Things to do in Ribeiro Frio

Ribeiro Frio sits in the mountain interior, roughly a 30-minute drive from Funchal on the ER103, and it is the one levada stop you can reach without a shuttle. 5 kilometres each way on flat, easy ground, taking under an hour there and back for a viewpoint over the Pico do Arieiro and Pico Ruivo ridge.

The longer Levada do Furado also starts here, heading east towards Portela in around 3 hours one way. Expect cooler air than Funchal year-round, often 5 to 8 degrees Celsius lower, and cloud that rolls in by midday, so an early start pays off. There is no entry fee to walk from the car park itself, though official PR trails elsewhere on the island now carry a charge.