About Nazaré
Nazaré is a fishing town on the Atlantic coast of central Portugal, north of Lisbon. Its big-wave surf spot is Praia do Norte, the long beach just north of the town, below the lighthouse and the Fort of São Miguel Arcanjo on the headland. A deep underwater canyon, the Nazaré Canyon, runs towards this beach and is widely credited with focusing ocean swells onto it, which is often given as the reason some of the largest waves ever surfed have been ridden here. Several world records for the largest wave surfed are reported to have been set at Praia do Norte. The biggest waves most often arrive in the colder months, typically from around October to March, when Atlantic storms send large swells towards Portugal, and crowds often gather on the headland to watch. On those days the waves are generally ridden by professional big-wave teams, who commonly use jet skis to tow surfers into them.
This overview was written with AI and reviewed by a person. How these are written