Things to do in Rabaçal

Rabaçal sits on the Paul da Serra plateau, about 45 minutes by car from Funchal along the ER110, and it exists as a trailhead rather than a village. Private cars are banned on the final access road, so everyone parks at the top and takes the obligatory shuttle down to the Rabaçal house, a short ride that costs around 3 euros return and runs roughly every 15 to 20 minutes through the day.

5 kilometres to a waterfall. Both are paid PR trails booked in advance, and temperatures up here rarely climb past 15-16°C even when Funchal is basking at 24°C.