Ancient Olive Groves MTB and E-MTB Climb: Nazaré to Santa Rita de Cós

Who this tour is for

This route is for riders who are comfortable on technical singletrack and already know how to read descents. The terrain is not high - the hills here rarely exceed 130 metres - but the climbing never stops. Nearly 1,200 metres of total gain across 48 kilometres on short, repeated punches means the legs work constantly, and several descents are steep enough and loose enough to require line choice and controlled braking. This is not a route to learn those skills on.

If you have not ridden off-road in the last six months, book one of the valley loops first. If you ride technical trails regularly and want something that will genuinely test you without requiring alpine fitness, this is the right day.

The tour runs with a guide on every departure. Some sections of the route have drops and exposed lines where a guide's knowledge of the trail and the group's ability is not optional - it is the margin between a hard day and a bad one. The guide carries tools, spare tubes and first aid, and knows every exit point on the loop.

Three bikes are available. The Orbea Wild FS H20 is a full-suspension e-MTB with a 650Wh battery - the recommended choice for riders who want to focus on the technical sections rather than the climbing. The Orbea Rise H15 is a lighter full-suspension e-MTB for stronger riders who want motor assistance without the weight. The Orbea Alma M50 is a hardtail MTB with no motor - this route on the Alma is a full day of serious work and is only recommended for riders with a strong fitness base and solid technical background. The guide discusses the options before the ride and will push back if the bike choice does not match the rider.

Out of Fanhais

Same start as the other loops, same pine forest, same descent east. What changes is what comes next. This route climbs more than it looks on the map - 1,185 metres of total gain on terrain that never exceeds 137 metres, because the hills here are short, repeated and relentless. The legs find this out early.

The Alcoa valley floor

The track drops to valley level and follows the flat ground east toward Alcobaça. The same Cistercian drainage network that built Valado dos Frades runs through here. The valley is wide, the riding is easy, and the climbing starts properly at km12.

Cós and the Ermida de Santa Rita

The route climbs into the parish of Cós - a village 12 minutes from Alcobaça by car, which means considerably more by bike through these hills. At the bottom of the climb sits the Monastery of Santa Maria de Cós, founded in 1279 on the orders of D. Sancho II as one of the great Cistercian nunneries of Portugal. By the 16th century it was one of the wealthiest all-female monasteries in the country, and in 2021 it was classified as a National Monument. Center of Portugal The sacristy is lined with ten panels of blue and white tiles showing scenes from the life of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Portugal Travel Guide Above the monastery, on the hill that gives this route its name, sits the Ermida de Santa Rita - a hermitage high on the hill overlooking the village, with open views across the region. Wikipedia The track crests near here before turning east.

The Aljubarrota hills

The easternmost section of the route passes through the municipality of Aljubarrota, near the site of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota - the engagement that secured Portuguese independence from Castile and led directly to the construction of the Monastery of Batalha, 15 kilometres north. The battle was fought in the fields between these hills. The terrain here is the most remote of the day: limestone ridges, sparse vegetation, long views in every direction. The track reaches its furthest point from the coast here, then turns south and west.

Descent to the coastal plain

A sustained drop brings the route back toward sea level. The hills release quickly and the land opens into the flat agricultural plain. From here to km42 the track stays below 20 metres - the old estuary floor, the same Vale Vazão the other loops cross. Seven kilometres of flat at the end of 30 kilometres of hills is a different kind of flat from the one at the start.

Back through Pederneira

The final climb from the coastal plain back to the start passes through Pederneira - the original Nazaré on the hill, fishing village turned ghost town after the sea retreated and the beach grew up below it. By this point the legs know what 1,185 metres of climbing feels like. The descent into the start from the Pederneira ridge is the last thing the route asks of you.