Tell me about the Caminho Real 24 hike in Madeira
💭 Thinking
The user is asking about the "Caminho Real 24" hike in Madeira. Let me look this up using the hikes tool to find information about this specific trail.The search for "Caminho Real 24" returned no results. Let me try searching with just "Caminho Real" or the PR code. The trail might be known as "PR 24" or "Caminho Real do Paul da Serra"or similar.The search for "Caminho Real 24" and "PR 24 Caminho Real" both returned no results. Let me try a broader search, maybe with slightly different naming. The trail might be listed under a different name. Let me try just "Caminho Real" or "PR24".The search results don't show a specific "Caminho Real 24" trail. Let me search more specifically - the trail might be known as "Caminho Real do Paul da Serra" or similar. Let me try a different search and also check the IFCN website.The find_hikes tool didn't return any results for "Caminho Real 24" or "PR 24" or "PR24". The web_lookup also didn't surface specific information about PR 24 / Caminho Real 24. Let me try one more approach - searching for this specific trail name, and also checking if it might be known by a different name or if it exists in the broader AllTrails community catalogue.
Let me try a more specific search and also try the find_hikes tool with different parameters.The search for "Caminho Real 24" didn't yield a specific PR 24 trail. The find_hikes tool returned results for "Caminho Real" trails but none with PR 24. Let me look more carefully at the results:
1. PR 3.1 - Caminho Real do Monte
2. PR 19 - Caminho Real do Paul do Mar
3. PR 12 - Caminho Real da Encumeada
And community trails about Caminho Real nº 23 (São Jorge area).
There is no PR 24 in the official IFCN trail network. The Madeira hiking websites and my searches don't show a "Caminho Real 24" trail. The "Caminho Real" (Royal Path) trails in Madeira include several numbered routes (PR 12, PR 19, PR 3.1) plus community routes like Caminho Real nº 23.
It's possible the user is thinking of "Caminho Real nº 24" which might not be an official PR trail, or they might be confusing it with Caminho Real nº 23 (which exists in the community trails), or they might mean one of the other "Caminho Real" trails.
Let me be honest: there is no official PR 24 or "Caminho Real 24" in our database. The Caminho Real trails we have are PR 12, PR 19, PR 3.1, and community trails like Caminho Real nº 23. I should tell the user this and suggest the closest matches.
Wait - let me reconsider. There could be a "Caminho Real 24" that's a historical royal path (not a PR trail). The "Caminhos Reais" are historical paths with numbers. Let me check if nº 24 exists. Looking at the community trails result, I see "Caminho Real nº 23" variants in the São Jorge area. The "Caminho Real" paths are numbered historical routes, separate from the PR system.
However, I don't have data on a Caminho Real nº 24 specifically. Let me present what I found and clarify that there's no PR 24 trail, but there are other Caminho Real trails.
How this was derived · 4 steps
TrailsMap & photos
Official PR trail (IFCN) Community route (AllTrails — not official)
- Caminho Real do Monte Directions
- Caminho Real do Paul do Mar Directions
- Caminho Real da Encumeada Directions
Photos: walkmeguide.com · green = official IFCN PR trail · amber = community route (AllTrails)
There's no trail officially numbered PR 24 or called "Caminho Real 24" in Madeira's official IFCN trail network. It's possible you're thinking of one of the existing Caminho Real (Royal Path) trails, which use different numbering systems. Here are the closest matches:
Official Caminho Real trails (PR network)
| Trail | Name | Route | Distance | Difficulty | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR 12 | Caminho Real da Encumeada | Boca da Corrida → Encumeada | 12.5 km | Moderate | ~5 h |
| PR 19 | Caminho Real do Paul do Mar | Prazeres → Paul do Mar | 1.8 km | Moderate | ~1 h 20 min |
| PR 3.1 | Caminho Real do Monte | Ribeira das Cales → Monte | 5.5 km | Moderate | ~2 h |
Community Caminho Real route (not an official IFCN PR trail)
The search also picked up Caminho Real nº 23 in the São Jorge / Santana area — a community-mapped route on AllTrails, not part of the official PR trail network managed by IFCN, so it has no official open/closed status:
- Calhau de São Jorge – Caminho Real nº 23 — 9.2 km, hard, 4–4.5 hr, 4.5★ (145 reviews). Coastal paths past ruins and viewpoints. Directions ↗
A couple of notes on the official trails:
- PR 12 (Caminho Real da Encumeada) is the grandest of the three — a ridge walk between Boca da Corrida and Encumeada reaching 1,323 m altitude, crossing Madeira's mountain spine with panoramic views of both the south and north coasts. Access fee: €4.50 (via SIMplifica).
- PR 19 (Caminho Real do Paul do Mar) is a short, steep descent from Prazeres down to the fishing village of Paul do Mar — great as a shorter walk with dramatic sea views. Same €4.50 access fee.
- PR 3.1 (Caminho Real do Monte) starts near Funchal's Ecological Park and descends to Monte — a good option if you want something close to the city.
Could you confirm which Caminho Real you had in mind? If it was one of these three, I can give you full details. Want me to check the mountain forecast and trail status for the day you're planning to go?
OpenMadeira can make mistakes — check the sources.