all the graves feature an inlaid photograph of their occupants), before making my way to the bus back to Funchal.

I sat across from the couple I’ve shared the descent with, who it turned out were staying in a hotel not far from ours, although they were heading home the following day. Sadly, as I was facing backwards, I felt somewhat travel-sick by the time I arrived back in Funchal, but not enough to place a cloud over the experience.

And so we come to the end om my Madeira pictures (unless I dig out some more I like at some point). Now to get on with the rest of my growing backlog…

Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Across II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 30 June 2026.