Palheiro Gardens

Please forgive me for changing the original photo but I would rather share the beauty of the gardens than the photo of the damage.

But all I have said still applies. Madeira has suffered serious fire problems in the summers recently.

There was the terrible year, 2010, in which they had mud slides in February with significant loss of life, and the fire high in the mountains that same year when they lost part of the Laurisilva forest.

Two years later there was a fire which claimed homes in Camacha, and was in danger of destroying the famous Palheiro Gardens.

They have done a great deal of clearing and replanting (thousands of acapanthus and aloe vera) and some of the camellias are growing back, but my original photo showed how close the flames came.

Now there is a view over to Funchal, but before the disaster, the Ribeiro do Inferno (- dense forested area close to the Camellia Walk) completely hid the sea and the city from view.

The gardens are a delight and well worth the trip on the 37 or 36 bus.