A night above the clouds
Sunset over the cloud sea from Paul da Serra, a night of stars at 1,560 m, sunrise from your tent. We drive you up in the evening and down after sunrise, with our tents and sleeping bags.
Planned price €240 per car for 1 to 4 people, €310 for 5 or 6, from late afternoon to about 10:00 the next morning. Not bookable yet: join the waitlist below.
- 1,560 m Bica da Cana camp zone
- Up to 6 campers in one car
Your driver speaks EnglishPortuguêsРусский
The planned price, per car
| Route | Time | Price per car, 1–4 people | Price per car, 5–6 people | Status | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night camp above the clouds: the evening and sunrise trips | 17 h | €240 | €310 | Waitlist | Join the waitlist: Night camp above the clouds: the evening and sunrise trips |
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Private tour
Night camp above the clouds: the evening and sunrise trips
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Camping gear, if you need it: €15 a person for the night, with a tent place, a sleeping bag and a mat. The IFCN camping licence, €5 a tent a night, is not in the price. Food and drinks are yours too, or tell us what to buy and we bring it at cost. Pickup is included in Funchal, Caniço, Santa Cruz, Machico, Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava. A telescope and an astronomy guide: say so in the waitlist note if you would want them.
Prices checked on 25 September 2026. Every price is per car, in euro, for the whole group.
Where to camp
Bica da Cana, Paul da Serra, 1,560 m. The first choice: reached by asphalt, with water, toilets, a barbecue place and parking.
Estanquinhos, 1,540 m. A quieter zone on the plateau, reached on foot by a short track, with a barbecue place and no water or toilets.
Poiso, 1,395 m. Close to Pico do Arieiro for the stars, with parking and bins only and no fires.
The darkest skies come around the new moon: 9 November and 9 December 2026.
How the night runs
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Late afternoon
Pickup at your hotel
At a hotel your driver waits at the main entrance, and for a holiday rental in a narrow street we send a map pin the evening before for the nearest point where the car can stop. Bring warm clothes: nights at 1,500 m are cold in every month.
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About 1 hour
Bica da Cana, Paul da Serra
Time to pitch the tents before the light goes.
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Sunset
The edge of the plateau
The sun goes down over the cloud sea, when the cloud sits below.
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Evening
The grill Optional
At the zone's own barbecue place, only when no fire-risk warning is in force. Otherwise a cold dinner and a hot drink from a camping stove.
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Night
The stars
Headlamps on red light, and time to let your eyes adjust.
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Sunrise
From the tents
Coffee, pack up, and every bag of rubbish comes down with us.
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About 10:00
Back at your hotel
With the rest of the day to sleep.
The rules on the mountain
- A licence for every tent. You book it on SIMplifica in your own name before the day, and we send you the link. IFCN refunds it only if IFCN cancels, and the Forest Police can ask to see it.
- Fire. Fires are allowed only at the zone's barbecue place. Bonfires are banned everywhere in Madeira from 1 April to 31 October, and on a fire-risk warning the mountain barbecues close too, so the grill is never promised.
- Leave nothing. All rubbish comes down, nothing is picked or cut, and tents stand at least 5 m apart unless one household shares them.
- Weather. A cloudy night or a storm warning moves the camp to another night; we decide together the day before.
- Insurance. Check that your travel insurance covers a night camping in the mountains.
Night camp questions
Can you wild camp in Madeira?
No. Wild camping is illegal: tents go only in the official IFCN zones listed above.
Will we be above the clouds?
Often, not always. The cloud belt sits between about 800 m and 1,600 m on more than 200 days a year, and Bica da Cana is at 1,560 m. Some nights the cloud rises over the plateau; then we move the night if we can.
Is Fanal good for camping?
Fanal's zone, at 1,135 m, sits inside the cloud most evenings and has no toilets or barbecue place. For stars and sunset the camp goes higher, to Bica da Cana, and the Fanal forest can be a stop on the way down in the morning.
What should we bring?
Warm layers, a hat, a windproof jacket and your own food and drinks, or a list of what we should buy. The camping gear, chairs and headlamps come from us.
Waitlist
The night camp opens when enough of you ask.
Tell us your dates and how many of you would camp, and we write to you when the first nights are set.
Planned price €240 per car for 1 to 4 people, €310 for 5 or 6