Portugal 
In numbers.
Dec–Mar
Best months
1,141m
Elevation
The water at Risco waterfall, month by month
It roars from November to March.
The fullest months: from November to March. The thinnest: from June to September.
- 81%Jan
- 84%Feb
- 85%Mar
- 60%Apr
- 30%May
- 11%Jun
- 3%Jul
- 2%Aug
- 11%Sep
- 46%Oct
- 80%Nov
- 100%Dec
Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from December to March.
Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.
Getting there.
- Arco da Calhetanearest town · 5.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,190 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 33 km in a straight lineCar hire at FNC airport (Funchal)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- From December to Marchbest months to go (estimate)
Plan your visit
Stay, explore and get there
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
Seen from the sky.
8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.
Around the falls the river drops 424 m in 2.5 km. Here the river runs about 107 m below the lower rim of its valley.
What is around.
- 37viewpointsPaul, Risco, Pico do Vento and 34 more
- 15waymarked walking routesPR 6 - Levada das 25 Fontes, PR 6.1 - Levada do Risco, PR 13 - Vereda do Fanal and 12 more
- 6car parks
- —swimming spots
- 25picnic sites
- 3toilets
- 3information boards and visitor centres
- 1bus stops within 1 km
- 4other named waterfalls within 4 km25 Fontes, Lagoa do Lajeado, Canyon Lajeado and 1 more
- 15caves
- 9campsitesCaramujo, Estanquinhos, Fanal and 6 more
- 40hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmMar Turquesa Guesthouse, Calhau Grande, Enginho Velho and 37 more
- 3restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Arco da Calheta5.6 km in a straight line
- Calheta6.4 km in a straight line
- Estreito da Calheta6.5 km in a straight line
- Canhas7.3 km in a straight line
- São Vicente8.5 km in a straight line
- Ponta do Sol9.2 km in a straight line
- Fajã da Ovelha10 km in a straight line
- Ribeira Brava11 km in a straight line
Weather
The weather, month by month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon °C | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 12 |
| Night °C | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 32 | 38 | 40 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 38 | 43 | 45 |
| Wet days | 7 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Sun h/day | 4.8 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 7.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 |
Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (1,141 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.
Photos
Through visitors' eyes.
Recent years
Wet years and dry years
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 16% | 35% | 21% | 80% | 55% | 219% | — | 37% | 130% | 76% | 88% | 50% |
| 2021 | 249% | 37% | 78% | 36% | 53% | 154% | — | 68% | 65% | 7% | 44% | 73% |
| 2022 | 94% | 79% | 62% | 91% | 53% | 19% | — | 120% | 117% | 138% | 20% | 102% |
| 2023 | 16% | 64% | 15% | 9% | 14% | 246% | — | 110% | 58% | 176% | 50% | 52% |
| 2024 | 113% | 72% | 54% | 33% | 57% | 115% | — | 53% | 15% | 48% | 141% | 123% |
| 2025 | 56% | 58% | 58% | 50% | 96% | 54% | — | 173% | 107% | 96% | 61% | 118% |
130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual
Compare with the waterfalls nearby.
Risco waterfall
Portugal
- —Height
- —Average flow
- Dec–MarBest months
About these numbers
| Names, height, width, river | Wikidata (Q17029494) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Relief, river profile, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Paths, viewpoints, parking | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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