Laurisilva of Madeira

Laurel forests once covered much of southern Europe; Madeira keeps the largest piece left. Around 90% of the island's laurisilva is primary forest, a green relict dripping with moss and ferns, home to endemics like the Madeiran long-toed pigeon. Levada channels thread the trees, giving walkers easy lines through the canopy. UNESCO inscribed the Laurisilva of Madeira in 1999.