Landscapes of Madeira by John and Pat Underwood
Summary: Madeira walking and touring by car, walking in Madeira, Madeira walks, driving in Madeira, walks in Madeira, levada walking
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THE guide to Madeira for more than 25 years and a winner of the Thomas Cook Best Travel Guide Award. It really is indispensible if you want to explore the best of the island. This new 11th edition has been fully updated to reflect the many changes that have occurred since the previous edition was published. In particular changes necessitated by the the storm and fire damage that occurred in 2010 and 2011 have been taken into account in the updating of routes. The Sunday Times said: 'A remarkable paperback which may have done more than any other to change the way its readers spend their holidays: this book single-handedly turned levada-walking into something approaching a craze.'

While dedicated hikers will revel in the island's mountainous terrain, walking the 'levada' paths is one of the most popular activities with visitors. Levadas are watercourses that carry rainfall from the mountains to irrigate the cultivated terraces. These watercourses and their adjoining maintenance paths extend for an incredible 2150km/1350mi or more, but even more fascinating is their great variety. The older levadas, built centuries ago, are narrow and plummet steeply downhill from mountainside springs - really challenging walking. Their banks are covered with wild flowers, and the water rushes and foams with energy. The newer levadas are wide 'mini-canals' and run horizontally along the island's contours - ideal for easy walks. Their flow is stately and serene, and their banks are lovingly planted with agapanthus lilies and hydrangeas. Click here to see additional information about the history of the levada system in Madeira.

You may be interested to read the following comment by a user who told us that while working in Madeira in the 1950s he had explored the island relying on a pre-war map (with no guide book - there were none at that time) using his own initiative to follow old drovers and shepherds trails. In March 2001 he returned to the island for the first time in 46 years. On his return he wrote:

"It was with enormous relief therefore that before I returned with my wife last week I came across your book "Landscapes of Madeira". We were greatly impressed with the detail, accuracy and comprehensiveness of the guide and with the research that obviously went into it. May I congratulate you on the best guide book that I have come across. Despite having lived in, and visited, the Lake District over 60 years where there is a surfeit of guide books, I have not met your equal."

Best time to walk: Walking on Madeira is superb all year round.

Where to Stay: If you plan to use the local buses, stay in Funchal for ease of access to the entire island. But if you plan to hire a car, you have a much wider choice, including some good hotels in inland villages and in the mountains. For more information about Madeira and accommodation, see www.madeiratourism.org, www.visitingmadeira.com or www.madeira-island.com or www.madeira-web.com.

6 car tours, 100 long and short walks, 27 picnic suggestions, Plan of Funchal 144 pages + touring map

11th ed, January 2011 ISBN 1-85691-413-0 £12.99
Post paid UK £14.00; Europe £16.00; USA/Canada £17.00; Far East/Australasia £18.00
First class extra: UK 50p; Europe £1.00; USA/Canada £2.00; Far East/Australasia £3.00

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THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE OR IPAD USERS FROM AMAZON AND APPLE RESPECTIVELY This book is available from Amazon as a Kindle edition or from the Apple iBook Store as an iBook. Kindle editions can be viewed on a Kindle or on an iPad or iPhone or on a desktop computer or laptop provided you possess the Kindle app or the Kindle software for pc or Mac (available free from Amazon.) Kindle and iBook editions permit you to choose the size of type you prefer. To download the Kindle edition, visit Amazon's web site, select Kindle, then search for Sunflower Books and scroll down the available titles until you reach this one. To download the iBook version do a similar search on your iPad or iPhone.

We are at present still able to supply "MADEIRA PLANTS & FLOWERS" the guide to the island's plant life and it is available from Sunflower Books direct. This hardback book cannot be ordered online. Send us your request for it together with your cheque for £27.00 payable to Sunflower Books and we will send it by return. (Sunflower Books, PO Box 115, Exeter EX2 6YU). To the best of our knowledge it is not available from UK booksellers. Please note that our hardback souvenir book THE MADEIRA BOOK is now out of print. See also WALK & EAT MADEIRA which includes details of restaurants and cafés to visit - click here to see details.