Laurisilva of Madeira
The most extensive surviving remnant of a forest type that once covered most of Europe during the Tertiary period (15-20 million years ago) and was almost entirely exterminated by the glaciations of the last Ice Age — the Laurisilva of Madeira (the laurel forest of Madeira’s northern highlands; 15,000 hectares; 90% of the world’s remaining primary laurisilva; UNESCO WHS 1999) is a living relic of the pre-Ice Age flora of Europe.
At a glance
Laurisilva (the most precisely Laurisilva single 15000 hectares 90% world remaining Tertiary laurel forest 15 million years Miocene cloud forest Laurus Persea Ocotea Apollonias endemic 66 species endemic vascular plants UNESCO heritage: the nature of the laurisilva: the laurel forest (from Laurus — the bay laurel genus) is a subtropical rainforest dominated by species of the Lauraceae family (the laurel, cinnamon, and avocado family — one of the oldest flowering plant families; the laurisilva is a “Tertiary relict”: it represents the vegetation type that covered the humid subtropical coastal regions of Europe and North Africa during the Miocene epoch (approximately 23-5 million years ago) when the climate was warmer and more humid than today; the Pleistocene glaciations (the last 2.6 million years) exterminated the laurisilva from continental Europe as the climate cooled and dried; the Atlantic island groups (Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the Azores) acted as refugia — their oceanic position (moderated temperatures) and consistent moisture supply (trade wind cloud capture) allowed the laurisilva to persist through the Ice Ages; the Madeira laurisilva is 15,000 hectares covering approximately 22% of Madeira’s total area (68,000 hectares)) — the most precisely Laurisilva single 15000 hectares 90% world remaining Tertiary laurel forest 15 million years Miocene cloud forest Laurus Persea Ocotea Apollonias endemic 66 species endemic vascular plants UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
Key facts
- The Levada Network: the most precisely Laurisilva single levada irrigation channel 2500 km Madeira Portuguese 15th 17th century water distribution water capture UNESCO heritage — the forest is accessed via Madeira’s extraordinary levada network: the levadas are narrow stone-built irrigation channels that carry water from the wet northern mountains to the dry southern slopes where Madeira’s agriculture and settlements are concentrated; there are approximately 2,500 km of levadas in Madeira (the channel is typically 30-60 cm wide and 30-50 cm deep; a maintenance path follows the channel; these paths are now the island’s main hiking trail network); the levadas were constructed primarily between the 15th and 17th centuries CE (the Portuguese settlement of Madeira began in 1419 CE; the early settlers immediately faced the challenge of distributing water from the cloud-saturated northern mountains to the fertile but dry southern slopes; the levadas were the solution); the UNESCO-inscribed forest is crossed by several levadas (the Levada do Norte, the Levada dos Cedros, and others); walking along the levada paths through the forest is the defining hiking experience in Madeira
- GPS: 32.7740° N, 17.0000° W
History
Portuguese discovery and settlement (the most precisely Laurisilva single 1419 Portuguese Zarco Teixeira Perestrelo settlement sugar cane clearing burning forest deforestation Trocaz pigeon endemic birds UNESCO heritage: the history of the laurisilva is also the history of its destruction: when the Portuguese first arrived in Madeira (1419 CE; João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira under Prince Henry the Navigator), the island was approximately 70% covered in laurisilva; the Portuguese settlers burned and cleared the forest for agriculture (sugar cane plantations; the first sugar crop was harvested in 1455 CE; Madeiran sugar was the dominant European sugar supply in the 15th century CE before Brazil replaced it); a famous account records that the forest fire used to clear the land burned for 7 years; by the 20th century CE, the laurisilva had been reduced to approximately 15% of its original area; the UNESCO-inscribed 15,000 hectares are the remnant; the northern highlands (inaccessible by road until the 20th century; too steep and cloudy for cultivation) survived the clearing that destroyed the rest of the island’s forest — the most precisely Laurisilva single 1419 Portuguese Zarco Teixeira Perestrelo settlement sugar cane clearing burning forest deforestation Trocaz pigeon endemic birds UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
What you see
The Trocaz pigeon and endemic wildlife (the most precisely Laurisilva single Trocaz pigeon Columba trocaz endemic Freira Pterodroma madeira Zino petrel Firecrest Regulus madeirensis Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs maderensis laurisilva UNESCO heritage: the ecological keystone of the laurisilva is the Trocaz pigeon (Columba trocaz; the Madeira laurel pigeon; endemic to Madeira; wingspan 40cm; a large, grey-blue pigeon with a silver neck patch; feeds on laurel fruits — especially Ocotea foetens berries (til berries) — and disperses the seeds through the forest; the pigeon is the primary seed disperser for the large-seeded Lauraceae trees; without the pigeon, the laurel trees cannot regenerate adequately; the pigeon was hunted to near extinction in the 20th century (the meat is considered a delicacy; intensive hunting reduced the population to approximately 3,000 individuals); the UNESCO protection has allowed the population to recover (currently approximately 30,000 individuals); the endemic birds of the laurisilva: the Madeiran Firecrest (Regulus madeirensis; the island’s endemic sub-species); the Trocaz; and the critically endangered Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma madeira — the Freira; breeds only on the highest central cliffs of Madeira; fewer than 250 breeding pairs; the most endangered seabird in the North Atlantic) — the most precisely Laurisilva single Trocaz pigeon Columba trocaz endemic Freira Pterodroma madeira Zino petrel Firecrest Regulus madeirensis Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs maderensis laurisilva UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
Practical information
- Getting there: Madeira Airport (FNC; Funchal; Madeira’s airport is notorious for its short runway extending over the sea on steel stilts — a landmark of engineering that was once considered the most challenging commercial airport approach in the world; TAP Portugal flies from Lisbon (LIS; 1h35m; multiple daily); easyJet, Ryanair, and British Airways fly from various UK airports (2h30m-2h50m); many EU and UK city connections); from Funchal to the laurisilva: hire car recommended (the roads into the highlands; the Paúl da Serra plateau is accessible via the EN204; the north coast villages of São Vicente, Seixal, and São Jorge are the gateways to the best levada trails through the laurisilva); the best levada walks into the UNESCO core area: Levada do Caldeirão Verde (12 km; one-way from Queimadas park; through the most impressive section of the forest; the path goes through four tunnels cut through the rock; head-torch essential; 4h return); Levada das 25 Fontes (8 km return; easier; the 25 springs waterfall at the end)
Getting there
Funchal Airport (FNC) 1h35m from Lisbon, 2h30m-2h50m from UK. Hire car for highlands access. Best levada: Caldeirão Verde (12 km; head-torch required). GPS: 32.7740, -17.0000.
Nearby
- Funchal Old Town — the rua de Santa Maria (the oldest street in Funchal; the painted door project — each door of the street has been painted by an artist, creating an outdoor gallery); the Mercado dos Lavradores (the Friday farmers’ market; the costumes of the rural women vendors; the displays of tropical fruit — including the Madeiran banana (smaller, sweeter, and more fragrant than the supermarket banana); the orchid sellers); the cable car from Funchal to Monte (15 min; views over the city and harbour)
- Porto Santo — 45 km northeast; the neighboring island of the Madeiran archipelago; accessible by 2h ferry (Porto Santo Line) or 15 min flight; famous for the 9 km golden sand beach (unique in the archipelago — Madeira itself has no sand beaches); the house of Christopher Columbus (Columbus lived in Porto Santo briefly in the 1470s-1480s CE when he was working as a sugar merchant for a Genoese firm; the museum in the house where he lived)
Sources
- Wikipedia, Laurisilva of Madeira; Levada; Trocaz pigeon, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Laurisilva of Madeira, WHS reference 934, inscribed 1999
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