Climbing Trip in Portugal

Portugal Trip:

Myself my wife and two friends spent a week sport climbing in Portugal. Most of our time was spent south of Lisbon near a beach town called Sesimbra. We climbed at 6 different Crags, one to the north named for the town it is above Reguengo Do fetal, two near Sintra penned da amizade and Farol da Guia, and three crags near the town of Sesimbra, Condominio Fechado, Poema Rocha, and Portugal Dos Pequeninos. 

Favorite Spot:

My personal favorite was Reguengo do fetal, a limestone crag with overhanging tufas! The rock quality was great and the climbs felt like they flowed. If planing to visit having good pinch strength and overhang technique are a must. The bolt spacing felt very safe. While there the locals were excited to show us their area calling our group the tourists and leaving draws hanging on routes we should try. 

My wife’s favorite crag was Farol da Guia. A limestone cliff that goes down to the ocean. It was easily accessible, having parking just above and a sidewalk that lead to stairs to walk down to the climbing area. At the top of the crag was a picture of all the routes with their grades. This was probably the most user friendly Crag for us to figure out. A high concentration of climbs made it easy to get on many quality climbs in a picturesque setting. The climbing was vertical to overhung with unique limestone holds. This would be a great area to hire a guide if you are not sure of your leading ability but would like to climb while on a vacation. There were a few guided groups and they would hang routes for parties to top rope on. 

If you look in the book and are excited about getting on some classic climbs in the city of Sintra, please understand that the routes are what we would call old school and on top of the spice it is hard for the grade. Parking sucks!

Crags we missed

There is a ton of climbing in Portugal and unfortunately with only 6 days to climb we missed a lot. Areas that I would like to go back to are the Mieo Mengos wall and Casal pianos. Mieo Mengos is a limestone ocean side crag that has four distinct caves. The routes are hard and access seems a little spicy. You have to be aware of the tides and use a tyrollia traverse to get to some areas. If one has the fitness to do the routes this area looks super cool. This would be an area to do some mini projecting or to go to while fresh off a rest day.

Casal pianos is a granite trad area, and many multi pitch crack systems can be climbed. We opted to not overload our luggage with our trad racks so this area was not viable to climb, but looks stunning!

Climbing Gear to bring:

We focused on sport climbing so your favorite quickdraws, rope, shoes, harness and chalk bag are all easy to travel with. I think it is best to bring your own gear rather than get stuff at a destination. We checked our rope under the plane, but put our shoes and harnesses in our carry ons. If our checked bag hadn’t made it we could have found a rope there. I brought knee pads for a climb at Poema Rocha, but did not end up getting on it. It was graded 12b and after climbing three days in a row I felt I was not strong enough to get on it that day. 

We brought our favorite pairs of climbing clothes and approach shoes. Honestly most approaches were less than ten minutes and could be done in any shoes. 

Guides:

The portugal guide book Portugal rock climbs on the western tip of Europe by Carlos Simes was invaluable. It was a great starting point for us to plan our adventures. QR codes with directions to parking for each crag was a tool we used every day. Unfortunately this guidebook does not have route descriptions, and the topos are all drawn out making route finding sometimes difficult. The guide book does have lots of pictures to inspire you and show off Portugals beautiful rock. 

Rest Days:

Portugal is rife with history. Driving along the highways there are brown signs indicating castles and other historic landmarks all over the country. We visited a couple of the castles, it was easy to feel like a little kid playing knight. In Lisbon we saw some ruins from the romans. 

Portugal has great beaches, but as it faces the pacific the water was pretty chilly. The beach and waves at Nazaré were really cool. With the right conditions this beach hosts the biggest waves surfed. Usually February is the time to go to see huge waves. 

Local Markets are the best way to get local inexpensive fresh produce, local honey, and amazing olives. The locaks might look at you a little funny if you talk to them in English. 

Food:

For meals our favorite was the fresh seafood at many local restaurants along the beach. While climbing our favorite snacks were fresh olives bought in the markets and cheap prosciutto from the grocery stores. The fruit was fresh and delicious. Don’t forget to try the very famous pastel de nata, it is tasty and can be found at almost any café.

Weather/time to go:

We went at the end of September. We had a few days that were on the edge of being too hot to climb, but mornings and afternoon temps were great. One day was overcast and had perfect temps. Most of the time we were in shorts and T-shirts. The ocean unfortunately was a little cold to swim in comfortably for long but was a refreshing way to cool off in the middle of the day. The day we left for the airport it started to rain and it looked like it was in the forecast for the next ten days.

Where to stay:

We found Airbnb was the most cost effective approach. We wanted the flexibility of a rental car and to stay at multiple different areas. 

Climbing ethics/ Local attitude:

It is considered gross and rude to leave trash around in the United States, but in Portugal it is very normal to see trash and human poop everywhere. So watch where you step, We tried to do our part by picking up what we could of the toilet paper left, because it is not fun to put your bag on a pile.  

Try to practice Portugesse before you visit, it might help you! The men tend to be more accepting of the tourism, some might even invite you to their house, but the woman can be slightly rough around the edges.  Be aware in Sintra of the pushy tour guides that will swindel you into taking a tut tut ride up a hill where safety is not a concern and they dont go into much the history and you only get about ten mintues to explore. We left feeling like we got used and taken an advantage of. If you are a climber take a hike it is incredible trail system, and amazing history all around. Portugal is full of beautiful castles, amazing plants, and breathtaking scenery that you can climb on!