From Santana, take the road leading to Parque das Queimadas, where there is a pay car park.
(S/E) From the car park, go to the refuge/shop located above the car park.
Cross the landscaped esplanade towards the Levada do Caldeirão Verde on the right.
The path runs alongside a small canal that you will follow for the rest of the walk...
The path soon narrows and you make your way along a small path beside the canal through the laurel. Sometimes you walk over a low wall secured by a handrail.
Reach a footbridge at the bottom of a valley.
(1) Cross the footbridge and continue along the other side of the valley. The path is sometimes dotted with steps and, in the next talweg, reach a small waterfall.
(2) Walk past it and continue along the other side of the valley. After a few hundred metres, reach the entrance to the first tunnel.
(3) Take out your headlamps and start through the first tunnel, which is fairly short.
Follow this with a second tunnel (the longest of the 4 tunnels), then a third tunnel, quickly. Older children should be careful not to hit their heads.
Continue along the canal, in slightly clearer conditions at times, and reach a4th tunnel.
(4) Cross this mini-tunnel and continue to follow the canal. Some passages become increasingly narrow with the cliff on the side. The crossings are tricky and those prone to vertigo may find it difficult to progress.
After a wide bend to the left, in a narrow area, come to a sign indicating Caldeirão Verde 100 m away.
Fork off along a path on the left, which diverges from the canal and climbs a stream on the right bank.
At the end of the path, in the heart of Caldeirão Verde, you come to the foot of a beautiful, high waterfall that flows into a small lake.
(6) Don't wait too long, as there is a risk of rockfalls, and start the return journey along the same route as the outward journey.
(5) On returning to the levada, you can continue to the left as far as Caldeirão do Inferno (approx. 5 km round trip).
To get back to the starting point, start the return journey along the canal on the right, taking care to avoid narrow passages where crossing will be tricky. Pass through the 4 tunnels, then continue to the refuge and car park (S/E).
