A crowd of about 300 people waited for the opening this morning. The guard arrived 15 minutes late, but many had already passed through without authorization.
On the morning of Friday, May 22nd, the hiking trail between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo was the scene of an incident that raises questions about the management of access to one of Madeira’s most visited trails. Around 300 people were queuing at the entrance gate when the scheduled opening time (8:00 am) was still closed. Some didn’t want to waste time and simply jumped over the gate.
With no one in charge present, the situation was witnessed by many who were patiently waiting for the gate to open. The guard in charge of opening the access arrived at 8:15 am, a quarter of an hour late, enough time for the tourists to pass their backpacks over the gate, climb over the top, and jump to the other side to continue the hike they had started at Pico do Areeiro.
According to witnesses, the various hikers who chose to jump the gate before the arrival of the official were not the only case that day. Records from the site indicate that this type of illegal circulation on the route has occurred on other days, especially since there are already people making the journey by 7:30 am.
Today, when the guard arrived, he was greeted with applause from the crowd, in a gesture that seemed to mix irony and frustration at the wait. Those who had entered improperly were already moving along the route, perhaps without any possibility of being stopped.
Those familiar with the situation say that organized groups with local guides respect the rules, as the professional guides do not allow their clients to proceed irregularly. However, individual hikers, who arrive independently, many of them foreign tourists, are not subject to any effective control, making access to this area difficult to monitor.
This incident reignites the debate about the need to bring forward the opening times of controlled access points or to increase human presence during peak hours, especially during the months of highest tourist activity, when these trails receive thousands of visitors per week, either early in the morning or late in the evening, given the longer days.
The Pico do Areeiro–Pico Ruivo trail, approximately 12 kilometers long and renowned for its scenic beauty, is one of the most popular in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.