Things to do in Fanal

Fanal sits at the north-western edge of the Paul da Serra plateau, about 45 minutes by car from Funchal, at roughly 1,000 metres of altitude.

It is a small stand of ancient til trees (Ocotea foetens), some centuries old, twisted into shapes that only become the famous photograph when Atlantic cloud rolls across the plateau and cuts visibility to a few metres.

That cloud is common in the afternoon but not guaranteed at any given hour, and without it Fanal is an open, windswept pasture with a few gnarled trunks and little else to see. The unpaved access road can be rough after rain, and there is no shelter, café or facility on site, so a full tank and appropriate footwear from Funchal are worth planning for.