Ranked by the official warnings on IFCN's trailhead panels and checked against independent guides. If we found no sourced rating for a trail, it isn't listed.
The short answer: for the least exposure, choose the two purpose-built accessible routes, PR6.8 Levada do Paul II and PR9.1 Caldeirão Verde “um caminho para todos”, or PR11 Vereda dos Balcões, PR13 Fanal and PR6.2 Levada do Alecrim. Be careful with the usual “easy” tips: IFCN's own trailhead panels warn of danger of vertigo on PR18 Levada do Rei and PR14 Levada dos Cedros, even though most guides call them easy. If drops bother you, skip PR1, PR6 25 Fontes, PR8, PR9, PR16, PR17 and PR19. All need a SIMplifica booking; the fee is €4.50 (PR1 €10.50).
Each trail below shows its status from the official IFCN list, with IFCN's own “updated” date.
Built as “a path for everyone”, including people with reduced mobility (Visit Madeira). A short walk; IFCN's panel only warns about changing weather.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENDesigned for people with motor and visual disabilities: about 2 km in 45 minutes (Visit Madeira).
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENVisit Madeira calls it easy, IFCN's panel has no vertigo warning, and guides describe a “wide, level path” (juliedawnfox). One caveat: the Balcões viewpoint at the end looks over big drops, though it's fenced (hikingmadeira).
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENNo vertigo warning on IFCN's panel; its warning is fog, which makes it easy to lose your way. Guides rate it among the gentlest (madeirahiking.org, madeiralovers). It's long, but you can turn back whenever you like.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENTwo independent guides say it has no serious exposure (hikingmadeira; waldspaziergang.org, as the “Rosmarin-Levada”). There's no IFCN panel for it. The “tunnels” Visit Madeira mentions are arches of heather, not rock tunnels.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENThese often appear on “no vertigo” lists. They're mostly gentle, but IFCN's panels disagree with that label in places, so go knowing that.
Most guides call it one of the easiest levadas: “no steep drop-offs… no narrow ledges” (hikingmadeira). IFCN's own trailhead panel still says: danger of vertigo, path may be slippery. Our reading: mostly wide and gentle, but not free of drops everywhere.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENmadeirahiking.org rates it “very low exposure” and madeiralovers calls it easy. But IFCN's panel says danger of vertigo, and Visit Madeira describes passing “the steep slope of the right bank of the Ribeira da Janela”.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENmadeirahiking.org puts it in its low-exposure group but mentions “some narrow levada sections with drops”. IFCN's panel says danger of vertigo, and that there are tunnels, so carry a torch.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): OPENIFCN's panel warns of “technical and physical particularities”: make sure it suits you. The famous long tunnel is on Calheta council's access route from Malhada, which the council describes as exposed, without protective walls and liable to cause vertigo.
Official IFCN list (updated 14/09/2026): CLOSEDVisit Madeira calls PR6.1 Levada do Risco and PR6.3 Lagoa do Vento easy, but we found no sourced exposure rating, so they aren't ranked. Levada da Serra do Faial and Levada do Castelejo appear on some “no vertigo” lists, but they aren't official PR trails, so IFCN doesn't maintain them.
On the trails board, the No vertigo filter shows which low-exposure trails are open right now.
The accessible routes PR6.8 Levada do Paul II and PR9.1 Caldeirão Verde “um caminho para todos” are built for everyone. Of the regular trails, PR11 Vereda dos Balcões, PR13 Fanal and PR6.2 Levada do Alecrim have the least exposure, with no vertigo warning on IFCN's panels. The Balcões viewpoint itself looks over big drops, but it is fenced.
Most guides call Levada do Rei (PR18) one of the easiest levadas, with wide paths. But IFCN's official trailhead panel warns of danger of vertigo and a slippery path, so expect some exposed spots. The same goes for Levada dos Cedros (PR14).
PR1 Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruivo, PR6 25 Fontes, PR8 Ponta de São Lourenço, PR9 Caldeirão Verde, PR16 Fajã do Rodrigues, PR17 Pináculo e Folhadal and PR19 Caminho Real do Paul do Mar. Each has an official vertigo or cliff warning or is rated high exposure by guides.
Sources: exposure warnings from IFCN's IFCN trailhead panels (read 30 Sep 2026); descriptions from each trail's official Visit Madeira page; guides: hikingmadeira, juliedawnfox, madeirahiking.org, madeiralovers, waldspaziergang.org, sayyestomadeira, CM Calheta; status from the official IFCN warnings list.