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🏔️ Peak

Pico do Castelo

At 437 m, one of the widest views on the island: the bay, the centre of Vila Baleira and several islets, including Ilhéu da Cal and Ilhéu de Cima. On the summit survive the traces of a small 16th-century fortress built to protect the inhabitants from frequent raids by French pirates; a few cannons are still in place, and the Canhão viewpoint at the foot of the trail is named after them. The peak, now covered in conifers, was once far barer: in the 1920s António Schiappa de Azevedo led its reforestation with crews who carried materials and trees up by hand — his bust stands near the top. Aleppo pines and dragon trees line the classified PS PR2 trail (3.2 or 4.6 km from Moledo; €4.50 for non-residents over 12). A road climbs almost to the summit, where there is a viewpoint and a picnic area.

  • 16th-c. fortress
  • Cannons
  • 1920s reforestation
  • PS PR2
  • Picnic area
Altitude
437 m
Price
Road: free · PS PR2: €4.50
Duration
1:30–2:15 (PS PR2)
Difficulty
Easy
Crowds
Moderate
GPS
33.08069, -16.33392
🧭 How to get there
The place stands 303 m from the sítio of Casinhas, the nearest one (Porto Santo).
🅿️ Parking
The nearest public car park is 864 m away.
📖 History and nature
Standing alone on the slope of Pico do Castelo, destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt in the 20th century, it keeps a 16th-century Virgin from a Flemish workshop. Its feast on 15 August is one of the island's best attended. In the same year Funchal was sacked for fifteen days by the French under Peyrot de Monluc. On Pico do Castelo a 16th-century fortlet served as a refuge from these raids; on Pico do Facho, fires warned of approaching ships.
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Good to know about Pico do Castelo4

  • 1533 — Graça chapel — Founded in 1533, a refuge during raids

    Standing alone on the slope of Pico do Castelo, destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt in the 20th century, it keeps a 16th-century Virgin from a Flemish workshop. Its feast on 15 August is one of the island's best attended.

  • 1566 — French corsairs — The church is pillaged and almost destroyed

    In the same year Funchal was sacked for fifteen days by the French under Peyrot de Monluc. On Pico do Castelo a 16th-century fortlet served as a refuge from these raids; on Pico do Facho, fires warned of approaching ships.

  • 1920s — Reforestation — António Schiappa de Azevedo plants Pico do Castelo

    Trees and materials were carried by hand up a bare peak; a further conifer campaign covered the slope in the 1950s. His bust stands near the summit.

  • The Pico do Facho path — Unmarked vereda from Pico do Castelo

    No road reaches the summit; the path starts at Pico do Castelo. It is not a classified trail and has no official distance or time. The name recalls the fires (fachos) lit to signal approaching pirate ships.

Services within 1.5 km8

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