Volcanism Centre & Caves of São Vicente

The Volcanism Centre is located in São Vicente, a charming village on Madeira’s north coast, sitting at the end of the valley where the formation of the island started.

This centre manages to convey culture and education in a very entertaining way by providing the visitors with audiovisual demonstrations of volcanic eruptions and the birth of an island. Here, you can also visit São Vicente’s famous volcanic caves (already existing and now included in the Volcanism Centre) and stroll through the beautiful gardens featuring Madeira’s endemic flora.

Of volcanic origin, the caves are composed of a series of lava tubes, result of an eruption that happened 400 thousand years ago. This complex of ‘volcanic tunnels’ represents a development of over 1000 meters length and so far it is the biggest known on Madeira Island.

The pedestrian course has a length of 700 meters that takes around 30 minutes to view. A truly amazing walk through the entrails of the earth during which you will be able to admire volcanic stalactites, lava accumulations, known as ‘lava cakes’, and the ‘erratic block’ (a stone carried by the lava that got stuck in one of the lava channels because of its dimensions).