Guincho Norte

Praia Grande do Guincho is located between two rocky points, Ponta Alta and Ponta do Abano, and has a large stretch of sand, both in length and width. With clear, crystalline water, Grande do Guincho beach is considered one of the largest beaches in the country, with a high number of vacationers, and is part of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. It is also sought after by surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing practitioners, where world championships in these same disciplines are held.The Sintra mountain range and the dunes provide an internationally recognized landscape setting. Due to the action of the wind, the beach faces to the south the “Guincho-Cresmina” dune system, of great geological dynamism. You can see dunes of various types on this beach: the embryonic mobile dunes, which represent the first states of dune vegetation; the white dunes, which constitute the sandy slopes closest to the sea; and also the gray dunes, which are fixed, stabilized and colonized by more or less dense lively grasses and abundant carpets of lichens and mosses.On this beach it is possible to observe a volcanic chimney, made up of an important outcrop of basalt rock, exposed during low tide.During the bathing season, it is a supervised and signposted beach, with a Medical/First Aid Station.