A significant town on Madeira's south-western shoreline, Calheta
is the island's main centre of banana plantations, vineyards
and sugar-cane production. It is also a pleasant place to stopover
while driving along the coast road to the north. What to see. Dating back to 1430, Calheta's parish church
is most notable for its complex Moorish-style wooden ceiling
and a large ebony and silver tabernacle donated by King Manuel
I. Nearby. At Loreto, 2 km east of Calheta, the 15th-century
chapel has a Manueline south portal and fine geometrically-patterned
ceiling. Visitors to Lombo dos Reis, near Estreito da Calheita,
can see the lovely Capela dos Reis Magos (Chapel of the Three
Kings) which has an interesting 16th-century Flemish altar carving
of the Adoration of the Magi. Also worth seeing are the twenty-five
waterfalls at Rabaçal, 10 km north of Calheta, which
plunge down the mountain from over 100 metres above.
