Portugal is one of the easiest countries in Europe to go hiking in. It has plenty of marked trails: through the forests and hills of the interior, across the mountains in the north, and along the Atlantic coast, where the views are worth an extra ten kilometers. Some people download an app and head out on their own; for others, hiking is a way to find their people in a new country. The city and its surroundings have several communities where you can simply sign up for the next walk and join the group. Some meet in the morning in Monsanto and head for coffee an hour later. Others spend almost the whole day on the trails of Sintra. There are women-only groups, hikes combined with meditation, and communities for people who eventually outgrow the Lisbon area and want to head to Serra da Estrela or Peneda-Gerês. Most of these groups are international, and the main language is English. Many meetups are free or ask for a symbolic contribution of a few euros. Xpat.Land correspondent Davier Sevie takes a look at some of these communities.
Monsanto Morning Walks Meetup: free walks without leaving the city
This is probably one of the most accessible options for anyone who isn’t yet sure they can call themselves a real hiking enthusiast.
Monsanto Morning Walks organizes weekly walks in Parque Florestal de Monsanto. The community has about 2,200 members, but the walks themselves are deliberately kept small to preserve a calm, friendly atmosphere.
The format is quite different from classic sporty hiking. It is usually a loop of about an hour, and the pace is set by the slowest participant. There are no restrictions on age or fitness level, and dogs are welcome. The organizers even ask participants to put their phones away and switch them to silent during the walk.
The routes change constantly. The group walks through Calhau Park, Ajuda, Monte Verde, the area around the Águas Livres aqueduct, Parque da Pedra and other parts of Monsanto. After some walks, participants stay together for coffee or breakfast.
Who it’s for: beginners, people who don’t want to spend a whole day on a hike, and those who care about the social side of walking as much as the kilometers.
Lisbon Hiking Meetup: picnics and Sintra
If you want a proper hike, Lisbon Hiking Meetup is one of the largest hiking communities in the region. It currently has about 8,500 members and an archive of more than 300 past events.
The usual format is about five hours on foot on a Saturday or Sunday, with a picnic stop. The main destinations are Sintra, Cascais and other areas around Lisbon. A car isn’t necessary: the organizers try to plan logistics around trains, buses and car rentals.
These are serious hikes. One of the summer 2026 routes ran from Sintra to Colares: about 17 km with 540 meters of elevation gain, at a moderate difficulty level. Another route, Azoia – Peninha – Anta da Adrenunes, covered about 13 km with 450 meters of elevation gain. Participants met in Sintra, shared a taxi to the trailhead and returned by bus.
Participants are usually asked to bring lunch, at least 1.5 liters of water and proper hiking shoes.
Cost: the hikes themselves may be free, but at some meetups the organizers suggest a symbolic voluntary contribution, for example €2 toward community expenses. Transport is paid separately.
Who it’s for: people who want to gradually move from city walks to longer routes but don’t yet want to handle the logistics themselves.
Lisbon Hiking & Meditation: Nepal, Sintra and a little silence
The community was founded by Aman Pariyar, who came to Lisbon from Nepal. He has more than ten years of experience as a mountain guide and has led treks in the Himalayas and the Everest region. In Nepal, Aman is also involved with Nomads, a project that combines trekking with local culture and getting to know local communities.
After moving to Lisbon, he decided to bring this approach with him. The result is a group where hiking combines physical activity, socializing and quiet time in nature.
Today the weekly walks are also led by Massimo, an Italian who spent about 20 years in the UK before moving to Lisbon. He has experience living in values-based communities and in Buddhist monasteries, which explains the unusual combination of hiking and meditation.
The community now has about 1,900 members. Routes run through Sintra and along the coast, sometimes ending by the ocean. One route, for example, leads to Praia da Adraga, from where participants return to Sintra by bus.
The group does more than walks. In September 2026 it organized a meetup in Lisbon dedicated to Asian culture and Nepali food, as well as an online session for those who want to travel to Nepal in 2027. The community also has its own WhatsApp chat.
Who it’s for: people who want less of a sporting race and more nature, conversation and mindfulness, and perhaps, eventually, a real trekking trip.
Ladies Hiking Lisbon: a women’s hiking community
Compared with the previous groups, Ladies Hiking Lisbon is small. That intimacy, however, is part of the idea.
The group was created for women living in Lisbon and the surrounding area. It’s a place to explore new routes together, spend time in nature and meet people with whom a shared interest in hiking can grow into friendship.
The routes vary a lot. You can start with 7–8 km in Monsanto: forest trails with small climbs and descents, while still inside the city. For one of these walks, the organizers asked participants to bring just €1 to cover Meetup costs (Meetup is the platform where such events are organized).
There are also routes outside the city. In September, the group walked 8.7 km from Malveira da Serra through the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park to Praia do Abano and Guincho, stopping for lunch along the way.
Cost: depends on the event. Symbolic contributions start at €1, with slightly more for longer hikes. Additional travel costs are paid separately.
Who it’s for: women looking for an interesting route and company for future hikes.
The next hike is planned for October: a seven-day route from Peniche to Sintra along the Atlantic coast, about 115 km. The listed organizational fee is €7.
Hikers & Trekkers Lisbon: when Sintra is no longer enough
This is a somewhat different format. Hikers & Trekkers is one of the communities within the larger Lisbon People Club, which brings together more than 160 groups in Lisbon. They are organized by interests and lifestyle: there are communities based on age, profession, nationality, language, neighborhood, family status and a range of activities. Hikers & Trekkers is for fans of hiking and trekking. Members talk in a group chat, find companions on their own and organize trips together.
The range is wide, from ordinary walks in the forests of Sintra to climbs and multi-day routes in Serra da Estrela and Peneda-Gerês.
In the chat, members discuss joint trips, routes to waterfalls, renting and swapping gear, guide contacts and even first-aid training. Multi-day treks in Gerês are planned separately.
The group is moderated and capped at around 250 members, so the chat doesn’t turn into an endless stream of messages and ads. Joining is free and done through a chat with an avatar on the website.
Cost: membership is free. The cost of each hike depends on the route and how the trip is organized.
Who it’s for: people who can already judge a route’s difficulty on their own and are looking for company and ideas rather than a ready-made tour.
