means only Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands
retain fragments of it. Most visitors may not even realise
it, but 15,000 hectares of Madeira is now a UNESCO World
Heritage site containing several unique species of plants
and animals. Some of its trees are up to 800 years old,
meaning they predate the island’s most recent human
settlement. Canyoning is a unique way to see it.
Madeira’s landscape changes as you travel through it.
Unlike French or Italian canyons, where the flora remains
more or less consistent, in a canyon here, the trees go from
mighty pines at the top to temperate laurel forest, down to
tropical ferns near the sea. In places the rocks are jagged,
in others you lie on your back and let the stream carry you
down a smooth channel to a pool below. Since the island
is so far south, it’s possible to canyon all year round, as
winters are mild, warm even. Madeira’s highest peaks see
snow, but only a kilometre or so down the road, tropical
flowers bloom next to banana plantations.
The sport represents a new direction for the island.
“
Many people still think of Madeira as a place for old
people,” says one hotel manager I spoke to, adding,
“
Canyoning could help to change that.”
Funchal, the capital, is a stately, post-colonial place,
with Portuguese cathedrals, twisting streets and a strip
of lively bars. Cruise ships dock at least daily and it seems
few of their passengers visit to go canyoning, but Madeira
Adventure Kingdom (
madeira-adventure-kingdom.com
),
one of the leading canyoning companies, says its customer
numbers have increased in every one of the four years it
has been operating.
I placed my faith in them. We were five: guides Fabio
and Filipe; Tom, the photographer; and Ulisses, the
promisingly named manager of our hotel who’d blithely
asked to come along. The fates have a sense of humour:
our canyon was the Ribeiro Frio, the cold river. At the top,
we pulled on thermal wetsuits, neoprene socks, strapped
on our harnesses and adjusted our building-site helmets.
There was just enough time to wonder if it was too late
THE FATES HAVE A SENSE
OF HUMOUR: OUR CANYON
WAS THE RIBEIRO FRIO,
THE COLD RIVER. AT THE TOP,
WE PULLED ON THERMAL
WETSUITS AND HARNESSES
AND ADJUSTED OUR HELMETS
»
08
Guides Fabio and Filipe
were encouraging and
helpful, and inspired
confidence that we'd
all get down
C A N Y O N I N G
M A D E I R A
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