Machico is a city and a municipality located in the northeastern part of the Madeira Islands. The city was founded in 1451. Machico is the easternmost municipality on the island and is the third most populous city after the capital Funchal and Câmara de Lobos. The population of the municipality was 21,747 in 2001. The city itself has a population of 10,894.[1]

It is located 17 km NE of Funchal, NW of the Savage Islands, 20 km SE of Santana and WSW of Porto Santo.

• Location:

  • Latitude: 32.7 (32°42') N

  • Longitude: 16.7667 (16°46') W

Machico is linked with road to Funchal and Santana and a small road connecting Ribeira Seca and Caniçal. The mountains lie to the west and a smaller range to the northeast.

The main source of the economy is agriculture, tourism, and fishing while a small number of businesses are in the downtown area. The forests lie to the central and western parts while the grasslands covers the northeastern portion. The harbor has an excellent promenade with lights and offers a view of Machico, the mountain slopes and the road linking to Santana and the northern part of the island. A small harbor filled with yachts lies east of Machico.

Machico has several primary schools, lower secondary school, an upper secondary school, banks, a post office, a small port, beaches and squares or plazas (praças).