diff --git a/app/controllers/public/api/v1/portals_controller.rb b/app/controllers/public/api/v1/portals_controller.rb
index c292198a6..98c54ca35 100644
--- a/app/controllers/public/api/v1/portals_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/public/api/v1/portals_controller.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 class Public::Api::V1::PortalsController < PublicController
   before_action :ensure_custom_domain_request, only: [:show]
+  before_action :redirect_to_portal_with_locale, only: [:show]
   before_action :portal
   layout 'portal'
 
@@ -9,5 +10,12 @@ class Public::Api::V1::PortalsController < PublicController
 
   def portal
     @portal ||= Portal.find_by!(slug: params[:slug], archived: false)
+    @locale = params[:locale] || @portal.default_locale
+  end
+
+  def redirect_to_portal_with_locale
+    return if params[:locale].present?
+
+    redirect_to "/hc/#{@portal.slug}/#{@portal.default_locale}"
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/views/public/api/v1/portals/show.html.erb b/app/views/public/api/v1/portals/show.html.erb
index b6a8bc4a1..c46a286d9 100644
--- a/app/views/public/api/v1/portals/show.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/public/api/v1/portals/show.html.erb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <%= render "public/api/v1/portals/hero", portal: @portal %>
 <div class="max-w-5xl w-full flex-grow mx-auto py-8 px-4">
   <div class="grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-2 gap-x-32 gap-y-0 lg:gap-y-12">
-    <% @portal.categories.where(locale: params[:locale]).each do |category| %>
+    <% @portal.categories.where(locale: @locale).each do |category| %>
       <%= render "public/api/v1/portals/category-block", category: category, portal: @portal %>
     <% end %>
   </div>
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index 681227ef6..903c5efc8 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -287,6 +287,7 @@ Rails.application.routes.draw do
     end
   end
 
+  get 'hc/:slug', to: 'public/api/v1/portals#show'
   get 'hc/:slug/:locale', to: 'public/api/v1/portals#show'
   get 'hc/:slug/:locale/categories', to: 'public/api/v1/portals/categories#index'
   get 'hc/:slug/:locale/:category_slug', to: 'public/api/v1/portals/categories#show'