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- Rota da Banana (Banana Route) 4.4 Directions
The Rota da Banana is a short, easy circular walk through the banana plantations of Madalena do Mar, a sunny coastal village on Madeira's south-west coast. It's a relaxed stroll — not a mountain levada — weaving through dense banana groves with sea views, where you can see banana bunches shielded in protective sacks, exotic Strelitzia flowers, and sugarcane plants along the way.
| Location | Madalena do Mar (municipality of Ponta do Sol) |
| Type | Loop (circular) |
| Distance | 1.9 km |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Duration | ~30 min – 1 hr |
| Altitude | ~12 m (essentially at sea level) |
| Rating | 4.5★ from 426 hiker reviews on AllTrails |
The trail is a shortened version of RB1: Vereda da Ladeira and is perfect for a relaxed walk — flat, scenic, and very accessible. It's one of the few routes on Madeira where agriculture, rather than levadas or mountain ridges, takes centre stage: you're literally strolling through working banana fields.
This is a community route mapped on AllTrails — it is NOT part of Madeira's official PR (Percurso Recomendado) trail network managed by IFCN (the regional government's forests and nature-conservation authority). That means it has no official open/closed status and no guarantee of maintenance or signage — check access and conditions locally before heading out.
- Directions to the trailhead ↗ — opens Google Maps routing from your location.
- By car, Madalena do Mar is roughly 30–35 minutes west of Funchal along the ER223 coastal road.
- The village is also served by regional buses (Rodoeste/SIGA network).
Would you like me to check how to get there by bus from where you're staying, or see the closest official PR trails nearby?