New enforcement measures on PR1 will be announced this Monday, the regional secretary assured.
The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture assured today that the Regional Government has already reinforced surveillance on the PR1 – Vereda do Areeiro trail, following the incident that led to a complaint being filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding damage to the Pedra Rija gate and the unauthorized entry of hikers into that area of the trail.
On the sidelines of the opening of the Madeira Classic Car Revival 2026 event in Praça do Povo, the government official was questioned about the measures being implemented after dozens of tourists bypassed the closed gate yesterday morning before the official opening time of the route. “What we did was reinforce the inspection and anticipate the presence of our teams on the ground, and we will naturally surprise those who insist on not complying,” he stated.
The regional secretary explained that, in the days following certain incidents, the Forestry Police Corps began to be present before the trail’s opening time, a situation which, he said, prevented further attempts at non-compliance.
“Last week we had our Forestry Police Corps on the ground before the start time of the route. With the presence of the Forestry Police Corps there were no abuses, there was no attempt to cross the gate which was closed,” he said. He also stressed that the episode occurred precisely “on the day we didn’t have the Forestry Police Corps,” admitting that there was “a slight delay” in opening the Pedra Rija gate.
The official responsible for environmental protection stressed that the Executive will continue to tighten control over that pedestrian route, considered one of the most popular in the Region.
“We have taken measures, we will reinforce them, we have already reinforced them, and next week the number of people monitoring will be visible,” he assured, adding that “other tactical decisions” are also planned, which he did not want to reveal, “but which will be in place starting Monday.”