Trails
Vereda da Câmara de Carga do Rabaçal (PR6.7)
Steep zigzags from Rabaçal's loading chamber to the Túnel do Cavalo
The place
Vereda da Câmara de Carga do Rabaçal is the official PR6.7, a one-way route of 1.8 km from Rabaçal, high on the ER 105, to the Túnel do Cavalo. The regional government's map portal gives it about 1 hour 15 minutes, almost all downhill, from 1,304 m to 976 m. It starts beside the Câmara de Carga, the loading chamber that names the path.
Fed by the Levada do Paul I and the Levada do Paul II, the chamber sends its water by pipeline to the Calheta hydroelectric station, and the first stretch follows a levada of the same system along the ridge. Leaving the levada, the path zigzags down the steep north-west face of the volcanic Rabaçal massif, with wide views over the valley, through dense gorse and scattered oaks; cattle often graze on the open ground near the start. It ends on a small flat with a working forest shelter, where it meets PR6.6 at the Túnel do Cavalo: built between 1863 and 1877 and about 800 m long, the tunnel carries the water of the Ribeira dos Cedros and 25 Fontes to Calheta.
Highlights
- The Câmara de Carga, the loading chamber that pipes levada water to the Calheta hydroelectric station.
- A levada along the ridge, then steep zigzags down a north-west-facing slope with wide views over the valley.
- Two waterfalls, which the regional government's map portal lists along the route.
- The forest shelter at the Túnel do Cavalo, a tunnel about 800 m long built between 1863 and 1877.
When to come
A clear day, for the wide views over the valley on the way down. With a torch, the walk can carry on through the Túnel do Cavalo on PR6.6.
Getting there
Start high on the ER 105 at Rabaçal, beside the Câmara de Carga. The route ends at the Túnel do Cavalo on PR6.6, about 800 m from that route's start at Caldeira, known as the Garagem; climb back the way you came, or take a torch to go on through the tunnel.
Worth knowing
- Booking and fee: pay through SIMplifica; €4.50 in 2026 for visitors over 12, with children 12 and under exempt.
- Distance and time: 1.8 km one way, about 1 hour 15 minutes, almost all downhill.
- Heights: between 976 m and 1,304 m.
- Difficulty: moderate, as the regional government's map portal rates it; IFCN has published no panel for this route, so its time and heights also come from the portal.
- Caution: the descent zigzags down a steep slope, and the portal notes that gorse can grow over the path where it is not maintained.
- Tunnel: the route ends at the Túnel do Cavalo, which belongs to PR6.6; going on through it needs a torch, as the PR6.6 panel warns.
- Status: open on the IFCN list on 4 November 2026; check IFCN or SIMplifica before you go.
