Madeira Natural Park

The Madeira Natural Park is a large biological reserve created in 1982 to protect the archipelago’s natural heritage, and it covers nearly two-thirds of the island of Madeira. Within it are nature reserves, protected landscapes and leisure areas. The flora and fauna are highly endemic, and the park holds species of global rarity including Zino’s petrel. The laurel forest on the northern slopes is a relic of woodland that once covered much of southern Europe, and the levada channels that thread through it make it walkable.