Full Day Santana Wonders and Northeast 4WD Experience

Most of the rustic manor houses go back to the XVIII century, a time of economic relief and comfort, due to the good fortunes of viticulture. These gigantic houses were very ostentatious and consisted of two levels: on the first floor the winepress, the agricultural implements and the products of the harvests were kept; the second floor was the noble part of the house and the access was made through an outdoor staircase.

The economy of this village is based on agriculture, small commerce, services and tourism. Overlooking the cliff you may admire a charming village, the local church by the sea and its new pool complex.

a charming agricultural hillside village with valleys torn by several courses of water. One of the oldest colonised villages and almost isolated from the world nearby, it is considered to be a natural sanctuary of great tranquility and is appreciated for the peace that it provides. With so much to discover, beautiful scenery and verdant valleys, exotic and colorful flowers, Boaventura is really nature’s masterpiece.

Arco de São Jorge is a unique village by the seaside, surrounded by mountains and vineyards, located in the northeast of the island with a population of 520 inhabitants. Besides São Jorge village, the land of Arco de São Jorge is also very fertile and able to host many types of agricultural product due to its microclimate.

São Jorge is perhaps the most fertile of all the northern villages producing all types of agricultural products, specially its land supports sugar cane cultivation and also the Malvasia wine from which the famous Madeira wine is made.

Santana is a great place from which to explorer some of the best Levada walks Laurisilva forests to Queimadas, Pico das Pedras and for the truly fit, Madeira’s highest point Pico Ruivo, at 1861 m for some spectacular views. Along the main road is Quinta do Furão (manor house) surrounded by vineyards situated on cliff top with sensational views of the ocean and coastline.

Santana Santana a charming town in the northeast of Madeira famous for its unique colourful triangular typical houses built of stone covered with a roof of straw thatch. Originating from the 16th century, nowadays most of them are kept as a tourist attraction.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the place was used as a viewpoint, a function that it still preserves today. It is decorated with 10 pieces of ante-artillery, smooth-sided, of English origin, assembled in naval repairs. Traditionally this artillery saved on feast days in honor of Our Lady of the Nativity.

Named after the cross that was placed on the shore to indicate the port for the Portuguese explorers. One of the many agricultural products here was sugar cane and today the processing factory is still in full operation mainly producing rum and honey molasses as it has since 1927. Besides sugar cane it also produces a dry red wine known as ‘vinho seco’. This has become very popular and every year a grape festival is hosted in the town.

Engenhos Porto da Cruz, ancient rum distillery testifies the importance of sugarcane for Madeira. Ancient steam engines set the working pace in this distillery. The original factory workers still maintain and keep the equipment operational.

Caniçal is a small fishing village, where the main catch is tuna. The name Caniçal originates from the abundance of reeds (Caniço) that grew in the more arid areas of the parish. These reeds were initially used as fishing rods, demonstrating the importance of the activity from the very beginning of the settlement.