Cabo Girão, Cape and cliff in Câmara de Lobos, Portugal.
Cabo Girão is a coastal cliff on Madeira's southern shore that rises roughly 580 meters above the Atlantic Ocean and ranks among Europe's tallest seaside cliffs. The rock face drops steeply into the water, offering views across the ocean and down toward the cultivated terraces below.
Landslides have repeatedly struck Cabo Girão, notably in 1894 and on 4 March 1930, when falling rock triggered a local tsunami that pushed up to 300 metres inland near Câmara de Lobos and swept about 20 people out to sea, where they drowned. The Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Fátima was built in 1974 to replace a smaller chapel from 1931.
The terraced fields below the cliff, the Fajãs de Cabo Girão, were once reachable only by boat. Since August 2003 a cable car on the slope lets farmers reach these low-lying plots, which are still cultivated. The cape's name means "Cape of Return" in Portuguese.
The glass skywalk sits at the top of the cliff, reached by road from Câmara de Lobos, less than two kilometres east. A cable car installed in August 2003 links the cliff slope to the terraced fields below, which were once reachable only by boat. The cape is also a launch point for paragliders and BASE jumpers.
The glass skywalk opened in late October 2012, not 2015, and the cliff below it measures 560 to 589 metres, not 600. The platform is modelled on the Grand Canyon Skywalk, and the German Wikipedia calls it the highest glass-floored viewing platform in the world. The cape's name means "Cape of Return" in Portuguese.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,112 contributors worldwide.
