Skip to content
forestyas
EN

Portugal Portugal forest

Laurisilva of Madeira

Hannes Grobe · CC BY-SA 2.5

86% trees around it and 537 species recorded.

92Forestyas Score

ForestDense canopyWildFungiWorld Heritage

  • trees within 3 km86%
  • wild within 10 km99%
  • species recorded537
  • Altitude775 m

The forest around

86% trees.

Read like the rings of a cut trunk: from the centre out, the land within 1, 3, 6 and 10 km, coloured by what covers it.

Trees 96%Shrubland 0%Grassland 4%Trees 85%Shrubland 3%Grassland 11%Built-up 0%Trees 78%Shrubland 2%Grassland 19%Water 1%Built-up 1%Trees 55%Shrubland 2%Grassland 21%Water 22%Bare ground 0%Built-up 1%86%trees · 3 km

Trees, ring by ring

  • 0–1 km96%
  • 1–3 km85%
  • 3–6 km78%
  • 6–10 km55%

What covers the land (1–3 km)

  • Trees85%
  • Shrubland3%
  • Grassland11%
  • Water0%
  • Built-up0%

ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m, from Sentinel satellites), sampled every 120 m. A clearing, a road or a lake counts as what it is.

Who lives here

537 species recorded.

The plants, fungi, birds and mammals people have recorded here most often.

Earleaf nightshade
Earleaf nightshadeSolanum mauritianum81 recordsPeter Greenwell · CC BY-SA 3.0
Laurus novocanariensis
Laurus novocanariensisLaurus novocanariensis74 recordsFrank Vincentz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Woolly Tree FernNT
Woolly Tree FernCulcita macrocarpa62 recordsAshley Basil from uk · CC BY 2.0
Kidney bean
Kidney beanPhaseolus vulgaris58 recordsRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0
Erica platycodon
Erica platycodonErica platycodon55 recordsThomas Dellinger ( Frthde ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Persea indica
Persea indicaPersea indica54 recordsMeneerke bloem · CC BY-SA 4.0
Euphorbia mellifera
Euphorbia melliferaEuphorbia mellifera53 recordsen:user:Ramin Nakisa · CC BY-SA 3.0
Phyllis nobla
Phyllis noblaPhyllis nobla51 recordspropia · Public domain
Sticky snakeroot
Sticky snakerootAgeratina adenophora46 recordsIxitixel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rooting chainfernVU
Rooting chainfernWoodwardia radicans45 recordsIxitixel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tasmanian bluegum
Tasmanian bluegumEucalyptus globulus43 recordsJohn Tann from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
Latin American fleabane
Latin American fleabaneErigeron karvinskianus38 recordsAndré Karwath aka Aka · CC BY-SA 2.5

Open records within 5 km (GBIF, licensed for any use). Busy places are better recorded than remote ones.

In numbers

The forest, measured.

92out of 100

Our own rating, from open data only: tree cover (40 points), wildness (20), species recorded (30) and protection or heritage (10).

  • 86%Treesof the land within 3 km
  • 99%Wildno towns or farmland within 10 km
  • 537Speciesrecorded more than once within 5 km
  • 775 mAltitudeabove the sea

When to walk

Best for walking in May and in December.

How good each month is for a walk: mild days and little rain make the bar taller.

  1. Jan18°17°32 mm
  2. Feb17°16°38 mm
  3. Mar17°16°40 mm
  4. Apr18°17°26 mm
  5. May19°18°16 mm
  6. Jun21°20°8 mm
  7. Jul22°21°4 mm
  8. Aug23°22°6 mm
  9. Sep23°22°18 mm
  10. Oct22°21°38 mm
  11. Nov20°19°43 mm
  12. Dec19°18°45 mm
  • Bar: walking comfort; the number on top is the average maximum.
  • Below: average minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Laurisilva of Madeira.

Protected area in Portugal

Laurisilva of Madeira is a forest in Portugal, 775 m above the sea.

Seen from space, 86% of the land within 3 km is trees, and 99% of the land within 10 km has no towns or farmland.

537 species have been recorded around it: 374 plants, 97 fungi, 62 birds and 4 mammals.

The most recorded plants are: Earleaf nightshade, Laurus novocanariensis and Woolly Tree Fern.

The best time to walk is in May and in December.

Laurazeen wood madeira hg
Hannes Grobe · CC BY-SA 2.5

Get there and walk

  • Chão dos Louroscampsite · 1.7 km · 12 within 10 km
  • Valley View Hotel Encumeadaplace to stay · 3.0 km · 68 within 10 km
  • São Vicentenearest town · 5.2 km in a straight line
  • Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 22 km in a straight lineCar hire at FNC airport (Funchal)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at FNC airport (Funchal)Discover CarsSee prices 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The forest and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the trails, notable trees, picnic sites and huts that OpenStreetMap shows.

Laurisilva of Madeira seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 21marked trails within 5 kmPR 12 - Caminho Real da Encumeada, PR 22 - Vereda do Chão dos Louros, PR 21 - Caminho do Norte and 18 more
  • 40picnic sites within 4 kmVinháticos, Encumeada Picnic, Murta and 37 more
  • 7shelters and huts within 6 km
  • 40viewpoints within 5 kmBoca da Encumeada, Pico da Murta, Encumeada and 37 more
  • 1visitor centres within 6 kmPosto De Informação Turístico
  • 13car parks within 3 km
  • 12campsites within 10 kmChão dos Louros, Pico Ruivo, Bica da Cana and 9 more
  • 68places to stay within 10 kmValley View Hotel Encumeada, Solar do Carvalho, Solar da bica and 65 more
  • 6restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • named and notable trees within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Laurisilva of Madeira.

The mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and canyons around this forest, the viewpoints above it, the birds and the night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas46 mountains within 25 km
Pico Ruivo1,862 m · 5.4 kmPico das Torres1,853 m · 6.3 kmAchada do Teixeira1,600 m · 7.3 kmPico Ruivo do Paul1,639 m · 7.3 kmPico do Areeiro1,818 m · 7.5 kmPico da Fajã da Lenha1,335 m · 11 kmPico do Cardo430 m · volcano · 12 kmPico das Romeiras436 m · volcano · 12 km
Islandyasthe island
Madeira Island741 km²
Darkskyas3 dark-sky places within 30 km
Pico RuivoBortle 4 · 5.5 kmPico das TorresBortle 4 · 6.0 kmIlhéu MoleBortle 3 · 19 km
Viewyas9 viewpoints within 15 kmComing soon
Pico Ruivo1,862 m · 5.5 kmPico das Torres1,853 m · 6.0 kmMiradouro da Eira do Serrado1,050 m · 7.0 kmPico do Areeiro1,818 m · 7.5 kmBoca dos Namorados8.2 kmBalcões11 kmCabo Girão580 m · 12 kmPico dos Barcelos355 m · 13 km
Birdyas2 birding sites within 25 km
Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira69 species · 7.1 kmPonta de S. Lourenço70 species · 8.1 km
Cavernyas1 caves within 20 km
São Vicente Caves5.2 km
Cascadyas4 waterfalls within 15 km
Véu da Noiva Falls110 m · 10 kmRisco waterfall12 km25 Fontes Falls30 m · 12 kmCascata dos Anjos90 m · 14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The forest, as people saw it.

2015 Madeira Pana (168)
Mattes · CC BY-SA 4.0
2015 Madeira Pana (169)
Mattes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Floresta Laurissilva, Miradouro dos Balcões, Ribeiro Frio
Ricardo Martins · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other forests nearby.

Laurisilva of Madeira

Portugal

  • 92Forestyas Score
  • 86%Trees
  • 99%Wild
  • 537Species

Madeira Botanical Garden

Portugal · 15 km

  • 65Forestyas Score
  • 45%Trees
  • 90%Wild
  • 365Species

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q11257230) · CC0
Land coverESA WorldCover 10 m 2021 v200 · © ESA WorldCover project / Copernicus Sentinel data · CC BY 4.0
Species8,584 open records within 5 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only)
See these recordsgbif.org
Names and photosWikidata (CC0); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Islandyas, Darkskyas, Viewyas, Birdyas, Cavernyas, Cascadyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Visit
forestsForestyasEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.You are here