Monte Toboggan Run
Monte Toboggan Run features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Funchal. Give it roughly ~20 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~20 min
- Funchal Funchal guide
About Monte Toboggan Run
Funchal's most famous ride: wicker sledges on wooden runners that two straw-hatted drivers steer and brake with their boots down the steep streets from Monte toward the city.
The carros de cesto, the wicker toboggans of Monte, are one of Madeira's most beloved traditions: basket seats mounted on wooden runners, in which passengers ride down the steep public streets from Monte toward Funchal. Two drivers, the carreiros, dressed in white with straw boater hats, run alongside, pushing, steering with ropes and braking with the rubber soles of their boots; the sled itself has neither steering wheel nor brakes.
The ride began in the middle of the 19th century, when the people of Monte wanted a fast way down to the city, growing out of small sleds once used to move goods. It runs about two kilometres from near the church at Monte down to Livramento on the upper edge of Funchal, reaching up to around forty kilometres an hour in a few exhilarating minutes. Each sled is still hand-made by local craftsmen, and the carreiros' guild honours Our Lady of Monte.
Did you know? The toboggans are wicker baskets on wooden runners with no steering wheel or brakes; two drivers in white and straw hats steer with ropes and brake with the soles of their boots.
How long is a visit to Monte Toboggan Run?
Set aside roughly ~20 min for Monte Toboggan Run. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Monte Toboggan Run worth your time?
Monte Toboggan Run is among the 13 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Funchal, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Funchal
Day 2 of the Funchal in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Monte Toboggan Run
Preview the Funchal tour free in the Gingerguide app.