Pico do Areeiro (), at high is a mountain located on the Portuguese island and autonomous region of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, the third highest on the island. Situated within the mountainous interior of the island roughly halfway between the northern and southern coasts. It is a popular year round tourist attraction with the summit accessible by road directly from

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

. On a clear day it is possible to see the neighboring island of

Porto Santo Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island and municipality northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe an ...

, to the northeast. The summit is used as a starting point for hikers heading to

Pico Ruivo Pico Ruivo () is the highest peak on Madeira Island and the third highest in Portugal, standing at in the Santana municipality. Accessible only by foot, it can be reached from either Pico do Areeiro or via a shorter, easier trail from Achada ...

(the highest point in Madeira) and at peak times up to 1000 people a day can pass by the area. The peak has in recent times become popular with cyclists making the ascent from

. Many cycling publications and online lists usually claim that the climb from sea level to the summit at Areeiro is one of the toughest in the world with 1810 meters of climbing over a very short distance of 22 kilometres. There is easy road access to the summit, with a large car park, a restaurant and souvenir shop. In 2011, an Air Defence Radar Station of the Portuguese Air Force was built at the top of the mountain near the tourist facilities.

Climate

Pico do Areeiro has a cool

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, surprisingly wet for this type of climate due to the extreme precipitation it gets, a big part of it from

drizzle Drizzle is a light precipitation which consists of liquid water drops that are smaller than those of rain – generally smaller than in diameter. Drizzle is normally produced by low stratiform clouds and stratocumulus clouds. Precipitation r ...

and

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

References

External links

Landforms of Madeira Mountains of Portugal Tourist attractions in Madeira Arieiro {{madeira-geo-stub