The classified pedestrian trail of Levada do Rei (PR 18), in São Jorge, is impassable due to a landslide, and as a result, the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN) has closed the trail.
This is one of the seven routes that currently require all residents to pay a waste fee of three euros.
And while Levada do Rei was closed, the trail along Levada do Furado (PR10), which connects Ribeiro Frio to Portela, has now reopened along its original route.
According to the IFCN, the alternative route that had been created from the kilometer point PK 7+200 (counting from the beginning, in Ribeiro Frio) will remain operational, which runs along an old path to Pico do Suna and then along a forest path until it meets the levada again, at the site of Lamaceiros.
This designated trail suffered a major collapse last March, forcing a major intervention in the area by Águas e Resíduos da Madeira (ARM), budgeted at 51 thousand euros. This was one of the eight levadas that were part of the Levadas da Madeira World Heritage application, which has since been ‘withdrawn’.