Madeira's longest tunnels
Ranked by length, with data verified against public engineering records. All are in service and all are free.
| # | Tunnel | Road | Length | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Túnel do Cortado (Faial–Santana) The longest road tunnel in Madeira. Two tubes carry the expressway under the ridge between Faial and Santana: the drive from Funchal to the north-east would be an hour longer without it. VE4 · opened 2004 | VE4 | 3,168 m | 2004 |
| 2 | Túnel da Encumeada The modern crossing under Boca da Encumeada, linking the Ribeira Brava valley to São Vicente on the north coast. It replaced the old single-lane tunnel just metres above it. VE4 · opened 2004 | VE4 | 3,100 m | 2004 |
| 3 | Túnel da Ponta do Sol Buried under the sunniest point of the island. You enter in Ribeira Brava light and exit into what is usually the warmest microclimate in Madeira. VR1 · opened 2004 | VR1 | 2,682 m | 2004 |
| 4 | Túnel do Jardim do Mar Opened the west coast villages: Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar: to a five-minute drive instead of a 40-minute cliff road. The villages stayed car-light because parking sits at the portals. ER223 · opened 2001 | ER223 | 2,511 m | 2001 |
| 5 | Túnel do Curral das Freiras The Nuns' Valley was a dead-end mountain village reached by the hairpin 1959 road via Eira do Serrado until this tunnel opened a direct route from Ribeira da Lapa. Four workers from the village died in an explosion while it was being built in 2003. ER107 · opened 2004 | ER107 | 2,404 m | 2004 |
| 6 | Túnel de São Vicente–Boaventura The long bore of the north-coast expressway, carrying the VE4 under the ridge between São Vicente and Boaventura: the piece that finally made the whole north coast a single, fast drive. VE4 · opened 2000s | VE4 | 2,400 m | 2000s |
| 7 | Túnel do Caniçal The final piece of the airport expressway, and Portugal's longest twin-tube tunnel. Emerging eastbound, the first view is the Ponta de São Lourenço peninsula: one of the best tunnel exits on the island. VR1 · opened 2004 | VR1 | 2,125 m | 2004 |
| 8 | Túnel do Norte Part of the first big north–south bore programme, carrying the VE1 from the Santa Cruz side towards the central massif. VE1 · opened 2001 | VE1 | 2,097 m | 2001 |
| 9 | Túnel do Arco da Calheta The longest tunnel of the Calheta expressway programme, under the ridge above Arco da Calheta. It turned the south-west from an hour of bends into a straight fifteen-minute run. VE3 · opened 2004 | VE3 | 1,910 m | 2004 |
| 10 | Túnel da Ribeira Brava Carries traffic under the town of Ribeira Brava itself: the reason the seafront promenade is a pedestrian space rather than a through-road. VE3 · opened – | VE3 | 1,806 m | – |
Why Madeira has 150+ tunnels
Madeira is a shield volcano rising 1,861 m straight out of the Atlantic. Every ridge radiating from the central peaks used to mean a climb to a pass, Boca da Encumeada, Boca da Corrida, Poiso. From the 1990s onwards, EU and regional funding paid to bore straight through the ridges instead, and the island quietly became one of the most tunnel-dense road networks in Europe.
- Over 150 road tunnels in total, more than 100 km of underground road on an island 57 km long.
- Every tunnel is free. There are no toll roads anywhere in Madeira.
- The network is maintained by ViaExpresso (south) and the regional roads directorate (north).
- Headlights are mandatory in all tunnels, day and night, police do check.
Were the old tunnels really dug by hand?
Almost. The honest answer is hand-drilled and hand-cleared, with dynamite doing the breaking, there were no tunnel-boring machines on 1940s Madeira. If you drive one of the old bores near São Vicente today, the construction method is written all over the walls.
- Hand-held pneumatic drills: crews leant on jackleg drills for hours to sink a pattern of shot-holes into the basalt face, the round drill scars are still visible in the raw rock.
- Blasted a few metres at a time: the holes were packed with dynamite, fired, and the rubble mucked out with shovels, wheelbarrows and mine carts before the next round.
- The 'windows' were spoil chutes: on the coastal tunnels the gaps in the wall were left where crews tipped the blasted rock straight into the sea, the views over the cliffs were a by-product of waste disposal.
- No lining, no lighting, no ventilation: that is why these tunnels are still wet, dripping, rough-cut rock, and why progress was measured in metres per day, paid for in injuries.
The other tunnels worth knowing
Beyond the ten longest, the remaining 140-odd tunnels are mostly shorter bores of a few hundred metres on the expressways and regional roads. Their individual lengths are not published in any public list: but several have names and stories of their own.
| Túnel de Santa Catarina, Funchal | The tunnel every visitor uses without noticing: it carries the VR1 under Santa Catarina Park, which is why the park feels like a green roof over the city motorway. |
| Túnel do Campo da Barca, Funchal | The bore that lets the expressway cross under the hill at Campo da Barca on the way out of central Funchal towards the west. |
| Túnel das Cruzes, Funchal | Another urban VR1 tunnel, under the Cruzes neighbourhood, part of the chain that makes the Funchal bypass possible. |
| Túnel do Tabua, Ribeira Brava | On the VE3 west of Ribeira Brava, part of the run towards Ponta do Sol that opened up the south-west. |
| Túnel da Pontinha, Funchal | The short bore at the Pontinha junction where the VR1 splits towards the west and the Monte exit. |
| Túnel do Machico | The tunnel under the Machico valley edge on the airport run, you emerge to the view over Madeira's second city and its bay. |
| Túnel do Covão (not a road) | The island's longest tunnel of any kind is not for cars at all: a 5.2 km water tunnel between Covão and Campanário, built to move north-coast water south for hydroelectric power and irrigation. |
The full list: every named expressway tunnel
The only official tunnel-by-tunnel inventory ever published is the operator ViaExpresso's own list of the 44 named tunnels on its VE1–VE4 expressways, with lengths. Here it is in full. It does not include the VR1 urban tunnels around Funchal, the west-coast ER bores like Jardim do Mar, or the 100-plus short unnamed bores on the regional roads: those are how the island reaches 150+ in total, but no public list of them with lengths exists.
VE1 · 13 tunnels
| Quinta | 388 m |
| Ribeira Grande | 443 m |
| Cales | 850 m |
| Norte | 2,100 m |
| Guarda | 243 m |
| Serrado | 129 m |
| Achada | 464 m |
| Cruz | 654 m |
| Cortado | 3,168 m |
| Rochedo do Navio | 216 m |
| Santana | 113 m |
| Pinheiro | 700 m |
| Ribeira de São Jorge | 365 m |
VE2 · 14 tunnels
| Terra Chã | 491 m |
| Água D'Alto | 600 m |
| Ribeira do Inferno | 425 m |
| Ladeira da Vinha | 475 m |
| João Delgado | 1,274 m |
| Ribeiro Moinho | 136 m |
| Lugar | 310 m |
| Seixal | 1,236 m |
| Fajã da Parreira | 31 m |
| Fajã das Contreiras | 2,586 m |
| Casais | 1,363 m |
| Ribeira Janela | 363 m |
| Fajã do Barro | 325 m |
| Fajã do Manuel | 520 m |
VE3 · 13 tunnels
| Gesteiro | 186 m |
| Ribeira Brava / Tabua | 1,395 m |
| Tabua | 640 m |
| Lugar de Baixo | 720 m |
| Ponta do Sol / Madalena do Mar | 2,682 m |
| Arco | 1,373 m |
| Doutor | 958 m |
| Calheta | 819 m |
| Igreja | 506 m |
| Moinhos | 290 m |
| Jardim Pelado | 1,020 m |
| Lombo da Velha | 105 m |
| Raposeira | 260 m |
VE4 · 4 tunnels
| Meia Légua | 470 m |
| Encumeada | 3,100 m |
| Saramago | 175 m |
| Cardais | 320 m |
Driving the tunnels: the rules
Madeira follows Portuguese traffic law. Inside tunnels, three rules matter.
- Headlights on, mandatory in every tunnel, including the lit expressway bores. Dipped beam, not DRLs.
- No overtaking in single-carriageway tunnels and no stopping except in the marked emergency bays.
- Single-lane old tunnels: priority signs decide who enters first. If you see lights inside, wait at the portal.
How to see the interesting ones
You will drive through the top ten without trying, they are all on the roads between the airport, Funchal and the north coast. The interesting ones take a small detour.
- Window tunnels: park in São Vicente and walk the old ER101 coastal path towards Seixal, 30–60 minutes on foot, flat, free.
- Cascata dos Anjos: the old road between Ponta do Sol and Madalena do Mar. Drive it westbound for the full waterfall-over-the-car experience.
- Curral das Freiras tunnel: drive it, then stop at Eira do Serrado viewpoint on the way back for the view down into the valley the tunnel bypasses.
- For context on the full road network, see the driving guide, expressways, parking and rental advice are all there.
FAQ: Madeira's tunnels
How many tunnels are there in Madeira?
More than 150 road tunnels, totalling over 100 km of underground road, on an island that is only 57 km long. Most were built between the 1990s and mid-2000s.
What is the longest tunnel in Madeira?
The Túnel do Cortado between Faial and Santana, 3,168 m, opened in 2004. The Encumeada tunnel (3,100 m) is a close second.
Are Madeira's tunnels free?
Yes. Every tunnel and every expressway on the island is toll-free, 24 hours a day.
Where is the famous tunnel in Madeira?
The most photographed are the window tunnels on the old ER101 coast road between São Vicente and Seixal, hand-cut rock tunnels with window openings over the sea, now walkable. The waterfall road at Cascata dos Anjos near Ponta do Sol is the other social-media favourite.
Do I need headlights in Madeira's tunnels?
Yes, dipped headlights are mandatory in every tunnel, including the lit expressway tunnels, and police conduct checks. Automatic DRLs do not count.
Can you walk through any of the old tunnels?
Yes. Stretches of the old ER101 window tunnels west of São Vicente are open as a walking route, and the old single-lane Encumeada tunnel beside the modern VE4 bore is passable on foot via the old ER228. Bring a phone torch, neither is lit.
Were Madeira's old tunnels dug by hand?
Effectively yes. The old bores around São Vicente and on the old ER101 coast road were cut in the 1940s–50s with hand-held pneumatic drills and dynamite, then cleared with shovels and carts. There were no boring machines, and the tunnels were never lined, the raw, dripping basalt and visible drill marks are still there today.
Related
Lengths and dates verified September 2026 against public engineering records. Traffic rules can change, always confirm on the official IMT site.