Rock climbing in Central Portugal around Lisbon

The climbing screen around Lisbon is very well developed and has the largest concentration of crags in Portugal. The map shows the location of all these main crags.

The above information has been extracted from the Portugal rock climbing guidebook that can be bought from our shop.

Sintra is situated high in a forest in an atmospheric environment that is often cooler than the beaches a few kilometres away.   Sintra is famous for its excellent granite bouldering that is spread across 11 different areas with some of the most popular being Malveira, Capuchos, Peninha, and Albarrasintra.  The style of bouldering is huge at Sintra, where the granite rock provides an abrasive grip that involves compression moves, insane crimps, technical vertical walls, friction slabs, and some highball problems.   In this vast Sintra bouldering area there are 1,300 problems across a wide range of grades from Fb 3’s through to Fb 8b+, with many of the areas having good landings.  The definitive Sintra Bouldering Guidebook describes 1,300 problems across 11 different areas of Sintra, including the popular Malveira, Capuchos, Peninha, and Albarrasintra areas.  Buy this Sintra Bouldering guidebook from our shop.

The climbing at Cascais and further north around the coast is all about sea cliff climbing in a great location. At Farol da Guia it is sport climbing with around 100 routes on limestone rock. Espinhaco and Ponta Atlantica are 2 crags close together that offer multi-pitch trad routes up to 120m long, on granite rock. Trad routes are also found at Casal Pianos where the basalt rock is highly featured with many crack lines that has been compared to a smaller version of Indian Creek by the sea!

South of Lisbon is the Arrabida National Park near the town of Setubal. Stretched along this rugged coastline are 5 sport climbing areas offering over 350 routes across a wide range of grades. These limestone cliffs are among the best sport climbing to be found in Portugal. The routes at Meio Mango and Fenda are steep with many routes in the F7’s, whilst at Azoia the routes are friendlier with many routes around F6.

Around the town of Leiria, to the north of Lisbon, are several excellent sport climbing crags. All of these crags are situated in pleasant hills and their altitude makes them perfect to escape the hot sun, as they are significantly cooler than the coast. Within the Serra do Sico Mountains there are around 300 routes on good quality limestone rock spread across 3 different crags. The crags are called Redinha, Vale de Poios, and Buracas do Casmilo, and all 3 provide superb technical routes across a wide range of grades.  Read an article by Matt Young describing the sport climbing found at Redinha and Vale de Poios.

The Portugal rock climbing guidebook details all the rock climbing and bouldering in central Portugal around Lisbon, whilst the Sintra Bouldering Guidebook is the definitive guidebook for the bouldering at Sintra.