Pico do Arieiro
Pico do Arieiro, north side, main peak center left
View from Pico do Arieiro
The Pico do Arieiro (including Pico do Areeiro ) is at an altitude of 1818 m, the third highest mountain in Madeira. It is in contrast to the two higher peaks Pico Ruivo (1861 m) and Pico das Torres (1851 m) opened up with a road and therefore the most visited summit of the island. Below the summit are to cope with the everyday tourist flows a large parking area and a cafeteria with a souvenir shop, the Pousada forfeited.
The approximately 50 kilometers to the neighboring island of Porto Santo can also be recognized on the horizon, as the nearer Deserted Islands. In autumn, the Ponta de São Lourenço can be early in the morning thanks to the clear visibility recognize that disappears in summer or later in the day in the haze of rising damp vegetation. In winter it can cause momentary slippery road conditions due to snow and ice here.
From the summit of Pico do Arieiro from a hiking trail leads to the Pico das Torres around the highest peak of the island, the Pico Ruivo. The hike takes two and a half to three and a half hours. Until the 1960s it was a challenging mountaineering performance. Through the construction of secured stairways over the ridges and the tunnel through the Pico do Gato, it remains hard work, but is feasible for reasonably footed hikers with average fitness. In the middle distance section there are two possibilities. The simpler variant leads through the tunnel Pico das Torres, the other over the ridge of time. The tunnel option was locked because of a slope Abbruches a long time, but is currently (as of December 2011) easily passable.
From Pico Ruivo from can go down in an hour to Achada do Teixeira or in five hours to Boca da Encumeada, where again there is a road connection.