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Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço vs Vereda dos Balcões

Two of Madeira's hiking trails side by side: distance, difficulty, ascent, duration and booking. Live 0 to 100 scores for each are in the app.

Quick take: Vereda dos Balcões is the shorter walk; Vereda dos Balcões has less climbing; Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço is graded hard, Vereda dos Balcões easy.

Which one is harder?

Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço is the harder of the two on paper: graded hard against easy. Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço climbs 210 m more, 365 m against 155 m. Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço is the longer walk too, 8.0 km against 3.0 km.

How long does each take?

Allow about 2h 30m for Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço and about 1h 30m for Vereda dos Balcões, one way and at a walking pace. That is roughly 60 minutes more for Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço, before any stops.

Do you need to book?

Both are regulated IFCN trails, so both need a ticket at EUR 4.50, bought through the SIMplifica portal.

Which one should you pick?

Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço

Choose Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço if you are here for Endemic flora, Out and back, Viewpoint.

Vereda dos Balcões

Choose Vereda dos Balcões if you are here for Endemic flora, Out and back, Levada, or if you want the shorter day, or if you would rather not climb.

Which of the two is better on a given morning is a different question, and the numbers above cannot answer it: cloud, wind and closures change hourly and they change differently on the north and south coasts. Levadas scores both live and tells you which to drive to today.

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