Gaula is a small parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz, one of the oldest settlements on the island. The parish has about 4,028 inhabitants and an area of 6.95 km². It is located 7 kilometres northeast of the island's capital Funchal.
Currently, the municipality of Santa Cruz has about 43,000 inhabitants divided into five parishes: Camacha, Caniço, Gaula, Santo António da Serra and Santa Cruz.