Madeira is a beautiful island located in the North Atlantic Ocean and is a popular destination for photographers. The island is known for its stunning landscapes, including rugged coastlines, lush forests, and colorful gardens. There are also many charming towns and villages to photograph, as well as interesting cultural and historical sites.
In this article, I’ve listed my favorite and most picturesque locations I visited on my trip. I must admit this is not a complete list and there are loads of other locations to visit in Madeira. I hope you find it useful and inspires you on your Madeira photography adventure.
Head over to my Madeira Gallery to see more images or watch my Madeira YouTube playlist to see how I captured these images.
1) Pico Arieiro
Pico Arieiro is a mountain peak on the island of Madeira that offers some beautiful photography opportunities. At an elevation of 1818 meters, it is the third-highest peak on the island and offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscapes.
I really enjoyed photographing this location at sunset/sunrise and watching as the golden light hit the amazing peaks. It’s also an amazing location to watch the clouds and there are often interesting cloud formations that appear in the valley below.
It’s probably the most accessible peak on the island and the view is a short 5-minute walk from the car park.
Watch my vlog on visiting Pico Arieiro
2) Pico Ruivo
Pico Ruivo is the highest peak on the island of Madeira, and it offers some amazing photography opportunities. Although you don’t have to climb all the way to the top to get these amazing views.
From a photography perspective, I found the twisted trees dotted along the mountainside to be the most interesting subject here. When the clouds form in the valley this is a special place to visit.
The walk to reach the trees shown below takes about 30-40 minutes from the car park next to the Achada do Teixeira Mountain Spot Café.
I found the most success at this location to be at sunrise.
3) Fanal Forest
On the north side of Madeira Island, there’s a place where you can walk among ancient trees and in the right conditions, somewhere that looks like a fairy tale scene.
The Fanal Forrest is somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for a long time – it’s a spectacular old-growth forest that’s often shrouded in mist and fog.
It’s truly a photographer’s paradise, offering a chance to capture amazing-looking trees in spectacular conditions.
These laurel trees covered much of southern Europe centuries ago but have become a rare landscape in the world. Madeira is one of the few places where these forests still exist.
Watch my vlog from the Fanal Forest
Situated at over 1000 metres above sea level, the forest is quite often shrouded in fog but it is notoriously difficult to predict.
On my visit to the Fanal Forest I experienced a long duration of fog on all 3 occasions I visited – I got extremely lucky.
4) Monte Palace Gardens
The Monte Palace Gardens are a beautiful and peaceful location, offering many opportunities for photography.
Located in the town of Monte, the gardens are home to a variety of plant and animal species, and they feature a range of landscapes, including forests, meadows, and waterfalls.
This wasn’t exactly a bucket list location for me but I did come away with some nice images to look back on a remember my visit.
5) São Lourenço
São Lourenço is a peninsula on the easternmost point of the island and is particularly known for its rugged and dramatic coastline.
It’s a popular location for photography and it’s easy to see why.
It’s a spectacular sunrise location due to its eastern outlook and as a peninsula, it offers a great location to experience changeable weather conditions ideally suited for landscape photography.
It’s also a great location to fly a drone and allows you to capture the scale of the cliff faces.
6) Parque Florestal das Queimadas
The Parque Florestal das Queimadas is a beautiful forest park. It is known for its diverse plant and animal life, which makes it a great destination for nature photography.
Admittedly I didn’t spend much time here and only explored the area close to the car park.
For me, the main point of interest with the camera was the photogenic cottages. Depending on the time of year, you can capture some nice flowers in the foreground.
7) Ponta do Sol
Another location worth a visit is the town of Ponta do Sol on the southwest coast
I only visited this location once but if I were to visit Madeira again, I would definitely come back here at sunrise or perhaps during the blue hour.
Like many of the other locations in Madeira, you really need a drone to capture the amazing setting of this small town.
8) Ribeira da Janela
Ribeira da Janela is another popular location for photography and it’s easy to see why.
The combination of the sea stacks and pleasing-looking rocks on the beach makes for a nice image.
I think this would be a great location to visit on a cloudy or rainy day – or perhaps when the conditions aren’t quite working in the mountains.
It’s a good location to try some long-exposure photography.
9) Miradouro do Pináculo
This was an amazing viewpoint and I would argue the best view of Funchal.
I didn’t see too many photos from this location so I was keen to take a visit – I’m glad I did.
It’s an amazing sunset location as the sun sets in a perfect position for most of the year.
It’s also a great place to fly the drone and you can capture some amazing shots all along the coastline.
10) Porto Moniz
Porto Moniz is probably best known for its amazing natural pool by the sea but it’s another great viewpoint.
I really loved capturing the roads twisting around this mountainside and it’s another location I would recommend.
I would love to visit this location in more ideal conditions for photography – either during golden hour or with some low-hanging clouds.
One thing I love about these images is the roof colour of the houses paired with the white walls.
Thank You
Thanks for viewing my article – I hope you found this article helpful and inspires you on your Madeira adventure. Feel free to comment on this article or drop me a message if you have any further questions.
Finally, if you’d like to see my trip in more detail and how I photographed these locations, check out my vlog series on YouTube.
