The presence of rubbish along the trail between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo is generating criticism from hikers and mountain guides, who are questioning both the maintenance of one of Madeira’s most popular walking routes and how the revenue from admission fees is being used.
Tissues, cigarette ends and plastic bags are among the waste reportedly found along PR1, which crosses Madeira’s Central Mountain Massif, an environmentally sensitive, protected area within the Madeira Natural Park.
Some guides argue that, if visitors are required to pay to use the island’s classified trails, a proportion of that revenue should ensure the routes remain clean, properly maintained and safe. However, the problem is also being aggravated by the thoughtless behaviour of hikers who leave their rubbish behind.
“I agree with charging people to use the levadas and trails if the money is used to keep them clean and safe. But the reality is that we are seeing neither one thing nor the other,” one mountain guide told DIÁRIO, sharing photographs of waste found along PR1.
“We also found so many cigarette ends at the top of Pico Ruivo,” he added.
The complaints come as visitor numbers place increasing pressure on Madeira’s most popular natural attractions. I was at Pico do Areeiro yesterday and can confirm that it was manic, with large numbers of people passing through the area.
One particularly troubling sight was the man controlling access at the gate. Despite working for hours in blazing sunshine, he appeared to have no shelter or proper protection and had resorted to wearing a towel over his head. Whatever arrangements are in place for managing the crowds, basic shade should surely be provided for staff stationed there. There was also a powerful smell of lavatories hanging in the air.
PR1 reopened in April following work to repair damage caused by a major collapse during the August 2024 fires. The section between the Pedra Rija viewpoint and Pico Ruivo was particularly badly affected.
Because of the high demand, access must now be booked in advance through the Simplifica portal, with entry slots available every 30 minutes. The charge is €10.50 per hiker, while residents of the Autonomous Region of Madeira can use the route free of charge.
Critics say the fee is difficult to reconcile with rubbish and apparent maintenance shortcomings along a trail receiving such a high number of visitors each day.
In November 2025, the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN) awarded a €75,000 contract to Montanhas Assertivas, a company established two months earlier, for rubbish collection and cleaning in natural areas under its management.
The two-month contract included weekly rubbish collections at Fanal and Rabaçal, as well as cleaning along seven classified walking routes, including PR1 – Vereda do Areeiro. It covered a stated intervention area of 3,735 square metres.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Once the contract ended, the IFCN reportedly resumed responsibility for the work using its own resources. A new procurement procedure for cleaning services was subsequently launched and has now reportedly been awarded.
Volunteers had already sounded the alarm
This is not the first warning about increasing amounts of rubbish on Madeira’s walking trails.
At the end of July, 11 volunteers—Madeirans and foreign residents—carried out a clean-up operation along the Vereda do Larano. Led by walking guide Paulo, from Teles Mountain Guide Madeira, the group collected toilet paper, cigarette ends and other discarded waste.
The volunteers said the problem was not confined to Larano but was becoming increasingly visible along many of Madeira’s levadas and walking routes. They called on the Regional Government and local councils to introduce a public awareness campaign reminding walkers that everything they take into the mountains must be brought back with them.
The two cases raise a broader question: with visitor numbers and trail charges increasing, are enough resources being devoted to protecting Madeira’s mountains—and to looking after the people employed to manage them?
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