A prehistoric forest remnant survives on a volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Once widespread across Europe, the ancient laurissilva laurel forest was nearly lost to centuries of clearing and agriculture. Today, this rare ecosystem persists on Madeira, offering a living window into a subtropical world that existed millions of years ago, long before the arrival of human settlers on the archipelago.

The laurissilva, or laurel forest, is a relic of a subtropical landscape that covered much of the Mediterranean Basin before the climate cooled and dried during the ice ages. Paleobotanical evidence confirms that these forests have thrived on Madeira for at least 1.8 million years. Characterized by evergreen trees with glossy leaves, the forest is dominated by members of the Lauraceae family, alongside a rich understory of ferns, mosses, and endemic orchids like Dactylorhiza foliosa.

Following the arrival of Portuguese settlers after 1420, the landscape was drastically altered. Forests were cleared for timber, particularly the prized Persea indica, and vast areas were converted into sugarcane plantations. To support this agriculture, settlers constructed an extensive network of stone and concrete water channels known as levadas. The introduction of livestock further degraded the ecosystem, as grazing animals decimated the forest understory. Today, about 15,000 hectares of laurissilva remain, primarily on the island's northern slopes.

Conservation efforts have been critical to the forest's survival. In 1982, the Madeira Natural Park was established to protect the region, and the subsequent removal of goats and sheep allowed the understory to recover. UNESCO designated the area a World Heritage Site in 1999, recognizing it as the largest remaining laurel forest of its kind. Approximately 90 percent of this protected forest is considered primary growth, containing trees that are up to 800 years old, predating the human settlement of the islands.

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