Nazaré is a town ripe with fishing traditions and animated by mammoth waves
19th July 2018
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On Centro de Portugal’s Atlantic coast rests the colourful fishing town Nazaré, less than two hours north of Portugal’s capital Lisbon and only a stone’s throw from surfing hotspots such as Peniche and Santa Cruz.
History and tradition is woven into the fabrics of the town which holds an exclusive appeal as a home away from home, ripe with ancestral fishing traditions, enchanting legends, and, most impressively, stage to the ocean’s most monumental performance, mammoth 80-foot waves.
Nazaré is home to 15,000 people who endeavour to keep the town’s traditions alive. While navigating the town’s steep, cobbled streets, it is not unusual to encounter locals going about their daily chores in traditional rainbow-coloured skirts complete with seven petticoats. The costume derives from times when the town’s women would dress in several layers, folded over their heads, backs and legs, to protect themselves from the cold while awaiting the arrival of the fishermen.
Further towards the ocean, the Praia neighbourhood, once fully submerged, is now the bedrock for local fish sellers who lay carapau (horse mackerel) and other locally caught fish to dry in the sun’s rays.
A signifier and celebration of local heritage, Nazaré’s so-called fish museum epitomizes Centro de Portugal’s exquisite gastronomy which, in addition to the dried fish, includes specialities such as “caldeiradas ” or fish stews and shellfish.
is erected in commemoration of Our Lady of Nazaré’s mercy towards knight D. Faus Roupinho in the 12th century, whom she saved from tumbling to certain death from the cliff-edge whilst hunting in thick fog.
Further along the cliffs stands proudly the Fort of St. Miguel Arcanjo, built in 1577 by King Sebastian to protect the Portuguese coast from invasion by Algerian, Morrocan, Dutch and Norman pirates.
Lead image - Credit: Katie Treharne

In the Praia district, local fish-sellers lay out their daily catch to dry in the sun
Credit: Katie Treharne

Nazaré’s funicular, a convenient mode of transport to the Sitio district
Credit: Katie Treharne
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The wave that put Nazaré on the map: On November 1st 2011 at the ZON North Canon Show, 44-year-old Garrett McNamara surfs a then record-breaking 78-feet wave
Every year, between late October and February, people from around the globe flock to Nazaré to witness professional surfers and thrill-seekers tackle Nazaré’s world-renowned mammoth waves. On November 8th 2017, the Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Kôxa surfed a hair-raising 24,38-meter (7998.69 feet) wave, knocking Garrett McNamara out of the top spot in the Guinness World Records for the biggest wave surfed. Nazaré’s record-breaking waves have a wow-factor that entices visitors to return year after year, and, now, the mechanics of the big waves are no longer a mystery.
The shaping process is underway in SPO Surfboards Factory which manufactures surfboards designed to wrestle with Nazaré’s big waves
Credit: Katie Treharne

Nazaré
Credit: Katie Treharne
Credit: Katie Treharne // Design by The National Student
Lead image - Credit: Katie Treharne
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