This item may ship from the US or other locations in India depending on your location and availability. Madeira is covered in levadas – narrow irrigation canals – which were dug as far back as the 15th century and have been used over the centuries to disperse water. Laffan, one of Portugal's top Michelin-starred chefs, pushes culinary boundaries, marrying Madeiran bounty with mainland European roots (black scabbardfish tortellini with sage and olive butter, for example). You can slowly mosey onto the glass-bottom lookout at Cabo Girão, which sits atop one of the highest sea cliffs in the world (from below, the menacing 580m-high rock wall rivals 'the wall' from Game of Thrones); or hike the cinematic mountain-strewn landscape at Pico do Arieiro (1818m), Madeira's third-highest peak, showered in yellow gorse and purple massaroco flora in spring. If you arrange a highly-recommended 4WD tour with Adventure Land Madeira, you can knock these and plenty more out in a single day.

Tack on at least another two nights if you plan to hit Porto Santo, the other inhabited island that forms part of the Madeiran Archipelago. Fret not, however; the island is chock-full of both natural and man-made pool complexes that hug the sea, none more idyllic than the Complexo Balnear do Lido in the capital Funchal.

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Pocket Madeira is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Pocket Madeira is our colourful, easy to use and handy guide that literally fits in your pocket, and is packed with the best sights and experiences for a short trip or weekend away. Lonely Planet’s Pocket Madeira is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you.

Because Madeira’s highlights are found at disparate points across the island, a stay of at least four days is necessary.

Poncha, originally invented by the fishermen at Câmara De Lobos, comes in several variations, but count on high levels of sugar cane rum, fresh orange juice, fresh lemon juice and honey, mixed on the spot by gaggles of fishermen, grandmothers, amateur distillers and everyone in between. With a long black body, giant goggly eyes and teeth resembling a disorganised pincushion, the espada might just be the ugliest fish ever created. Road number 101 once struck fear into the heart of every Madeiran driver until it was retired to Room 101 by the modern VE2.

Madeira is linked to the world via Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (yes, he’s a native of the island), a destination for international flights, including direct flights from New York City. It has also taken the award for world's leading island destination for the past five years, but will have to wait until the Grand Final takes place on November 27 to see if it is the overall winner again this year. There is an extensive public bus transport system, but if you want to hit the more remote corners for hiking routes or beaches, you’ll almost certainly need a car.January sees the most rainfall, while the waters surrounding the island are at their warmest in September. The soft white flesh of the espada is a delight in itself, but the Madeirans go one better (and weirder) by pairing it with bananas, which grow in abundance across the mountainous landscape.

The Americans got a taste for Madeira wine after it was collected and distributed during trade-route stopovers. Madeira’s eponymous wine was created when barrels of the stuff spent months on ships baking in the hot sun. From Mediterranean island beaches to Norway’s waterfall-splashed fjords, is there anywhere better than spring break in Europe?Among the island’s seaborn delicacies are limpets or lapas, which are open shellfish resembling a barnacle. The banana passionfruit essentially looks like an elongated passionfruit, while the pineapple banana has a distinctive skin patterned with green hexagons, which peel back to reveal a sweet, pale flesh. If you want to explore outside the city, head to the countryside where you can find relaxing vacations at rural tourism houses, surrounded by mountains and forests or nestled in deep valleys: look for accommodation in places like Curral das Freiras or Santana. Change country: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Virgin Islands (U. For an upscale experience, swing by Il Gallo d’Oro, a two-star Michelin restaurant with an 8- to 11-dish menu (Terroir Experience) featuring contemporary approaches to traditional local dishes.