Achada do Teixeira is a mountain and a settlement of the freguesia (parish) of Santana, of the municipality of Santana, Ilha da Madeira. It has a natural attraction in basalt stone which is called the "standing man" ("homem em pé" in Portuguese). From here the main access to Pico Ruivo departs via the trail PR1.2 Vereda do Pico Ruivo.[3] This place has a car park to support visitors. There is a division between three parishes in the municipality of Santana that converge there, Santana, Faial, Ilha.

Since 2002, the Astronomy Group of the University of Madeira has held its traditional AstroFesta in this place.[4] In fact, the area surrounding Achada do Teixeira is among the best places for astronomical observation at national level. A little further up is the plateau of Encumeada Alta, one of the best places in the Northern Hemisphere to do astronomy,[5] already located in the parish of Faial.

There are plans to install a small robotic observatory next to Achada do Teixeira. A cement base has already been built for this purpose.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d PeakVisor.com. "Achada do Teixeira". Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  2. ^ summitpost.org. "Achada do Teixeira : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  3. ^ Madeira Regional Tourism Board. "VEREDA DO PICO RUIVO". Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  4. ^ Grupo de Astronomia da Universidade da Madeira. "Semana da Astronomia". Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. ^ Teresa Lago. Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto. "Madeira, the site for a new observatory in northern Europe". 18/03/1996. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. ^ Grupo de Astronomia da Universidade da Madeira. "OBSERVATÓRIO ÓPTICO". 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2021.