Madeira, Portugal, has the highest cape in Europe, 580 m tall Cabo Girao. And as a lot of other places around the world, to accommodate visitors who want to experience the cliff, a neat setup has been created. In this case a SkyWalk, a glass platform. It is in fact a plateau made out of bricks, with glass floor extensions. If you don’t feel inclined to step out onto the glass, you’ll be just as fine sticking to the brick section. From the SkyWalk you have a nice view of the coastline, all the way to Funchal, and of the “endless” Atlantic Ocean. What is really cool though are the cultivated wave-cut platforms far below. At one time the farmers could access by boat only, but now there is a cable car running. Seems it is open to visitors also. I did not go for it. In hindsight, I should have. Would have been cool. The departure point must be somewhere else as I didn’t spot any. Also, I imagine this would be a great place for sunrise/sunset. In addition to the platform itself, there are souvenir shops and a cafe. How to get there? Jump on the Yellow Bus!
The YELLOW BUS departs from the waterfront in Funchal. Stop is called Avenida do Mar Funchal Marina Terminal. It was more off than I expected, so leave some time to find it. The more well-known City Sightseeing bus departs from the same spot, so make sure you get on the right one, as City Sightseeing do not go to Cabo Girao, if that’s a thing you wanna do. First you are taken on a loop around Funchal. Not the most exciting as I had already crisscrossed the city centre plenty. I did see a couple of spots I had not been to, but, yeah, not a must do. After leaving the downtown area, we started climbing through residential/suburban areas to Pico dos Barcelos, which provides great views of the mountains and Funchal. After descending it was more or less highway driving all the way to Camara de Lobos. In Camara de Lobos you need to change to another bus/route, if you want to visit the Cabo Girao Skywalk. Easy transfer. Now you’re on a smaller bus taking you up again, towards the viewpoint (only stop), but this time through more rural farmland, for 35 minutes. What’s perfect with this way of visiting the cliff, is that the bus waits for you at the glass platform. You are given 15 minutes, which I found to be enough. You can of course wait for the next departure. Going back down, same scenery, but from Camara de Lobos to Funchal you take the coastal road through what appeared, to me, to be a high-end hotel area. Apparently this is your access to the Lido Promenade and Formosa Beach.
