The village spends the weekend cooking the chestnuts that grow on the terraces above it. Stalls around the centre roast them over charcoal and sell them hot by the cone, alongside chestnut soup, chestnut cake, chestnut bread and the licor de castanha the valley is known for, with poncha and cherry liqueur on the same counters. Folklore groups play through both days, and at some point the village walks an allegorical parade in costume, which is the set piece worth timing your arrival around.
- CostFree to walk in. A cone of chestnuts or a cup of poncha is a euro or two, and this is a cash festival: village stalls with a card machine are the exception.
- WhereThe centre of Curral das Freiras, a village on the floor of a valley walled in by peaks, half an hour up behind Funchal.
- Getting thereOne road drops into the valley and everybody uses it. The car parks in the village are full by the middle of the morning, so go early or take the bus up from Funchal and leave the car where it is.
- Best timeThe morning is the calm half and the middle of the day is when the village is genuinely full. The valley floor loses the sun early, because the walls are that high.
- With childrenYes, all of it. This is a village street festival with music, food and a costumed parade rather than a drinking crowd, and the roasting itself keeps small children watching.
- If it rainsThe stalls are covered and the cooking carries on. Take a layer whatever the coast is doing: the valley holds cloud and sits several degrees below Funchal.
The drive is the part to plan and the festival is the easy part. The road in runs through a tunnel under the ridge and ends in a village that was not built for this many cars, so the choice is to arrive early, park on the verge a long walk out, or let the bus do it. Eira do Serrado, the viewpoint on the ridge looking straight down on the village, is ten minutes off the same road and worth the stop on the way up, though on festival weekends its car park doubles as the overflow. Two or three hours in the village covers the food, the folklore and a walk around it.
What people ask us about Festa da Castanha
Can I get there without a car?
Yes, and on this weekend it is the better option. A public bus runs up from Funchal through the day and takes about forty minutes, and it solves the one genuinely hard part of the trip, which is parking at the other end.
What is actually made from the chestnuts?
Soup, bread, cake, pudding and a liqueur, as well as the roasted ones sold by the cone. The licor de castanha is the thing people carry home, and it is sold by the bottle at the same stalls that pour it.
Is it worth going if I have already seen the viewpoint?
Eira do Serrado is ten minutes of looking down at the village from the ridge above it. The festival is the village itself at the bottom of that drop, full of people and smoke, and it is a different day out. Do both on the same trip.
How long do I need there?
Two to three hours is enough to eat, hear the folklore groups and walk the length of the village. People who go up for the parade usually make an afternoon of it and eat there rather than driving back for lunch.
