Cabo Girão, the glass floor over the sea
A viewing platform at the top of a 580 m sea cliff, twenty minutes west of Funchal, with part of its floor made of glass.
Cabo Girão at a glance
A glass-floored viewpoint at the top of a 580 m sea cliff, looking straight down at the small fields on the shore below.
- Where
- Câmara de Lobos, on the south coast west of Funchal
- From Funchal by car
- about 20 min
- Time to allow
- 30 minutes
- Height of the cliff
- 580 m
- Entry
- €5 for visitors over 12, free for 12 and under
- Open
- 08:00 to 20:00 every day
Go there with us
- West Madeira: Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal Private tour 8 h €2501–4
- Poncha Path: the poncha bars Private tour 4 h €1851–4
- Cruise day, about 4 hours Private tour 4 h €1501–4
- Cruise day, 6 to 7 hours Private tour 6–7 h €2301–4
- Your own route, half day Your own route 4 h €1601–4
Prices are for the whole car, not per person. Each page has the price for 5 or 6.
What you see
The viewpoint sits on the edge of the cliff, and part of its floor is glass. Straight below, 580 m down, are the fajãs: small terraced fields on the strip of land at the foot of the cliff, and the surf beyond them. Looking east you see along the coast to Câmara de Lobos and Funchal.
A short drive to the east, at Sítio do Rancho, a small cable car with two six-seat cabins goes down to those fields. It was built for the farmers, and it runs every day for visitors too.
Before you go
- The ticket. Entry is €5 for visitors over 12, free for 12 and under. Buy it at the kiosks on the viewpoint (cash or card) or online on SIMplifica; no time slot.
- The hours. The platform is open 08:00 to 20:00 every day. Sunset falls before 20:00 from October to March, so in those months you can watch it from the glass.
- Half an hour is enough for the platform and the view. The Rancho cable car is a separate stop with its own drive and its own ticket.
- If heights bother you, stand on the solid part of the platform: the view is the same.
Cabo Girão with us
Our west Madeira day stops here in the morning, after a coffee in Câmara de Lobos. The Poncha Path comes in the late afternoon, and both cruise days stop here on the way from the ship. Twenty minutes from Funchal, it also fits a half day with a driver.
Nearby, on the same day
All places-
Câmara de Lobos
A fishing town just west of Funchal, with boats in the bay Churchill painted in 1950 and the bars where poncha was first made.
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Curral das Freiras and Eira do Serrado
A village at the bottom of a deep valley ringed by peaks, and the Eira do Serrado viewpoint high above it.
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Ribeira Brava
A seaside town where the road from the south coast turns up the valley to the north, with an old fort by the beach.
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Ponta do Sol
A small south-west coast town with a pebble beach, a stone pier from 1849 and a 15th-century church.
Cabo Girão questions
How much is the Cabo Girão skywalk?
Entry is €5 for visitors over 12, free for 12 and under. Tickets are sold at the kiosks on the viewpoint (cash or card) or online on SIMplifica; no time slot.
Is the Cabo Girão cable car at the skywalk?
No. The Rancho cable car down to the fields at the foot of the cliff starts at Sítio do Rancho, a short drive east of the skywalk, with its own ticket.
Can you see the sunset from Cabo Girão?
From October to March, yes: the sun sets before the platform closes at 20:00. In summer it sets after closing time.
Cabo Girão on the west day
The skywalk, the north-west coast and the Porto Moniz pools in one day from your hotel. Send us a date and we reply within 60 minutes, 07:00–22:00, with the price for the car.
West Madeira: Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal €250 per car for 1 to 4 people, €290 for 5 or 6