Climbing and/or Via Ferrata recommendations in Portugal

Hello! My wife and I are planning a trip to Portugal in September. Any recommendations on good cragging/multipitch/via ferratas? 

We climb up to 5.12 sport and 5.11 trad. I would prefer to not bring the trad gear but if there is something epic I'm in!

I had a super fun day on the granite slabs below the Sintra castle. It's all bolts. There are tourist routes but you can also find some hard-ish stuff. You'd prob want to climb early AM or late PM in September! I stayed at https://www.saltywaytravel.com/ and loved it -- there are double rooms reservable and you can surf on rest days. Sintra bouldering is even better than the bolts. 

It's a completely different mental game. It would be very stupid to just hop on an E without having ever tried easier ones. I personally would start with B, maybe C. Don't underestimate the mental aspects of a via ferrata. Especially with falls not being allowed. This comes from my own experience, doing a C via ferrata without ever having done it before. First time will be very intense.

dacca setar wrote:

It's a completely different mental game. It would be very stupid to just hop on an E without having ever tried easier ones. I personally would start with B, maybe C. Don't underestimate the mental aspects of a via ferrata. Especially with falls not being allowed. This comes from my own experience, doing a C via ferrata without ever having done it before. First time will be very intense.

Thanks for the heads up! My wife and I have done multiple VF's in the dolomites up to VF5. 

Ohh boy, if you like it, you are up for a treat.... Around that area you have plenty of clifs fully equiped for sport climbing. All of them with beautiful scenery. PM me if you need any tips.

I'd recommend the Portugal Rock Climbing guidebook - it's got significantly more routes than are documented online, plus good info on approach/parking beta, fixed gear conditions, access issues, etc.

There's some awesome sea cliffs that might warrant bringing trad gear (at Cabo da Roca and in Sagres in particular, if I recall) but there's also more than enough sport climbing to keep you happy.

Do not waste your time in Farol da Guia if you'll have a car - the stuff in the Setubal region (Fenda, Azoia, and Meio Mango) is way better for steep stuff in the Lisbon area. If you like techy slab, the Sintra castle crag (Penedo da Amizade) is pretty cool and worthy of a trip, but don't expect the vacation grades of the other areas.

Keep in mind it'll be pretty warm in September so you'll want to find some shade and/or sea breeze. We got baked alive at Rocha da Pena even when the Setubal stuff was pretty temperate. 

I never tried it but there also looked to be some cool climbing up between Lisbon and Porto (Buracas do Casmilo, Montejunto, Reguengo do Fetal, etc). Might also be better for chasing shade or altitude (not sure).

Barragem de Santa Luzia has some multipitch sport up to to 6a+ and has Portugals hardest via ferrata. 

If you’re going to be in the Algarve, I’d recommend going to Ingrina to deep water solo. There’s also another DWS crag called Ponta Garcia, although I haven’t checked that one out. September should be a good time for that!

I’d also second Sintra, since the rock is great and it’s super novel place to climb.

And if you need more information, there’s an (outdoor) gym in Lisbon, Escala25. All of the employees are knowledgeable and stoked about the great crags in their country. They recommended the Lisbon Climbing guidebook.  That one and other guidebooks are out for reference and for sale in the gym’s shop.

Have fun!!