Ribeira Da Vaca: Trails between the Chapel and the Levada

Ribeira Da Vaca brings together hiking trails and a distinctive mix of a chapel, levada, meadows, pastures and a valley. For travellers who enjoy spending their days outdoors, the differences between the trails are a good starting point for planning a holiday. A historic manor house adds a cultural touch to the landscape. When looking for a holiday apartment, it is therefore worth first considering what kind of trail appeals to you.

Hiking trails by landscape and route type

The “Circular Route Ponta do Pargo” starts at the Boa Morte Chapel and leads across meadows and pastures down into the Ribeira da Vaca valley. The descent and the transition from pastureland to valley give this circular route a distinctive landscape profile. If you enjoy combining different sections on one hike, this is a useful point of reference when choosing a trail.

Another circular route leads from the Nossa Senhora de Boa Morte Chapel via the ER101 to Levada Nova da Calheta. After about 2.3 kilometres, the route passes low-density development with holiday accommodation near Ribeira da Vaca. The “Circular Route Ponta do Pargo” runs partly along Levada Nova. The trails therefore have different points of focus: one features a descent into the valley, while the other takes in the levada and a road crossing.

For a hike with a stated distance, Levada da Ponta do Pargo offers a different point of comparison: it is an easy, 8.1-kilometre point-to-point hiking trail from Ponta do Pargo to Lombada Velha. Unlike the circular routes mentioned above, this trail specifies a distance as well as a start and end point. This lets you compare a circular route with changing landscape sections against a linear route with a stated length.

Route conditions may change; check them before hiking. When looking for a holiday apartment, your preferred style of outing is a useful starting point: consider whether you are most drawn to the valley and pastures, the levada routes or a point-to-point trail. This will help you choose based on the kinds of landscapes you want to shape your stay.

Landscape and local cultural heritage

Ribeira da Vaca is classified as a canyon in Calheta. This landscape designation offers another point of reference alongside the hiking trails if you are planning your trip around nature. Together with the routes through meadows, pastures and the valley, it offers more than one way to include the area in your holiday plans.

A historic manor house is located in the Ribeira da Vaca area of Ponta do Pargo, Calheta, and is classified as an asset of local value. It adds a historical dimension to the hiking and landscape themes. If you are considering local architectural history as well as the trails when planning your trip, this offers a distinct point of interest.

The landscapes along these trails can help narrow down what you are looking for: the circular routes take in the valley, pastureland and levada, while the trail to Lombada Velha has a stated length and two endpoints. You can use these differences to guide your search for a holiday apartment in Ribeira Da Vaca, without treating the different types of routes as equivalent.

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