Ribeira da Pedra Branca

Flow is mostly weak or normal: weak in July 2015, May 2016, September 2017, October 2023, January 2024, July 2025 and September 2025 (very low and very warm, when neoprene trousers were enough); normal in September 2015, February 2017, November 2022 and April 2025; strong in March 2018 and good to plentiful after rainy days in October and November 2024. Low flow leaves a lot of algae in the last pool that dirties ropes on retrieval.

R2 has been the recurring problem spot: in November 2015 it had no maillon and the descent was made on the existing ring; in May 2016 the white anchor rope had exposed filaments and needed replacing; a fixed handrail of 6 mm cord was in place there in September 2017 and again in March 2018; in July 2021 a provisional backup was put around the tree, with extra friction on retrieval; R1 and R2 are on trees and slings with manageable but height-related friction. R1 is high on the left and easy to spot with a blue rope. In January 2024 the left-hand hanger bolt of R5 had play and was not tightened, while both bolts of R6 were tightened that month. In September 2015 a new station was placed at R10 further out of the waterfall on the left bank, reached via the handrail (use the main anchor as the handrail multipoint), to be used only for a guided rappel anchored to a vehicle on the old regional road; the rock is loose so the bolts were set back, and a rope protector removes rub. The last rappel has three anchors plus two chemical anchors at the bottom for a rappel guidé, four double anchors in total. In July 2025 two new rings on the highest rappel made rope retrieval harder and caused a lot of friction; by September 2025 one bolt of the badly positioned anchors on the C50 was loose and turning. As of June 2026 both the R2 handrail and R2 rappel anchors are loose and need tightening, and the R7 and R8 points are rusting because they are close to the sea. A screw carabiner was left at R1 in October 2023.

Small rockslides occur at the start of the steep section of the access path (March 2018) and at the start of the canyon (January 2025). In April 2025 the tree in the middle of the entry rappel had fallen out of the wall, the area around the hole in the wall was unstable, and a fresh ~8-ton boulder lay at the bottom of R4. The path is slippery in rain.

The access path swings between cleared and overgrown: overgrown in July 2015, July 2017, May 2021 (bring a machete), August 2022 and January 2024 (turn right into a small stream bed a few metres up; very tall grass), and clean in January 2015, November 2015, October 2024 and April 2025. Its last part before the forest is dangerous. The path entrance is further to the left than expected. In February 2017 rockfall on the old regional road made it impossible to park at the canyon end and cars had to be left ~200 m away by the ETAR. The return is easy.