Ribeira Brava volcanoes 4-day trail running, Madeira

The island of Madeira is a unique destination for trail running. Join Thibault, mountain leader and trail running expert, and explore the volcanoes around Ribeira Brava on this 4-day trail running tour.

4 Days

All year

High

Intermediate

Description

Madeira is a Portuguese island located in the Atlantic Ocean. Ribeira Brava is a beautiful town on the southern coast of the island. This will be our starting point for an amazing 4-day (and 4-night) trail running tour in a volcanic area. I’ll be guiding you together with a local guide.

The first day will be dedicated to get to know each other and the environment, and then we will have three full days for trail running. I have planned different trails for each day, with different difficulty levels. You can see more details in the itinerary below but, just to get your imagination going, these itineraries include:
– Waterfalls and tunnels
– The central massif
– Sisters valley

Three days of trails between volcanic paths, waterfalls and stony ascents. You will reach summits and discover Madeira to the rhythm of your running.

Known for its volcanic scenery, the center of Madeira is a succession of small mountain-volcanoes (the highest summit is at 1800m). Literally meaning ‘Island of the Woods’, Madeira offers you as many single forest tracks as ridges. This will provide a real mountain running experience. The island also enjoys pleasant weather throughout the year.

Want to join me on this exciting trail running adventure? Then please request to book this trip, as I would love to guide you running around the amazing natural environment of this Portuguese island.

Trail running is my passion, and some of the other programs I offer are in Engreux, Les Hautes Fagnes and Bouillon in Belgium. Check them out if you want options in my country!

Price includes

Accommodation included
Guiding fee
Transport during the trip
Transportation start and back
Flight to the start

Price details

The price includes flights from Brussels to Madeira. The price might be different if you come from somewhere else.
The price doesn't include the food besides the breakfasts, the personal expenses, the tips and your personal insurance (health and repatriation).

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival

Meeting at the Brussels airport or in Funchal directly. Flight Brussels – Funchal with stopover at Lisbon. Transfer to Ribeira Brava by bus (50min). Arrival at the Encumeada hotel around 12:30PM.
The hotel is located at the Encumeada pass, from where many hiking paths start. It marks the north-south division of the Madeira island.
We will discover the environment and prepare the equipment.

Day 2: Trail 1

Breakfast at the hotel. We will meet the local guide.
Today we start the Trail 1 “Waterfalls and tunnels”, 17km, 600m D+.
We start slowly, and will progress along the Levadas. It is a spectacular itinerary.
The day is not very technical on paved and dirt trails. It will be a great warming up day.
return to the hotel in the late morning. Afternoon off.

Day 3: Trail 2

Breakfast at the hotel, and we leave for the Trail 2 “The central massif”, 27km, 1500m D+.
Leaving from Boca da Corrida, today we will go higher, on a more technical ground, with stronger emotions. We will reach Nun’s Valley.
Throughout the itinerary we see peaks, plateaus, ridges.
Your poles will be important. We will be trail running during 6 hours.
Afternoon off.

Day 4: Trail 3

Breakfast at the hotel, and we leave for the Trail 3 “Sisters Valley”, 23km, 1900m D+.
This will be the last trail. It starts very intensely with 1 kilometer vertical. The reward? A wonderful valley. Then we continue to ascend, and the trail ends with a very technical descent, part of the famous MIUT (Madeira island ultra-trail).
Today it will be very important to control your rhythm and energy.

Day 5: Departure

Breakfast at the hotel, bus transfer to Funchal airport, flight back to Brussels or to your country.

Details

More info

Price:

group of 8: 1100€ per person
group of 11: 1000€ per person
group of 15: 900€ per person

A local guide will also join us.

Level:

Btrail index: 40-50%, proper experience in mountain hiking
15KM 300D+
Running rhythm: 5.45-5.15 min/km, between 300 and 1000 D+

Equipment: hydratation backpack, at least 1.5L backup water, tights, shorts, t-shirt, underwear and trail socks, technical underwear, thermal long sleeved top, sports sunglasses, head cover, thin gloves, 2 pairs of trail shoes apt for the terrain, headlamp, tissues, replacement laces, trail sticks, clothing and shoes for before an after running, toiletries, earplugs, cash, individual pharmacy.

Meeting point

At Brussels airport, Funchal or directly at the Hotel Encumeada in Ribeira Brava at 12.30 on day 1.

About the guide

Thibault

4.6

(8)

Mountain Leader

Passionate about trail running, the outdoors and everything that nature provides to us, I got certified as a mountain leader by the Club Alpin Belge. I also work as a school teacher and devote my free time to my artistic pursuits.

Maps are another of my big passions. I collect them and spend hours looking at them and searching for the best itineraries in the Alps, the Andes, the Carpathians...and then I take you to explore them, running or walking.

My mission is to share with you the happiness that a high altitude lake can provide, the comfort that one can find in a rustic mountain hut and the excitement of walking along a mountain ridge. Looking forward to meeting you!

Languages

French | English

Request more information

What people are saying about Thibault

Valeria

First of all our guide was not Thibault as communicated initially but Nathalie. Already when in contact with Thibault communication wasn't smooth, he only replied via the platform days after the message with very short info. I had asked several times more details about the activity but I never got them...the day before I got a message from Nathalie just giving practical tips about clothes, meteo etc I was told that we would have had orienteering challenges in teams but on the day the guide was sending instructions to get to a point via smartphone (only to me) which was quite useless because I was the only one trying to find a way. On the other hand if she wanted to do something with smartphones she would have warned us in advance so that all colleagues would have had an active one and for exemple she could have sent the messages in a chat with everybody in. Anyway the best would have been to print out for us simple maps/instructions like the ones she had. All this should have been discussed and agreed with me/us in advance...otherwise it would have been far more interesting a simple walk with a guide that knows the history and characteristics of a place and that could tell us something (this was an offered option) interesting.

Pour ceux qu’un stage/week-end organisé de Trail tente, je ne pourrais que vous recommander Trek Atout. Superbe weekend passé dans les Hautes Fagnes... 3 sorties trail sur des tracés magnifiques, super encadrement et top ambiance... plus que vivement conseillé ! Merci Thibault

Des parcours magnifiques, un we bien rempli mais juste ce qu'il faut, un niveau adapté, une guide au top et un chouette logement ! En résumé, un we inoubliable.

J'ai participé à la journée rando-photos à Bouillon ce dimanche et j'ai adoré! C'était super interessant, le cours etait très bien donné, la prof nous a super bien coaché durant la rando et l'endroit était magnifique!! Vraiment a faire!! Je ferai sûrement d'autres cours chez vous pour me perfectionner maintenant!

Il y a juste deux petites semaines, j'ai participé à un weekend rando Trek Atout... Un superbe weekend ! Ok, la météo nous a fait un super cadeau : de la belle neige sur nos Fagnes! Mais tout de même, sans le "président" rien n'aurait été pareil ! Nous avons été accueillis comme des amis, Thibault nous a emmené sur des petits chemins et sentiers magnifiques, nous avons appris à jouer au whist, nous avons partagé l'apéro, Thibault nous a préparé une (demi)soupe sur un sol enneigé, nous avons échangé et beaucoup rigolé ! Je pourrais encore allonger la liste pour les non convaincus! ... Merci encore Trek Atout! (Depuis, je m'entraîne encore plus à la course à pied en espérant un jour faire un trail avec TrekAtout).