Why is Level 3 the best canyoning level?

“Level 3 is the most exciting, the most challenging and the most beautiful canyon you can do in Madeira without previous experience. So it's basically the best one that doesn't require experience.”

Around 70% of the people who book with us pick Level 3. Most of them tell us it was the best experience they had on their trip, and what they mention most is how safe they felt.

Easy on the body, challenging in the head

Technically, Level 3 is an easy level, and physically it's easy too: the same effort as Level 2, and the walk in takes less than 5 minutes. What makes it challenging is mental. You start with a big waterfall, almost 60 m, and that's what people have to go through. No experience needed.

How the day goes

You meet us at the meeting point, or we pick you up in the Funchal area. We explain how the changing works, then drive up to a small village above the canyon. From there it's a super easy walk, less than 5 minutes, into Ribeira Funda.

Inside the canyon we give everyone a safety briefing. Then you try abseiling on a fixed rope we set up there, and right after that comes the big waterfall: the first one of the day. After it come the jumps, and the canyon finishes with a zip line.

My three favourite moments

It's hard to pick one, so I have three:

• The big waterfall at the beginning. It's mentally challenging, and people love it.
• The jumps inside the canyon. There are two: one of 4 m and one of 6 m.
• The zip line at the end. It breaks the rhythm of abseiling, and it's very fun to do.

The jumps are always optional

Jumps are never mandatory. You can always go down on the rope, or with other systems we use. We usually do the first jump and see how good the group is at jumping. Then we either talk about the second jump or we skip it. The second one is a very technical jump, so if most of the group aren't good jumpers, or there's a lot of water in the canyon, we skip it and take the safer way down.

Nervous at the top? That's normal

Most people feel nervous before the big waterfall. Most of the fear comes from not knowing what's going to happen: how the rope is going to behave, what it will feel like. So we give you as much information as we can, and we keep a good attitude inside the canyon.

Usually the hardest part is actually getting to the anchor. When you're there, next to the guide, this is what we tell you:

“Look, you already did the hardest part. It's normal to be afraid. Even when I started doing this, I was nervous. The abseiling part is easy: focus on giving rope and on your body position, and we'll help you from here. Trust us, we do this every day. You're not the first person to be nervous, and you're going to thank us down there.”

We say it calmly, looking you in the eyes, and you can see people change. Some were at the start, almost quitting. At the bottom of the rappel they're very happy, and they thank us for nudging them into it. Once you've done the big one, you can basically do anything: you lose the fear and get used to it.

Can I skip the big waterfall?

No. Ribeira Funda is a slot canyon: once you go in, you can't come back, and the big waterfall is the first one. So if you back down from it, you can't do the tour.

If someone is way too nervous and we see it's too much, sometimes we make the decision for them: this level isn't for you. A guide goes back to the car with them, they change back into normal clothes, and they relax there while the group finishes. It's very rare: around 2 people in a year.

Who should do Level 2 instead

Level 3 is all about the big waterfall. Nervous, or even very nervous, we can handle. Complete panic isn't good, and you won't have a good experience. We recommend Level 2 if:

• You have a very great fear of heights.
• You have mobility issues.
• You're a bit overweight, have zero experience and are very afraid of heights.

Age and families

Level 3 is from 12 years old.

Our oldest Level 3 guest was 66. He was a climber and mountaineer, fit for his age, and he loved it. We've also had people around 50 with no experience do it.

Which canyon is it?

Our Level 3 canyon is the lower section of Ribeira Funda, in Porto Moniz in the north-west. We only change to Ribeira da Pedra Branca when Ribeira Funda has too much water. Pedra Branca is still a good canyon, and a very beautiful one. It starts with two big abseils, one around 25 m and the other 50 m. It's shorter, but we take longer on it because the abseils are more technical. The quality is comparable. What it misses are the jumps, which is kind of a bummer, but it's the only option when Ribeira Funda has too much water.

The lower section of Ribeira do Passo we run very rarely, usually at the request of people who have already done Ribeira Funda and Pedra Branca.

And after Level 3?

After Level 3, some people come back to book Level 4. That one is for people with some canyoning behind them: more remote canyons, several 40–60 m rappels, colder water and a longer day, adults only.

The practical bits

• Meet at 8:30 and back between 12:00 and 13:00, or pickup every day in the Funchal area.
• About 2 hours in the canyon, 3.5 to 4 hours in total with gear-up and transport.
• Up to 8 people, two guides.
• Wetsuit, harness, helmet, canyoning shoes, transport and insurance are included.
• Photos and videos from the guides: for a group of 8, around 150 to 200 photos and at least 20 videos.
• What to bring is the same as on every level.

In winter

We run Level 3 all winter. The water level decides the canyon on the day: Ribeira Funda, or Pedra Branca when Funda has too much water. Winter canyoning in Madeira →

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