When I ask the best time of year to visit Madeira replies vary. "The time of the jacaranda," one person says and another: "In your winter but only because you will especially like the contrast." The closest thing to an off-season on this flowering Atlantic island north of the Canaries and far nearer Africa than Portugal may be midsummer when the European regulars are home tending their own gardens and the cruise ships move on to the Aegean.

Just as the Gulf Stream keeps the temperature of the ocean mild (64-68F) and there is no true rainy season (they admit to brief intense showers in March, April and October), the winter low is 65 and the summer high, 85. In November when it's 40 and raining in London, 20 and dark in Stockholm, it's 75 and sunny in Madeira. Flying time from Lisbon is one and one-half hours.

The lush environment of Madeira might easily have been exploited and its blessings taken for granted, but such is not the case. This politically autonomous region of Portugal has taken a cue from its ecologically aware home country: protect and prosper. Two thirds of Madeira and its sister island Porto Santo are a Natural Park conservation area. Even its uninhabited outpost isles, the tiny Desertas and Selvagens, are kept as sanctuaries for seabirds and breeding grounds for seals.

More than 600 miles of narrow irrigation channels (called "levadas") were built to bring water from the mountains to where it was most needed. Footpaths run beside them creating a web of ideal hiking trails all across the island. Escorted hikes and group excursions are offered by local travel agencies and hotels, but individuals, couples and families can plan their own walks using maps and information sheets provided by the tourist office. Trails are coded 1 to 4, easy to difficult. Small inns and restored houses in rural areas cater to hikers.

The flora is so exotic it seems contrived. Anthurium; orchids; bird-of-paradise; variegated lilies; protea and other flowers usually seen only in florists (and priced by the stem) bloom voluntarily. The Botanical Gardens, originally the country estate of the Reid family who built Reid's Hotel in Funchal a century ago, has acres of gardens, a tropical bird section and an outdoor cafe. The orchid collection is at its best December to April. A dozen private gardens are also open to the public certain days and hours, while April is the month of the three-day flower festival in Funchal.

Some 68 plants including three varieties of orchids grow in Madeira but nowhere else, at least not in their natural environment. Another 42 also occur in the Azores, Canaries and Cape Verde (the total region is called Macaronesia), and still others brought here by accident or intent on trading vessels from Asia and Africa quickly adapted to the soil and climate.

Bananas, mangos, avocados, papaya, oranges, lemons, guavas, custard apples and passion fruit grow in terraced orchards and are for sale in Funchal's vast covered market or by the side of the road. Walnuts and chestnuts are so abundant they have their own festivals upcountry in summer. The great Madeira wines are aged in oak barrels from the United States since oak trees on the island are protected.

Wickerware is made from the nonendangered and plentiful willow, and the village of Camacha is well-off because of it. Incidentally, one of the more creative ways to descend a mountain is in a "Carro de Cesto," a two-person wicker basket on runners. The ride, referred to locally as a "sleigh ride," goes from Monte to Funchal and was originally a market shortcut.

Madeira was unpopulated when it was discovered in 1419 by Portuguese explorer Joao Goncalves Zarco. He had anchored at Porto Santo in a storm, and his sailors seeing Madeira under a cloud on the horizon concluded this was the end of the earth. Zarco returned with a less nervous crew the following year and reached a mountainous densely forested island he named Ilha da Madeira, Island of Wood. He was so taken with the place he stayed on as governor and colonizer. Except for some British occupation during the Napoleonic wars and Spanish sword-rattling, Portugal prevailed.

Like so many volcanic islands, Madeira is speculated to be the top of the mythical Atlantis. Only 36 miles long and 14 miles wide, its mountains rise from 16,500 feet below sea level to 6100 feet above, and 90% of the island is 600 feet or more. The volcanoes are long dormant, but the mild climate keeps the rocky escarpment tooth-sharp. There are waterfalls in the north; the world's second highest sea cliff in the south; and a green facade of rare trees everywhere. This type of primitive forest (the "laurisilva") covered all Europe in the tertiary era only to be decimated by advancing glaciers that never reached this far south. Madeira is the same latitude as Casablanca, a scant 400 miles east.

There are no beaches except on Porto Santo which has five miles of white sand. On Madeira seaside swimming pools circulate seawater, and swimmers move out directly into the ocean. Windsurfing, water-skiing, surfing, snorkeling and scuba diving are increasingly popular. Espada, the black deepwater swordfish, is on every menu, and fishing charters are available through the hotels or at the port.

Incidentally, the finest aquarium in Europe built on the Lisbon waterfront for Expo 98 is a permanent fixture on the mainland. Consider adding on a few days to see it and to visit the Algarve. This southern coast of Portugal not only has great golf, it is 70 percent nature reserve, Natural Park, and is a vital point in the wetlands network connecting Europe and Africa. The Algarve was recently awarded the Grand Prix at the Swiss Travel Meeting in Geneva for its active promotion of environment protection.

IF YOU GO: Casual is the rule on Madeira. The exception is Reid's Palace Hotel, Funchal, where the dining rooms require coat and tie, and afternoon tea on the terrace has been a dress-up event since the 1800s. Evenings and trips into the mountains require sweaters.

Getting There: Direct flights from the United States, Canada, London and European capitals.

Getting Around: Rental cars; public buses. Bicycling on flat Porto Santo. Roads are much improved in the last several years, but the local drivers are wild.

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