Sao Jorge Things To Do

The northern coast of the island of Madeira is rugged, dramatic and wild but holidays in Sao Jorge are quite the opposite, tailor made for people searching for a chilled atmosphere in a traditional town. Two thirds of Madeira is laid over to conservation areas so it is remarkably unspoiled.

 

Sao Jorge is almost a place of pilgrimage for keen walkers because the scenery is so stunning. Te village itself is the central point on some wonderful organised walks, hikes and tours and, of course, you’re welcome to head off into the wilderness on your own! Take the usual walker’s precautions – the weather’s glorious but you can still get into trouble up on those pointy peaks.  The north coast of Madeira gets more rain then the south so everything’s wonderfully, vividly green.

 

A Levada is actually an irrigation tunnel, and Madeira’s Levadas are a great way to explore the island out of the way of traffic and built up areas. The tunnels wind all over the island, giving walkers more than 1800 miles of beautiful walking.

 

This vast forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is made up of native species, mainly Laurel, and covers an enormous 20% of the island. At high altitude, the forest covers the mountains between 300m and 1300m above sea level in a wide band. Northern Madeira, wetter and more humid, has more forest so Sao Jorge makes a perfect base for exploration. This is the biggest and best preserved Laurel forest in the world, dating back millions of years to the Tertiary geological period, when woods like this covered vast areas of Mediterranean countries.

 

There’s a little beach and bathing complex at the mouth of the San Jorge River which gives you stunning views of the forest, mountains and coast. The only thing is that the currents are swift here, and the sea can be very rough. While you can paddle to your heart’s content, they don’t recommend swimming. Not surprisingly, surfers love it!

 

The sea is dodgy here unless you’re a very strong swimmer or a surfer. So they’ve built a swimming complex just off the beach to satisfy the needs of water lovers. You’ll find three smart swimming pools and a restaurant.

 

During the summer it gets busy at the beach and two bars, The Calhau and The Neptuno, run a brisk trade in booze and put on good fun entertainment until the wee small hours of the morning.