Deserta Grande Island, Island in Madeira, Portugal
Deserta Grande is the largest island of the Desertas group, a cluster of rocky islets in the North Atlantic lying about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Madeira. The island is a long, narrow strip of volcanic land with steep cliffs of dark basalt rising to over 1,300 feet (400 meters).
Portuguese sailors first sighted Deserta Grande in 1420 while charting the Atlantic under Prince Henry the Navigator. The island changed hands several times over the centuries and has belonged to the Portuguese government since 1971.
Deserta Grande is known today mainly as a place where nature takes priority over everything else. Visitors come to see rare seabirds nesting on the cliffs and to learn about the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.
The island can only be visited as part of a guided, licensed tour, usually departing from Funchal or Caniçal on Madeira and taking a full day. On arrival, visitors land at the Doca anchorage and walk short distances along designated paths, always under supervision.
A small valley called Vale da Castanheira shelters the Deserta wolf spider, one of the largest wolf spiders in the world and found only on this island. Native land snails from the same island were rediscovered after going unseen for over a hundred years.
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