Levada do Rei, or King’s Levada, is called so because it was built by order of King D. Manuel II, the last king of Portugal. It begins at the Quinta de Levada do Rei, a pleasant bar where you can take refreshments after completing the walk, and finishes at the source of the Ribiera Bonita which translates as beautiful river.
I thought that this walk would be a shorter version of the Caldeira Verde levada walk as it accesses the same valley, but it had a very different feel to it, being much gentler, often bathed in sunlight, and with open views over the lush valley below.
A wide path and a flight of stone steps takes you to the levada and the start of the walk. The first part of the levada runs along a wide path with tall Tree Ferns, Sugar Cane and lots of Agapanthus that must look wonderful in the springtime. The path narrows typically and we are walking against the flow of the levada which is full and running quite quickly. The water follows the curve of the valley as is typical but the terrain and path change frequently: sometimes the path is wide and we are surrounded by Laurel and Eucalyptus, the latter reaching high above us elegantly towards the sky; occasionally there are grasses and ferns and even Tobacco Plant which is more usual lower in the valley; when the foliage becomes dense there are closely growing Beech, Cedar and other trees and shrubs and towering rocks beside the levada.
Always there are ferns, soft maidenhair growing on the mossy banks, typical fern although larger than usual lining the path and tall tree ferns growing amongst the trees and shrubs. At one point the path widens into a track, passing below larger and older laurels and then narrows so that you are walking only on the levada wall before passing through a short tunnel. At one point, water pours over the rocks above giving us an icy shower as we pass underneath them. At two different points the levada crosses gurgling streams that top up the levada water as well as continuing their path downstream and at several points, irrigation channels run off at right angles reminding us that these waterways serve a very important function, to provide the lower valleys with water for the crops, without which life could not be sustained.
The end of the Levada do Rei is lush and green, and the surroundings seem like a bright verdant jungle full of huge ferns. Today the water from the source trickled between the huge boulders finding their way downstream, but after a rainfall I can imagine it would be gushing over them creating its own unstoppable path.
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