There’s an underwater canyon, some 140 miles long and in places 5000m deep out in the Atlantic Ocean, which terminates quite suddenly on the north shores of the small fishing port Nazaré, offering quite spectacular sights from the cliffs. It’s this canyon and the power of the ocean building over many miles that creates the conditions for waves reaching 100ft from the crest of the wave to the trough at the bottom, before it piles up on the shore. 

The ‘wave’ that surfers are waiting for is actually two waves, combining to create one really BIG one. The two waves, moving along the underwater canyon are moving at slightly different speeds. They collide quite close to the shore, which, together with the backwash from the previous wave, pushes the incoming combined one higher still.

The face of the huge wave is almost vertical. The sides or lips of the wave also don’t break right away, creating good launch points for the surfers.

The best time to catch the waves is in the Winter following an Atlantic storm. This provides the long swells that create the biggest waves through the canyon.

Surfing these waves is not for the faint-hearted. The closeness of the waves to each other and their sheer scale and speed requires quite an operation, including a team of jet skis and spotters to co-ordinate them, to put a surfer onto the right wave, and just as importantly, extract them before they get thrashed up on the shore. 

Surfing began to take off here in the 1960s, but really did, with the arrival of big-name professionals, like Garrett McNamara from Hawaii. He set a record in 2011 for surfing a 78ft wave which earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. German surfer Sebastain Steudtner rode a 93ft wave in 2024 (still awaiting confirmation – these records are jealously guarded). With professionals now camped in Nazaré each winter, it’s just a matter of time before one of them rides the 100ft one and makes surfing history.

The vantage point to watch the spectacle is the lighthouse and Fort of São Miguel Arcanjo on the end of the peninsular above the new town. There’s a museum there with surfboards and information about the waves, and the surfers that ride them. Sadly, for us, it was closed for maintenance while we were there, but the view from the hill overlooking the peninsular, and from the fort itself, is quite spectacular. You can just imagine what it’s like when surf is really up. And if you can’t, check out all the YouTube videos and images online or just look at the picture below….

Simon