Garajau, the statue above the reserve
A Christ statue on a headland east of Funchal, with a cable car down to a beach on a protected stretch of sea.
Garajau at a glance
The 1927 Cristo Rei statue on a headland east of Funchal, above a marine reserve where you can swim and snorkel from the shore.
- Where
- Santa Cruz (Caniço), on the south coast east of Funchal
- From Funchal by car
- about 20 min
- Time to allow
- 30 minutes, or half a day with a swim
- Cable car to the beach, runs
- 10:00 to 20:00 in summer and 10:00 to 18:00 in winter
- The beach
- free, a pebble beach with toilets, showers, a first-aid post, a restaurant and a dive centre
Go there with us
- East Madeira: Santana and Ponta de São Lourenço Private tour 8 h €2501–4
- Snorkeling on the south coast Private tour 4.5 h Waitlist
- 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 and do
At the end of Ponta do Garajau stands Cristo Rei, a statue of Christ with open arms on the headland, inaugurated on 30 October 1927. From the headland you look west across the bay to Funchal.
Below the cliff is the Garajau beach. A small cable car with two cabins runs down to it, and the road goes down too. The sea in front is the Garajau Partial Nature Reserve, a protected stretch of sea since 1986, 376 ha: swimming and diving allowed, no fishing and nothing taken. Under the water there is visibility often over 20 m, a rocky bottom and then fine sand; the dusky grouper is its emblem. The fish are not hunted here, so they come close to swimmers with a mask.
East along the coast, at Caniço de Baixo, Reis Magos beach and the Galomar lido on the reserve's eastern edge are two more ways into the sea.
Before you go
- The cable car runs 10:00 to 20:00 in summer and 10:00 to 18:00 in winter. Fares are paid at the station.
- Look, don't touch. In the reserve nothing is fished, taken or fed.
- Snorkelling needs no permit. The reserve's fee applies to scuba diving only.
- The water is clearest on calm days. The south coast is more sheltered than the north.
Garajau with us
Our east Madeira day ends at the Cristo Rei viewpoint before you're back at your hotel. Our snorkeling morning uses the shore entries here and at Caniço de Baixo; it opens when enough guests have joined the waitlist.
Nearby, on the same day
All places-
Funchal market and old town
Funchal's oldest quarter: the 1940 farmers' market and the painted doors of Rua de Santa Maria, a short walk from the Monte cable car.
-
Machico
The east-coast bay where the Portuguese discoverers landed in 1419, now a town with a yellow-sand beach.
-
Monte
A hillside parish above Funchal, reached by cable car, with an 18th-century church, a tropical garden and the wicker toboggan ride down.
-
Ponta de São Lourenço
Madeira's bare, windswept eastern headland, walked on the PR8 from Baía d'Abra past red cliffs to Casa do Sardinha.
Garajau questions
Can you snorkel at Garajau?
Yes. The sea below the statue is the Garajau Partial Nature Reserve, a protected stretch of sea since 1986, 376 ha: swimming and diving allowed, no fishing and nothing taken. Snorkelling needs no permit; enter from the beach or from Reis Magos and Galomar at Caniço de Baixo.
How do you get down to Garajau beach?
By the cable car, which runs 10:00 to 20:00 in summer and 10:00 to 18:00 in winter, or on foot down the road.
Cristo Rei on the east day
Pico do Arieiro, Santana and the east coast, ending at the Cristo Rei viewpoint. Send us a date and we reply within 60 minutes, 07:00–22:00, with the price for the car.
East Madeira: Santana and Ponta de São Lourenço €250 per car for 1 to 4 people, €290 for 5 or 6