Hiking in Madeira is probably one of the most rewarding times you’ll spend with nature anywhere. The trails, called Levadas, are daring and steep but the views are humbling and breathtaking.
Sometimes they are slippery and the slopes are sharp. Sometimes you feel like you are walking with the clouds.
Levadas force you to question your abilities, yet nature urges you on with its soft mountain breeze, whispering, you can do it.
They are a lesson in gratitude and peace if you’re just looking for some pause and you need to get away from yourself and your traumas as the centre of attention.
My greatest regret is never having taken one. At least not a paid one. Many companies offer paid Levadas with experienced guides to take newcomers through the terrain.
Because of the Island’s natural mountainous terrain and my natural love for walking, I found myself taking or stumbling on trails of my own. But I still dream of starting and completing a guided trail at the most challenging difficulty level.
Just to bond with nature, and test my own limits, my discipline and determination.
I never really saw myself as a visitor, and the logistics of settling into a new town were quite time consuming, so I always pushed a paid guided tour to a later time that hasn’t come.
Levadas can be quite dauting, even dangerous for a visitor, so if you ever decide to take one, do it with a guide. But you have to do at least an easy one. It is the most respectful way of greeting and bonding with the island.
Every time I walk through this terrain, I let nature take the front burner. I marvel at my environment and think about ways to preserve it.
It really helps keep personal issues in perspective and appreciate that I am a little part of the family of nature.
For me, it’s the biggest attraction in my town. That’s why I was so excited to get introduced to an app called WalkMe. It’s intuitive and user friendly and mostly free.
With an intuitive app like WalkMe, I can view existing trails in 3D, check maps, the weather, even the difficulty level and then prepare myself.
Following directions through my chosen trail, I can start, pause, finish and then rate the trail. I look forward to unlocking tougher trails as I progress through easier ones.
Nature is always a great place to reflect, plan and refuel. Taking a walk through nature and just observing and learning is a double-benefits wellness program. You enhance your physical fitness while healing your soul as you connect with it.
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