Faja dos Padres, Madeira

Travel Guide • Madeira

Faja dos Padres

Restaurant and hotel

You are about to discover one of the most beautiful places in the world for swimming, snorkelling, walking, seeing and eating the most beautiful fruit and vegetables in the island. Faja dos Padres is a little paradise that you have to discover urgently. You will have to take a special lift, on the cliffside to get to the place! Be brave, the place deserves it!

Fajã dos Padres has the shape of a small piece of land, at the bottom of a cliff approximately 250 meters high, located in the southern coast of Madeira. The cliff represents an enormous barrier to the north, thus Fajã opens itself wide toward the south, allowing an easy access to the sea through a narrow rocky beach, which forms a small bay at the centre.

Go down the lift, if you wish to arrive comfortably and quickly, and if you are not too fearful of heights.

Should you prefer the sea, enjoy the views of the southern coast of Madeira, leaving Funchal, going past the bay of Câmara de Lobos and under the impressive cliff of Cabo Girão.

And do dive! The seawater has a mild temperature throughout the whole year, the sea is calm most of the days and the water generally has an irresistible transparency.

If you love scuba diving you will find some very interesting rocky banks at bay. If on the other hand you prefer surfing, you should consider visiting Fajã in the winter. The waves are enticing but only for highly experienced surfers.

Go along the seaside path, from the restaurant up to the “Boat House”. Follow the orchards of mangos, avocado pears, all the way to where the banana trees start.

The whole path is wisely covered by a trellis of malmsey wine, because in the summer the heat can be daunting...

In the end of the path, discover a group of Surinam cherry trees, loaded with fruits several times a year.

Bungalows and holiday houses

Some of the former buildings of Fajã dos Padres were recovered and adjusted to tourism facilities. Discover them, and take pleasure in the peculiar details of each of the now recovered houses. A night in the Boat House is an invitation to the experience of waking up rocked by the murmur of waves rolling on the beach, smelling the aroma of ripe fruit and enjoying a fabulous view of the sea.

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