RIBEIRA BRAVA
(MUNICIPALITY)
32° 40′ N, 17° 4′ W
Ribeira Brava is a municipality on the island of Madeira, based in the village of Ribeira Brava, which gave its name to the municipality and to the parish of which it is part.
With an area of 65.40 km² and 13,375 inhabitants (2011), the municipality is subdivided into 4 districts. It is limited to the north by São Vicente, to the east by Câmara de Lobos, to the west by Ponta do Sol, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.~
Climate and relief
It has a Mediterranean temperate climate, with summers reaching an average of 27 °C and winters around 16 °C.
As for the relief, it is quite rugged, dominated by deep valleys with steep drops in level. The highest points are Pico Grande and Pico do Cerco, respectively 1,675 and 1,586 meters.
Parishes
The parishes in the municipality of Ribeira Brava are:
Campanário - This parish is characterized by being very populated. An islet, in the sea, with the shape of a church steeple, gave the name to that location. There was even a modest landing pier here.
Ribeira Brava - Being one of the oldest places in the region, this parish soon became an axis of connection with the north and west of the island. It was equipped with a small port that transported goods to Funchal.
Serra de Água - This parish was donated by land grants to one of Zarco's descendants: Helena Gonçalves. This location was abundant in wood, unlike riverside locations.
Tabua - This is the least populated parish in the municipality. In the beginning, it belonged to the municipality of Ponta de Sol, later passing within the limits of the municipality of Ribeira-Bravense.
Patrimony
Located just fifteen kilometers from Funchal, the municipality of Ribeira Brava has a cultural heritage including the Main Church, a small fortification, the São Bento da Ribeira Brava Fort, the Madeira Ethnographic Museum, housed in an old house from the 19th century onwards, it operated as a mill for grinding sugar cane and producing brandy and as a small museum center, dedicated to sacred art, where the Matriz treasure is located.
We can also find the former house of the founder of the Municipality, Francisco Correia de Herédia, Viscount of Ribeira Brava. In the old mansion, dating from the 18th/19th centuries, the City Council building is in operation, with a magnificent garden inside, with countless natural species.
Natural patrimony
The Mountains
The Serras da Ribeira Brava has always been a tourist and cultural attraction for those who visit, starting with wood extraction, firewood, sowing cereals and cattle breeding. However, since 1515, the extraction of human activity has brought certain losses.
The Ribeira Brava mountains are called Laurissilva Forest, as the altitudes condition the establishment of vegetation, as above 1500 meters there may be hail, snow, and fog, the plantations are required to be trees such as tilde, chestnut trees, bushes and mosses as their foliage is darker than in the lower areas of the island where you can plant a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, lower trees such as rowan holly, marigolds, among other species of trees and plantations.
Currently, the Laurissilva Forest occupies the most mountainous areas as human activity in building houses in the lower areas has made implementation difficult.
Waterfalls
The most concrete definition of a waterfall is the formation of a waterfall that always forms from a river or stream bed that may have a sudden drop in level. There are remains of falling rocks.
In the upper part of the waterfall, the erosive action of the current usually causes the edge to retreat. Normally transform into fast zones.
At the bottom of the waterfall, there is erosive erosion, exerted by the pressure of falling water, which later creates lakes.
In the municipality of Ribeira Brava there are almost a dozen waterfalls.
The first waterfall is located on the Ribeira Brava pier, and the second is in front of the Continente supermarket, near Serra da Água, on the slope where the Ribeira Brava bed runs. The third is located near the river, at the Serra de Água bridge. Finally, the Campanário waterfall is located at Cais da Lapa.
Landscape
The Ribeira Brava Landscape has evolved significantly both in terms of the population's quality of life and in terms of Heritage, we have seen improvements in churches, more infrastructure, improvements in beaches, among others.
With the construction of the expressway, it was found that there was an increase in urban areas, particularly in the parishes of Ribeira Brava and Campanário, consequently the abandonment of agricultural activity.
Ribeira Brava Valley
The Ribeira Brava valley corresponds to the territory associated with the Ribeira Brava hydrographic basin. It consists of the base volcanic complex up to Serra de Água, measuring around 500 meters in certain areas. Presenting a clear contrast between the funnel-shaped reception basin, with special relevance to the Serra de Água area, and the downstream area, shaped like a dramatic gorge practically up to the mouth, where the pebbles are deposited. The village of Ribeira Brava has its original nucleus near the mouth and its expansion along the riverbed, where housing centers, the main public facilities and the main communication routes are concentrated. In this case, we should mention the capital importance of the Ribeira Brava valley and the town in particular as a distribution point for road flows to the West and North, reinforced by recent public investments in terms of road infrastructure, particularly the construction of the Encumeada tunnel. which significantly reduced the connection time with the North side of the island.
Dispersed Urban
The Dispersed Urban zone is characterized by the traditional dispersed occupation of the Madeiran landscape. It is divided into its eastern (and western) expressions, in relation to the cut defined by the Ribeira Brava valley. The eastern part, is marked by the south of the parish of Campanário and the east of the parish of Ribeira Brava, represents the dynamics of predominantly residential occupation in agricultural environment constituted in addition to Campanário, by the places of Furnas da Amoreira, Calçada, Serrado, Carmo, Corujeira, Roda Maçapez, Porto da Rebeira, Lombo da Lovada, Boa Morte, Pedra Mole, S. João, Quinta do Cabouco, Cruz, Fonte Pinheiros. UP2b corresponds to the territory with similar occupation characteristics to UP2a, west of the Ribeira Brava valley between the southwestern part of the parish of Ribeira Brava and the south of the parish of Tabua, Lombo Gesteiro, Maçapez, Corujeira, Fajã do Trigo. , Sta. Fátima, Fonte das Cruzes, Candelária.
Coastal Strip
The coastal strip of the municipality of Ribeira Brava is inserted in the southern coastal context of the island, less exposed to the direct action of abrasion than the northern coast, but still characterized by the succession of cliffs in which the structure of the eruptive materials favors landslides. The cliffs are only interrupted by the mouths of the Tabua and Ribeira Brava streams, where two important cities are located and where the deposit of coarse materials forms pebble beaches, which, with renewed accessibility, have become a point of tourist interest, in high-quality surroundings. agricultural suitability.
Forest
The forest refers to the layer of arboreal vegetation that completes the limit of human occupation and establishes the transition with the upper floor of the herbaceous associations of high-altitude meadows or high mountain peaks. This strip of forests protects the growth of crops and human occupation from mountain breezes and prevailing winds and develops at elevations where frequent condensation promotes its development. Of which, it is very altered due to man's actions.
It is characterized by exotic forests, formed mainly by the presence of single or mixed stands of maritime pine, eucalyptus and occasionally hardwoods, highlighting the presence of invasive species (acacias) that can quickly increase their relevance in the forestry context.
High Mountain
The high mountain represents territories above 1000 meters. These are generally dry areas, which project above the level of clouds. The unique elements of this characterization will be the connection to Paul da Serra, Pico do Folhado, Lombo do Mouro, Pico das Furnas, Levadas do Lombo and Rabaças, Crista do Espigão, Achada da Pinta, Pico da Cruz, Pico do Cavalo, Boca do Cavalo, Boca do Cerro, Bico do Serradinho, Pico das Empenas and Pico do Arranhamento.
Beaches
In the municipality of Ribeira Brava there are two beaches, the Ribeira Brava pier and the Calhau da Lapa located in the parish of Campanário.
Calhau da Lapa was inaugurated in 1908 by the General Council, at the time this pier was one of the most important ports for men to carry out their own navigation services, and many fishermen took advantage of these services to transport goods and passengers.
Traders and fishermen stored their goods and fishing utensils in caves excavated in the high cliff next to the sea and the stream and also used some houses to trade goods.
In this location, fishermen caught everything they could offer, from white and black scabbard, tuna, mackerel, chicharros, among other species.
The Seamen often docked at this pier in difficult times and faced the fear and power of the sea, as in winter at this time it dangerous to sail boats. Hence the existence of São Brás, because when there was no abundance of water, many went fishing and prayed for this year to help them.
In the first week, this Saint's festival was celebrated and it is customary to take him to the sea, as Saint Blaise was a fishing speaker.
The Ribeira Brava pier has always been a very harmful area for life due to its location and because it is in an area where rocks constantly fall. So it is a negative point for tourism. In this location, many tourists or even the population of this parish enjoy the bathing complex in the summer.
Ribeiras
A stream is a watercourse, navigable or not, between nearby banks, larger than streams and streams and smaller than rivers, in other words it is a small river or stream.
In the municipality of Ribeira Brava there are three Ribeiras, Ribeira da Tabua, Ribeira Brava and Ribeira de Campanário.
On February 20, 2010, there was a catastrophe on Madeira Island whose sequence of events was started by heavy rain during the early hours of that day. The sea level rose due to the lack of cleaning in Ribeiras. The areas where it was most affected were Ribeira Brava and Funchal.
At Ribeira de Campanário we found that there is no cleaning in this area and consequently there could be damage to this river, if there is a lot of precipitation.
Agriculture
The Cherry Trees
The first establishments of cherry trees on the island of Madeira were black cherries, in Ribeira Brava and Serra de Água. However, because we celebrate the Cherry Tree Festival in Jardim da Serra, and because there are red cherries in this place, it does not mean that the first plantings were from there, as this will be a myth.
These black cherries did not appear on the markets and no one knew about their existence as this crop was used to produce wine. In fact, people thought that the production of wine was done by harvesting and they would not have imagined that this production was from these cherries. The people of that time were mistaken and above all the profit from this production was very exaggerated.
The planting of cherries, walnuts, and chestnut trees diversified until the second half of the 17th century and thus managed to cause damage as cherry trees were a treat coveted by residents of the city of Ribeira Brava.
On the other hand, chestnut and walnut trees were never cut down, as these trees were too large for cultivation, unlike cherry trees. Today we have seen and observed that the production of cherry trees or other crops is a great food profit for society.
Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex
32.671334, -17.066589
The parish of Ribeira Brava has an extensive seafront, which accompanies practically the entire locality. Harmoniously integrated in the urban landscape, the Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex is one of the most appreciated options by those who enjoy sun and sea bathing on Madeira's west coast.
This space is equipped with a series of infrastructures that offer bathers a comfortable and relaxed experience. As such, the Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex has swimming pools, one of them suitable for children, an area with sun loungers, sanitary facilities, changing room, bar and restaurant. It also includes a beach made up of a combination of pebbles and black sand.
In 2021, the Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex was subject to improvements facilitating access to the sea. New walkways were also installed, making it easier for people with reduced mobility to move around the entire bathing area. It should be noted that these bathers can access the sunbathing area directly using the lift installed in the car park.
Finally, it is important to underline that the Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex, with free access, is known for the excellent quality of the Atlantic waters that bathe it.
At the end of your day at the beach, make sure you take the opportunity to get to know the extensive landscape, cultural and historical heritage of this Madeiran municipality.
Details
The Ribeira Brava Bathing Complex offers bathers several facilities such as swimming pools - one for children -, changing rooms, sanitary facilities, bar, sun loungers area, restaurant and access to the sea.
Notice to walkers and list of walks
Classified walking routes
MADEIRA HIKING
Return to mainland Portugal and
to the Azores and Madeira islands
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