Madeira has a fascinating landscape, with its high mountains and deep valleys covered by lush vegetation and colourful flowers. Funchal, the main resort on the island, is on Madeira’s south coast in a beautiful bay washed by the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Prazeres is a small, quiet village in a stunning cliff top location, a perfect base for walking Madeira's famous 'levadas', ancient irrigation channels that serve as footpaths. The architecture, food and drink are strongly influenced by the Portuguese colonisation of Madeira in 1418.