If you didn’t know already Pico Ruivo is the highest peak in Madeira. It is also the best spot for sunrise in Madeira. The panoramic view you get of the whole island and the Atlantic ocean is out of this world. And the best part? Even though it is the highest peak and a very visited place, it’s still a hidden gem when it comes to watching the sunrise from the very top of Pico Ruivo!

Most people will make their way to Pico do Arieiro for sunrise because of its proximity to Funchal. Don’t get us wrong, the view there is still spectacular but there is usually quite a crowd at Pico do Arieiro for sunrise – and Pico Ruivo doesn’t get that.

One thing we loved about hiking to the top of Pico Ruivo for sunrise is that you can actually stay in this hurt right below the peak. So in the morning you only have about a 10-15 minute hike to the highest part in Madeira for sunrise where an incredible panoramic view of Madeira is waiting for you.

Keep reading to learn all of the details about the hike, the sunrise, and the overnight hut!

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Pico Ruivo vs Pico do Arieiro sunrise – which one is better?

Don’t get us wrong, the sunrise from Pico do Arieiro is going to be incredible on a clear day as well. The only difference is that Pico Ruivo is a bit less busy for sunrise. The whole experience of staying in the cabin (if you do it this way) and then hiking up in the morning is so unique! 

What most people do is drive or shuttle up to Pico do Arieiro in the morning from Funchal. From there they wait for the sun to come up. For some reason, where Pico do Arieiro is located (at 1818 meters above sea level), more often than not you have quite cloudy mornings which can make it harder to see those incredible sunrise colours. 

Pico Ruivo has a slight advantage because it’s higher up (at 1861 meters above sea level) and it really stands above all mountains in the area. From Pico Ruivo, you have a full 360-degree panoramic view of the whole island with no obstructions. So on a clear day, watching the sunrise above the Atlantic ocean is pretty magical!

Even the sunset from Pico Ruivo is absolutely incredible! We may be biased because of our awesome experience of watching both the sunset and sunrise at Pico Ruivo. But honestly, we think it’s the best spot on the island to watch it (and so does our local travel guide friend 😉 ).

What to expect when hiking Pico Ruivo for sunrise (PR1.2 Madeira)

Another reason why Pico Ruivo may be a bit less busy and touristy for sunrise is because of the hike you have to make up to the peak to actually see the sunrise. Hopefully, you can book the Casa de Abrigo and spend the night so you only have a short hike up though. More on this below.

Those who don’t stay at the hut will have a roughly 3 kilometer hike from the parking lot along the Vereda do Pico Ruivo (PR1.2) and to the peak. It’s not a hard trail but it does have some incline and it adds time. If you plan to catch the sunrise, you’ll have to start your hike quite early. So bringing a flashlight, head torch, or phone flashlight will be essential!

The PR1.2 is a short trail that takes you to Pico Ruivo which connects with the PR1 Pico do Arieiro (one of our favourite hikes on the island)!

It’s mostly an uphill hike the whole way from the parking lot to Casa de Abrigo. Then a quick fairly steep uphill from Casa de Abrigo to the Pico Ruivo. So prepare to get your sweat on early in the morning – but later on, when you hike back down to the car with the memory of an amazing sunrise on your mind you’ll have an easy hike ahead of you.

Before you go, make sure you look into the weather near Pico Ruivo as well to try and plan a good day to go for sunrise. You can see the weather for Pico Ruivo here and it really can change quite frequently.

We watched the sunrise in early March from the top of Pico Ruivo. The day turned to be sunny and warm, the next week there was snow all over the mountain and the road was closed for over a week!

Pro tip: Before going on a hike in Madeira, always check if the trail is open via Visit Madeira’s website.

Things to plan before going to Pico Ruivo for sunrise

The easiest and best way to watch the sunrise at Pico Ruivo is by staying at Casa de Abrigo the night before, getting up in the morning and hiking to the peak before the sun peaks over the ocean.

Renting a car

In order to get to the cabin and Pico Ruivo, we highly recommend renting a car. It is by far the cheapest and most convenient way to get to the trailhead. We rented our car for a full day from Funchal, picked up the car at 4 pm and returned it the next day at 4 pm. The price was roughly 40 Euro including fuel (we had our own insurance so we didn’t have to pay extra for that). 

Driving in Madeira is actually quite fun and the roads are very safe. Yeah, there’s some incline and it takes some time getting used to the roads but with all the tunnels and everything driving in Madeira is a lot of fun.

If you’re in Funchal, the best place to go is 7M downtown Funchal. Hopefully, a man named Bruno is working and he’ll help you out. He’s the friendliest rental car employee we’ve ever dealt with and if you show up in person he may even try and help you out with a discount. Try and go a few days in advance though to book the car. Rental cars in Madeira do get booked out quickly as they’re in high demand.

You can also book online with Discover Cars in advance to make sure you get a car for the days you want it. If you book a car for the entire duration of your stay in Madeira, we recommend you pick up the rental car directly from Madeira airport as this is often the cheapest and most convenient option.

If by chance you don’t want to drive you can easily book a taxi or an Uber/Bolt to you to the “Pico Ruivo parking lot” (Achada do Teixeira).

Check out rental car prices here.

Picture of a car rental from Madeira Airport in Portugal.

Booking the Casa de Abrigo Cabin

We have a love-hate relationship with this cabin. After hiking the whole Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo trail the week before, our hiking guide told us about the best sunrise spot in Madeira and that you can actually stay in the Casa de Abrigo cabin underneath the Pico Ruivo. 

If it wasn’t for our guide we would have had no idea it was even possible. Anyways, it’s such a cool experience. Staying at the cabin and then you’re also only a 10-15 minute hike from the sunrise spot (instead of an hour hike from the Pico Ruivo parking lot).

The only downside of the cabin was that it is made of stone and it gets very cold. It was almost colder inside the hut than it was outside (we went in March when the nights are cold) and the temperature above the fireplace (!) reached a whopping 13 degrees Celsius (that’s around 55 Fahrenheit). We definitely had one of the coldest nights of our lives staying at the cabin but at the end of the day, we’d both say it was worth it.

So how do you book the cabin?

You can contact Casa de Abrigo via phone or through email to book your stay. During quieter months you probably don’t have to do it too far in advance – a few days should be fine – but during the summer months, we recommend booking further in advance to ensure you get a spot. 

The cabin fits 12 people and a bed costs €18 per person for a night. Casa de Abrigo is government-owned which is why it is quite affordable. However, it is also quite old so there is a limited amount of electricity and no heating at all. Get ready for the full experience!

The cabin does, however, have running water that is drinkable, toilets, (cold!) showers, wifi, and a kitchen where you can cook your own food. We actually brought a bunch of pasta, veggies, and cheese and made a delicious macaroni and cheese for supper and ate it next to the fire to stay warm!

Practical information about hiking the Pico Ruivo trail for sunrise

Official trail name: PR1.2 – Pico  Pico Ruivo
Distance: 5.5 km return / 3.41 miles return
Elevation: Roughly 530 m / 1738 ft. elevation gain
Type: In and out
Length: 1.5-2.5 (watching sunrise and snack break) 
Difficulty: Hard (lots of ascents and descent)
Rating: 5/5 

Please note that this information is from the trailhead at the Achada do Teixeira parking lot to the peak. If you’re staying at the Casa de Abrigo, give yourself 15 minutes to get to the top of Pico Ruivo.

Click here to see a map of the beginning of the Pico Ruivo Trail.

Starting at the PR 1.2 Pico Ruivo parking lot

One of the reasons we stayed the night at Casa de Abrigo was so we wouldn’t have to do this first section of the sunrise hike super early in the morning. We rented a car at about 4:30 pm in Funchal and got to the Pico Ruivo parking lot just before 6 pm. Then we did the hike to Casa de Abrigo.

The hike up from the parking lot to Casa de Abrigo is basically an ascent the whole way. It’s just over 2.5 km to the hut. So give yourself about 45-60 minutes to get to the hut (depending on how good of a shape you’re in and how much you’re carrying). And maybe a bit more if you’re doing it in the pitch dark before sunrise and haven’t had your morning coffee yet.

We can highly recommend doing it the way we did it. As we were hiking up from the parking lot to the cabin, the sun was slowly setting behind the mountains and it looked incredible. This section of Pico Ruivo is also beautiful so it’s a bit of a shame doing it in the dark.

There are a few great viewpoints where you can sit and relax by these benches and just enjoy the view. As you get further up the mountain the Casa de Abrigo Cabin will slowly come into view. This also means you’re almost there and getting close to the Pico Ruivo sunrise spot!

From Casa de Abrigo to Pico Ruivo 

If you end up staying the night at Casa de Abrigo this is the only section of the hike you will have to do in the morning. From Casa de Abrigo to the top of Pico Ruivo, give yourself about 10-15 minutes. 

One mistake that we made was waking up too late! We made it to the peak right before sunrise and honestly the colours the whole way up looked incredible. So plan to reach the peak maybe 20-25 minutes before sunrise. This way you’ll get to experience one of the best sunrises imaginable.

There were only a few other people at the top of Pico Ruivo for sunrise with us and there are actually three different platforms you can stand at so you really have a good chance at having it to yourself.

It’s pretty cool to say you watched the sunrise from the tallest peak in Madeira. You’ll get a full 360 view of the island and it is just so magical! Definitely one of the prettiest sunrises we’ve ever seen!

Back down to Casa de Abrigo and the parking lot

View of the PR1.2 hiking trail in Madeira.

After you take in the beautiful sunrise you can hike the same way down and enjoy a coffee and some cake at Casa de Abrigo. It will slowly start to get busy as many people will be hiking the PR1 Pico Arieiro trail towards Pico Ruivo (we’ve hiked it before and it’s amazing). You can read about the Pico Arieiro trail here.

Then later you can make your way back to the Pico Ruivo parking lot and wrap up the hike!

What to bring on the PR1.2 Pico Ruivo hike for sunrise

There’s a bit more to bring if you plan to stay the night at Casa de Abrigo. However, don’t be silly like us and hike up with a full pot to cook with as they do have kitchen equipment inside the cabin.

All you have to bring is the food you want to eat and maybe a container for leftovers. There’s a full-on stove in the kitchen so you can literally cook whatever you want. We made cheesy pasta with vegetables and it was delicious!

Come prepared with food for dinner and breakfast! You can always buy a coffee or some cake if you’re still hungry.

And as we’ve mentioned before, it’s best to bring some extra layers as the cabin is located up in the mountains and gets pretty chilly. The cabin is made out of stone so it never really gets warm inside. Especially the bedrooms are super cold! The two of us ended up sharing a single bed and three blankets because we were so cold!

We recommend bringing warm socks, a sweater, and comfy pants. Anything that can keep you warm.

Besides the things you need for staying the night, just bring stuff accordingly with the weather.

Packing list for the hike up to Pico Ruivo:

  • ​​Water! We always fill up our LifeStraw bottles before hikes and even during them when we can. Make sure to fill it up beforehand. You might be able to refill it at Casa de Abrigo.
  • Whatever food you may need for cooking. Including a container to put your leftovers in.
  • Bring some lunch (or eat your leftovers) for a nice picnic. We had our leftovers from the night before outside of Casa de Abrigo in the sun and it was great! 🙂
  • A headtorch! It will be dark when you hike in the morning for sunrise. We recommend bringing a headtorch so you can see where you’re going.
  • Sunscreen is highly recommended when hiking in Madeira. If you plan to hike around Pico Ruivo after you enjoy the sunrise then layer up in some sunscreen! 
  • A power bank is nice to have. There are outlets inside Casa de Abrigo where you can charge your phone but they do try to save power when they can because they run fully on batteries. They have solar panels but they have been broken for a few years.
  • If you have weak knees, you might want to bring hiking poles! The ascents and descents from the parking lot to Pico Ruivo and the trails around can be tough on the knees so a set of hiking poles will definitely make it a lot easier!
  • Bring some extra clothes! We definitely underestimated how cold it can get at night.
  • Proper hiking shoes are good to have for these mountain trails in Madeira. Especially when you hike in the dark. Make sure you bring the right gear and footwear. Some of the staircases can be a little slippery as well. So all in all, hiking shoes just make the whole hike more comfortable!

You can check out this great list of hiking gear to get some more inspiration!

Before you camp and hike Pico Ruivo for sunrise

Check the weather

No matter where you hike, you should always check the weather before you go. Madeira has a micro-climate so the weather is always changing and can be very different even a few kilometers away. 

On this adventure, you’re hiking to the highest peak in Madeira (Pico Ruivo). It can actually get covered in snow during the winter months. We hiked up to Pico Ruivo in early March and the following week the mountain and trail were covered in snow. This can actually make the hike quite dangerous to hike (needless to say that the trail was closed).

Check out the weather near Pico Ruivo here to get an idea of what to pack and expect on your overnight stay/hike! Also, check here to confirm if the trail is open.

Check what time the sunrise is at

This one might be obvious, but we didn’t actually check what time the sunrise at Pico Ruivo was until the night before when we were at the cabin – and we only checked it for Santana. So when we woke up the next morning thinking we had plenty of time, the sky was already covered in beautiful shades of pink and orange.

We still made it to the top in time but if we had done proper research we probably would’ve gotten up 15 minutes sooner.

One of many beauties of Madeira is that the sunrise is usually always around 7 so not crazy early. You can check the time of the sunrise at Pico Ruivo here.

Try to get to the top about 20 minutes before sunrise. That’s when the colours really come alive and the sky looks absolutely beautiful.

Wear hiking shoes

When you hike up in the mountains like Pico Arieiro or this one, proper hiking shoes are recommended. We wear them on most hikes but especially on this one, it’s nice to have proper footwear.

The trail is well maintained but can get rocky and having an ankle supporting boot is nice to have. Some of the staircases can be a little slippery as well. So all in all, hiking shoes help throughout the whole hike! Especially when you go in the dark.

How to get to the Pico Ruivo trailhead

So unfortunately there is no bus that brings you directly to the trailhead. You can take a bus from Funchal that will drop you off in Santana. That’s as close as you’re going to get to the trailhead via bus. 

Most people go on day hikes or sunrise hikes and go by private tour but that’s more for the Pico Arieiro side. 

Your best bet will be to rent a car for 24 hours. It will save you a lot of time and hassle which we covered at the beginning of this post.

From Funchal to the start of Pico Ruivo sunrise hike:

From Ponta do Sol to the start of the Pico Ruivo sunrise hike:

Best time to hike up to Pico Ruivo for sunrise

If you’re already in Madeira, we recommend you try and go on a weekday as it will be a lot less busy.  Especially if you plan to stay a night in Casa de Abrigo. You’ll be more likely to get a bed during the week, or if you book in advance! 

Pico do Arieiro is PR1 and Pico Ruivo is PR1.2 (meaning recommended trail 1 and 1.2). The two trails can be combined and together they make for one of the busiest hikes on the whole island. It makes sense since both hikes are absolutely stunning.

You do get families, guided tours, walking groups, and influencers all at the same time. So you can imagine the trail can get crowded quite quickly. Especially since there are certain sections of the hike that you can’t really pass on.

Thankfully for sunrise, you won’t get those big groups as most start or the Pico do Arieiro side and don’t make it to Pico Ruivo until around noon. And some people don’t even go to Pico Ruivo – they just check out the viewpoints at Pico do Arieiro and then head out.

You should be lucky enough to have the trail and peak mostly to yourself. In our opinion, Pico Ruivo is the best sunrise spot on the island but it is still not that common to go there so hopefully, only a few other people will be up there with you.

Questions related to watching sunrise in Madeira

Where can I see sunrise in Madeira?

There are a few great options for sunrise spots in Madeira. Pico Ruivo being the best in our opinion but you can also get a good view of the sunrise from Pico Arieiro as well. If you’re not looking to drive or hike up into the mountains a good option is somewhere on the east coast of Madeira.

Porto da Cruz is a good option. You can hang out by the beach in Porto da Cruz and enjoy the sun rising above the ocean. Another awesome place to watch sunrise in Madeira is from the very tip of the PR 8 Ponta de São Lourenço hike. It’s the most eastern point of Madeira so there will be nothing in your way while enjoying the sunrise over Madeira.

Lastly if you’re just in Funchal you can easily go out to the pier where Funchal beach is and catch the sunrise there. The beginning is going to be covered by hills but it’s still absolutely stunning.

Can you see sunrise from Funchal?

You absolutely can. You won’t see the very very beginning of the sun rising because Funchal is has some mountains to the east. As soon as it’s over the mountains and hills you’ll see the sun rise above them and it’s absolutely stunning.

Even though you can’t see the sunrise from the beginning the colour in the sky is usually colourful and beautiful so you’re not missing too much. There’s also some viewpoint up in the hills of Funchal where you may get better views but personally it’s fine just being by the beach.

Where is the best spot to enjoy sunrise in Madeira?

It’s Pico Ruivo! You just don’t get better views than this in Madeira. You have a panoramic view of the island and nothing in your way. There’s plenty of great spots to watch the sunrise in Madeira but Pico Ruivo is the best.

Staying at the hut and hiking up in the morning is really one of those once in a lifetime experiences you have to try. It’s an incredible view and an incredible feeling being up above the clouds as the sun is rising.

Can you drive to Pico Ruivo?

So you can’t actually drive to Pico Ruivo but you can drive to the parking where the hike to Pico Ruivo starts. It’s a 3km hike from the parking lot to the top of Pico Ruivo. It should take anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hours to hike from the parking lot up to the top.

So even though you can’t drive to Pico Ruivo you can get fairly close. The hike itself up to Pico Ruivo is beautiful as well!

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Recap of hiking up to Pico Ruivo for sunrise

We hope you’re ready to experience a sunrise from Madeira’s highest peak. We hope you get as lucky as us and have a nice clear morning where you sit at the top of Pico Ruivo and watch the sun wake up. 

Whether you end up staying the night at Casa de Abrigo or hike up from the parking lot in the morning just remember to plan to be at the top of the mountain at least 20 minutes before the actual sunrise time.

If you love the hike then consider doing the full PR1 Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo trail a different day from Pico Arieiro all the way to Pico Ruivo. It’s one of the best hikes on the island that takes you around 3 of the highest peaks in Madeira.

Have fun!

Dom & Jo
Red White Adventures

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2 Comments

  1. Jordan Gerner on March 28, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    Great article, and your shots are amazing! Thanks for breaking down all of the steps for getting to the sunrise on time. I’m pumped for this hike.

    P.S.,
    Thank you Jo for helping me with the complex Portuguese coffee machines.

    • redwhiteadventures on March 29, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      Hey Jordan, thank you so much for your comment! I hope you’re going to love this hike as much as we did 🙂 Make sure you check if the trail is open on Visit Madeira’s website before you go as it’s recently been closed due to snow and erosion.

      And you’re welcome, haha! Hope it wasn’t too strong for you 😉

      – Jo

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