Tell me about the Ponta do Poiso Trail hike in Madeira
💭 Thinking
The user is asking about the "Ponta do Poiso Trail" hike in Madeira. Let me search for this trail using the find_hikes tool.The search for "Ponta do Poiso" didn't return a direct match in the official IFCN trail results. The results returned nearby trails but none specifically named "Ponta do Poiso." Let me check if there's a community trail or if I need to search more specifically.
Looking at the results:
- The official IFCN trails returned are: PR 2 Vereda do Urzal, PR 4 Levada do Barreiro, PR 22 Vereda do Chão dos Louros, PR 3 Vereda do Burro, PR 1 Vereda do Areeiro
- The community trails are all in the Queimadas/Caldeirão Verde/Pico Ruivo area
None of these match "Ponta do Poiso" specifically. "Ponta do Poiso" could be a lesser-known trail or area. Let me search more specifically for it - perhaps I need to search with just the trail name directly.
Actually, looking more carefully - "Ponta do Poiso" (sometimes spelled "Ponta do Pôiso") doesn't appear to be an official PR trail in Madeira. It seems to be a geographic point/area. Let me do a web lookup to find more information about this trail.
Wait, actually looking at the PR 3 Vereda do Burro result - it mentions "Pico do Areeiro – Ribeira das Cales" as the route. The PR 1 mentions "Pico do Areeiro – Pico Ruivo". Neither is "Ponta do Poiso".
Let me search the web for more info about this trail, as our database doesn't seem to have it as an official PRtrail.The user asked about the "Ponta do Poiso Trail" in Madeira. Let me search through the results carefully.
From the find_hikes search with query "Ponta do Poiso", no exact match was found in the official PR trails. The results returned trails near "Ponta do Poiso" (which the tool interpreted as a place near Fanal/Porto Moniz area).
From the web_lookup, I can see:
- A mention from mamanvoyage.com: "La Ponta do Poiso – very easy – duration: 30 minutes round trip. It's a mini hike on a maintained path offering views of the Veil of the Bride waterfall. Not essential, but if you happen to be nearby along the north coast, why not!"
This seems to be a small, easy walk near Ponta do Poiso (which is on the north coast). It's NOT an official PR trail, but rather a short viewpoint walk.
There's no official "Ponta do Poiso Trail" in our IFCN data - it's not listed as a PR trail. Let me check the find_hikes results more carefully - no PR trail by that name.
From the AllTrails community trails near Ponta do Poiso, none match "Ponta do Poiso" exactly.
The web search result from mamanvoyage.com describes it as a "very easy" mini-hike of about 30 minutes round trip, offering views of the Veil of the Bride waterfall (Véu da Noiva), along the north coast.
Let me also note that "Poiso" (without "Ponta do") is a different place - a mountain pass/area at around 1,400m in the central mountains (near Pico do Areeiro). The "Ponta do Poiso" appears to be a coastal location on the north side of the island.
I should be honest that there's no official PR trail called "Ponta do Poiso Trail" in the IFCN register. What the user may be referring to is a small, informal coastal walk near Ponta do Poiso on the north coast. Let me provide what I found and also mention nearby official trails.
Let me also check if there's an elevation/place lookup I should do.interesting - the elevation is only 9m, which suggests this is a coastal location, not the mountain "Poiso" pass. The user asked about "Ponta do Poiso Trail" — let me look more carefully.
"Ponta do Poiso" — this seems like it could be a coastal viewpoint/trail on the north coast. The elevation of 9m confirms it's a coastal point.
Looking at the web search results, I found a reference from Maman Voyage:
"La Ponta do Poiso – very easy – duration: 30 minutes round trip — It's a mini hike on a maintained path offering views of the Veil of the Bride waterfall. Not essential, but if you happen to be nearby along the north coast, why not!"
This describes it as a very easy, short (30 min round trip) walk on the north coast with views of the "Veil of the Bride" (Véu da Noiva) waterfall.
My hike search didn't find an official IFCN PR trail called "Ponta do Poiso" — it's not in the official PR network. It also didn't appear in the community trails list. And the first search (general "Madeira" query) returned hikes around the central mountains (Poiso pass area), not this coastal trail.
So "Ponta do Poiso" is a short, unofficial coastal walk near the Véu da Noiva waterfall on the north coast. It's not part of the official IFCN PR network.
Let me be honest about what I found and what I didn't find. The terrain check returned elevation 9m (coastal), confirming it's on the north coast.
Let me also search for more specific info about thistrail.Now I have a much clearer picture. The user asked about "Ponta do Poiso Trail" in Madeira. Based on my research, there are two distinct things called "Poiso" in Madeira:
1. **Poiso** (or Ponta do Piso) — a viewpoint/area on the north coast near the Véu da Noiva (Bride's Veil) waterfall, between Seixal and São Vicente. The Wikipedia article on the Véu da Noiva waterfall mentions "Nas imediações encontra-se a ponta do poiso" (nearby is Ponta do Poiso). This is a roadside viewpoint, NOT an official hiking trail.
2. **Poiso** (the mountain area) — a well-known trailhead and rest area at ~1,400m altitude in the central mountains, near Pico do Areeiro. There are trail running routes called "Poiso Trail" that start here.
The Maman Voyage blog mentions "Ponta do Poiso" specifically as "a mini hike on a maintained path offering views of the Veil of the Bride waterfall" — very easy, 30 minutes round trip.
The check_terrain result returned "Ponta do Poiso" at only 9m elevation, confirming it's on the coast near the Véu da Noiva.
The "Poiso Trail" (without "Ponta") from 2madeira.com is a trail running route starting from Poiso in the central mountains (at ~1,400m), going through Chão da Lagoa to Pico do Areeiro and back via Levada do Blandy.
The user asked about "Ponta do Poiso Trail" — this seems to be the small walk near the Véu da Noiva waterfall viewpoint on the north coast, not the highland Poiso trail. But it could also be confused with the highland Poiso trail.
Let me clarify: "Ponta do Poiso" (the coastal spot near Véu da Noiva) is NOT an official IFCN PR trail. It's mentioned in a hiking blog as a very short, easy walk (~30 min round trip) with views of the Véu da Noiva waterfall. It's a roadside viewpoint area.
The highland "Poiso" is a different place entirely — a mountain pass area at around 1,400m, which is a starting point for various trails including PR 3 (Vereda do Burro) and trail running routes.
Since the user specifically said "Ponta do Poiso Trail," I should address what this actually is. It's not an official PR trail. The closest match to what they're asking is the short coastal walk near the Véu da Noiva viewpoint on the north coast.
Let me provide a clear answer about what "Ponta do Poiso" is — it's a coastal point near the Véu da Noiva waterfall viewpoint, with a very short maintained path offering waterfall views. It's NOT an official IFCN hiking trail. And I should also mention the highland Poiso area in case they confused the two.
Actually, looking more carefully at my find_hikes results - I searched both "Ponta do Poiso" as a query and "Ponta do Poiso" as a nearby place. Neither returned an official PR trail matching "Ponta do Poiso." The hikes returned were nearby trails in the Fanal/Rabaçal area (which is the closest official trail network to Ponta do Poiso on the north coast).
So my conclusion: "Ponta do Poiso Trail" is NOT an official IFCN PR trail. It appears to be a very short, easy path near the Véu da Noiva (Bride's Veil) waterfall viewpoint on the north coast between Seixal and São Vicente. The Wikipedia entry confirms that "Ponta do Poiso" is nearby the Véu da Noiva waterfall.
I should give the user a clear answer about what this is, and also mention the nearby official trails in case they're looking for a proper hike inthe area.
Photos: walkmeguide.com · green = official IFCN PR trail · amber = community route (AllTrails)
Ponta do Poiso — What It Actually Is
Ponta do Poiso (sometimes written "Ponta do Piso") is not an official IFCN hiking trail — it's a coastal point near the famous Véu da Noiva (Bride's Veil) viewpoint on Madeira's north coast, between Seixal and São Vicente. There's a very short, easy maintained path there (about 30 minutes round trip) that offers views of the Véu da Noiva waterfall plunging down the cliffs into the Atlantic (Maman Voyage). It's more of a scenic roadside stop than a proper hike.
The Véu da Noiva waterfall is about 90 m tall and flows year-round. The viewpoint is right off the old ER101 coastal road, with a free car park, a snack bar, and a viewing platform — no hiking required to see it. After a landslide in 2008, you can no longer walk down to the waterfall's base; the safe viewing point is from above (Visit Madeira).
Could You Mean the Highland "Poiso"?
There's another area simply called Poiso (no "Ponta") — a mountain pass at around 1,400 m altitude near Pico do Areeiro, with a popular rest stop and restaurant (Abrigo do Poiso). Several trail-running routes and official PR trails start from there:
Trail
PR Code
Difficulty
Distance
Key Details
Vereda do Burro
PR 3
Easy
6.7 km
Pico do Areeiro → Ribeira das Cales; high-altitude start (1,805 m)
Vereda do Areeiro
PR 1
Moderate
6.1 km
Pico do Areeiro → Pico Ruivo; island's most iconic ridge walk
The popular "Poiso Trail" running route goes: Poiso → Chão da Lagoa → Pico do Areeiro → Levada do Blandy → Poiso — a 13.6 km loop with 673 m of elevation gain (2Madeira).
Official Trails Near Ponta do Poiso (Véu da Noiva area)
If you're looking for a proper hike on the north coast near Ponta do Poiso, here are the closest official PR trails:
Trail
PR Code
Difficulty
Distance
Drive from Véu da Noiva
Vereda da Ribeira da Janela
PR 15
Moderate
2.7 km
~12 min
Levada Fajã do Rodrigues
PR 16
Moderate
3.9 km
~16 min
Levada dos Cedros
PR 14
Moderate
7.2 km
~20 min
Vereda da Palha Carga
PR 13.1
Moderate
1.8 km
~24 min
Vereda do Fanal
PR 13
Moderate
10.8 km
~26 min
Would you like details on any of these nearby official trails, or were you thinking of the highland Poiso trail-running loop near Pico do Areeiro?
OpenMadeira can make mistakes — check the sources.