Climbing and surfing in the pearl of Portugal
by Massimo Cappuccio
There are many reasons to travel to Portugal, and even more if you are a climbing and surfing enthusiast.
The great ocean waves and immense beaches attract the best surfers from all over, and this is the reason why Portugal is famous in the world of sportsmen, and those who love an ‘easy and fun’ lifestyle, but Portugal also offers excellent and varied climbing.
There are many possibilities, from sport crags, to bouldering and multi-pitch routes, and all this always in well-preserved and protected natural environments, such as in the beautiful Sintra Nature Reserve.
This area, located just north of Lisbon, is a concentration of the natural, artistic and cultural beauties of Portugal. The capital of the area, the characteristic town of Sintra is located on top of the Monte della Luna at almost 400 metres above sea level and can be defined as a magical place; nineteenth-century buildings, fairy-tale villas and a Moorish castle make this place unique, rightly defined by poets and writers of the past, as the most beautiful place in Portugal. Lord Byron defined it as glorious Eden.
The Sintra area is quite large, over 300 square kilometres and with a complex and varied morphology. The very indented coastline has wide beaches and stretches of cliffs up to and over 100 metres high, the internal area is hilly with fairly steep slopes and mainly covered in dense forest, where some of the rock jewels of the reserve are hidden. The whole area is characterised by a particular microclimate, mild in the south and cooler and oceanic in the north. In general, however, the whole reserve is cooler than the rest of Portugal, thanks to the dense vegetation and the movement of the winds.
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