Praia do Norte

The biggest waves ever ridden

Praia do Norte is the beach on the north side of the Nazaré headland, under the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo and its red lighthouse. For most of its history it was simply the exposed side of a fishing town, the beach people were warned away from. Then, in the winter of 2011, a tow-in surfer rode a wave here that was measured at 78 feet, and the world learned what the fishermen had always known: the ocean off this beach does something it does nowhere else. The ratified records since have passed 80 feet, about 26 meters, and every winter the biggest waves ever ridden are ridden here again.

The engine is the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater gorge about 5 km deep and 200 km long that ends almost at the sand. It funnels long-period west and northwest swell straight at the beach while the headland bends a second wave train into the same spot, and where the two meet the peaks stack. On a giant day it is jet skis, rescue teams and thousands of people on the cliff. On an ordinary day it is a heavy, shifty beach break that looks like Peniche from the car park and hits like nothing in Peniche once you are in the water.

Advanced

Wave: Big-wave beach break over sand, north of the Nazaré headland
Best swell: Long-period W to NW groundswell, from chest-high to the biggest waves on earth
Best wind: E to SE or calm; the canyon peaks need clean conditions to be rideable at all
Best tide: Any. On the surfable days most people go at mid tide, well clear of the rocks under the fort
Season: October to March for the giants; a normal-to-heavy beach break the rest of the year
Level: Advanced on ordinary days, tow teams only on the giant ones

How the wave breaks

Everything starts with the canyon. Long-period swell from the west and northwest travels up the deep water of the Nazaré Canyon almost without losing energy, while the same swell on either side slows over the shallow shelf. When the two arrive at the beach the canyon wave is taller and faster, and the headland to the south refracts yet another wave train back into it. Where the trains meet, the peaks stack, which is why a swell that is merely big at Peniche can stand up here as a wall the height of a building. The ratified records here are above 80 feet, about 26 meters.

Below giant size it is still not a normal beach. From chest-high to double overhead you get thick lips, wide-spaced peaks that jump left and right with the banks, a shore break that dumps straight onto the sand and currents running along the beach and out through the peaks. It can look surfable from the fort, and it is, for the surfers who know it, but it carries far more power than the same size at Supertubos because the canyon adds energy at every size. Nobody paddles out on the giant days: those belong to the tow teams, the jet skis and the rescue crews.

Winter swell breaking on the Papôa headland at Peniche, 40 minutes south of Nazaré

When it works

The giants ride the winter's biggest northwest swells, October to March, and the best of them come with a light east to southeast wind or none at all: the canyon peaks need clean conditions to be rideable, and a giant day with onshore wind is just chaos to watch. The WSL has run a big-wave event here since 2016, on a swell window called a few days ahead, and the town fills each time a forecast lights up. Outside those weeks Praia do Norte is a beach break like the rest of the coast, only heavier: head-high and shifty through spring and autumn, small and clean on summer mornings before the nortada blows in for the afternoon. If you want to surf rather than watch, the small long-period days between storms are the ones to look for.

Where to sit, and where to watch

On a surfable day the peaks move with the banks, so watch for a long while before committing. Most surfers who know the beach sit along the middle of it, well away from the rocks and the cliff base under the fort, and go at mid tide on a smaller long-period swell. Even at head-high the cleanup sets come from far outside, so take line-ups on the cliff, keep something in reserve for the paddle and check where the current has moved you every few minutes. The shore break is the last obstacle: time your exit between sets and stay on your board until the sand.

On the giant days the question of where to sit answers itself: nobody paddles. The teams work in pairs with jet skis, the rescue crews sit inside, and the show belongs to the cliff. The grandstand is the fort and the lighthouse on the Sítio headland, reached by the funicular from the town or on foot. Arrive early on a forecast giant day, the best spots on the wall go before the light, and dress for it: the wind up there is brutal even when the swell is clean. The fort keeps a small surfing exhibition for the lulls between sets.

Getting there and where to stay

Nazaré is about 40 minutes north of Peniche and about an hour and twenty minutes from Lisbon on the A8, which makes it the standard day trip of any Peniche stay and a base in its own right. The town sits below the cliff on a wide, sheltered beach, Praia da Nazaré, where people swim and where beginners are steered; the Sítio village sits on top, beside the fort. Praia do Norte itself is reached from the Sítio by the road that drops to the north beach, with parking above the sand. Hotels and apartments spread through both the town and the Sítio, and both are full the moment a giant swell shows on the charts, so on those weeks book ahead or come for the day from Peniche.

Hazards

Cleanup sets from far outside even on moderate days: take line-ups on the cliff and keep a reserve for the paddle
Currents running along the beach and out through the peaks, stronger with every foot of size
A shore break that dumps straight onto the sand: exit between sets and stay on the board until the beach
Rocks and the cliff base under the fort, at the south end of the beach: never let the current carry you there
Jet skis and safety teams working the water on big days, and cold water all winter, 14 to 16°C

The chart of NazaréThe real coastline and the depths off the spot, printed on a tee.See the tee · $39.00 →

Map of the Peniche surf spots described in this guide, with numbered markers

Part of the Peniche surf guide

An honest guide to surfing Peniche: Supertubos, the Baleal learning bays, the 8 spots that matter and the day trip to Nazaré's giants, with the season month by month and what to expect in the water.

Read the full guide →

Good to know

Can a normal surfer surf Praia do Norte?

Yes, on the right day, and it is still not a Peniche beach. Pick a small, clean, long-period swell, chest to head-high, go at mid tide and sit along the middle of the beach, well clear of the rocks under the fort. Expect thick lips, a dumping shore break, currents and cleanup sets from outside even at that size. If it is solidly overhead, or heavy beach breaks are not your thing, surf Peniche and come to Nazaré to watch.

When are the biggest waves at Nazaré?

Between October and March, on the winter's biggest northwest swells, when a deep Atlantic low sends long-period groundswell straight up the canyon. The truly giant days are rare, a handful each winter, and they usually show on the charts a few days ahead, which is when the town fills and the WSL calls its event. The best ones come with light east to southeast wind or a calm morning; onshore wind wrecks even a giant swell.

Where do you watch the big waves from?

From the Sítio headland, beside the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo and its red lighthouse. Take the funicular from the town or walk up, and go early on a forecast giant day: the wall in front of the fort fills before sunrise and the roads up clog. Dress for the wind, brutal on the cliff even when the sea below is clean, and bring something to eat. The fort keeps a small surfing exhibition for the lulls between sets.