I have visitd these forests many times. As a young Funchalense, my parents would take me on picnics to Santo da Serra, Poiso, and Ribeiro Frio (very impressive trout hatchery located there), where we would enjoy hiking through these woodlands. These forests are breathtakingly gorgeous. You truly feel like you are in a scene from "Lord of the Rings". The trees are so gnarled and thick, and the air is so fresh and cool. The Madeiran government has done a superlative job preserving these forests and I hope they remain protected for posterity. My only fear is that the extensive and invasive forests of Maritime Pine, Douglas Fir, Chestnut and Eucalyptus found throughout the island don't encroach too closely and compromise these primordial Laurisilva forests.