The Top-7 surfing spots in Peru

Cabo Blanco
For many, this beach boasts Peru's best leftbreaking wave. It is a fast-moving, short wave (which makes a quick take-off mandatory) that carries one of the country's best tubes. It can rise to a four-meter-high wave, although normally it ranges from three to four meters. It is ideal between November and December. It can also be a fairly dangerous wave as it breaks near a reef, a risk which is accentuated by the sand dredging that occurs when the tide rises. The frequency of the breakers is directly linked to the swell that comes from the north (sparked by the North Pole and which runs through Hawaii).

Access: To reach Cabo Blanco, surfers have to take a winding paved road that runs down from the town of El Alto, located at kilometer 1.137 of the North Pan-American Highway. Apt for all vehicles.

Bayóvar-Nonura
A showcase wave. Long, left-running and stretching to a good height (up to 3 meters), surfers compare it to a train for its size and force. The entry to the point needs a tough paddle out, with strong currents. The waves generally reach their peak during the summer.

Access: The area can be reached via a detour off kilometer 886 of the North Pan-American Highway, a side road which leads to the Bayóvar terminal and then heads along the coast. Apt only for 4WD drive vehicles.

La Herradura
The classic point for Lima surfers. On its best days, the left-breaking waves can reach five meters in height. It breaks down into three sections, with the closest to the beach being a tough tube. It is a popular beach, where one can count up to a hundred surfers on a good day (an important additional difficulty if one considers that each series consists of just five waves). Reserved for experienced surfers.

Access: Located just a few minutes from downtown in the district of Chorrillos, on the southern outskirts of Lima.

Pico Alto
The largest and most spectacular wave to be found in Peru. It is a point break (with left- and right-running sections, although surfers tend to go more for the latter). Its perfect, long-running waves can stretch to 10 meters in height. Not for beginners. Surfers in the know compare the wave to Waimea (Hawaii) and Todos los Santos (Baja California). A long paddle out, as the wave breaks 1 km out to sea. The beach draws a lot of visitors in the summer, when dozens of hostels and restaurants are open.

Access: Only 43 km south of Lima down the South Pan-American Highway. Apt for all vehicles.

Chicama
The world's longest wave. It breaks down into four sections known as the point, the cape, the man and the pier. Each section is a wave in itself, with its own character and speed. Surfers say that to surf Chicama, one has to bring along a spare pair of legs. A classic left-running Peruvian breaker, it swells with the currents that run from the south and west and reaches ideally some two meters in height.

Access: The cove -also known by the local name of Malabrigo- is reached by a detour that runs down from kilometer 614 of the North Pan-American Highway. Apt for all vehicles.

Punta Rocas
The most famous surf point in Peru and home to international surfing championships (February). A big wave, which can run to five meters high. Surfers call this beach a "wave machine"; rightand left-running waves, not necessarily perfect, but constant.

Access: Located at Kilometer 45 of the South Pan-American Highway. Apt for all vehicles.

Isla San Gallán
Peru's best right-breaking wave. Thanks to its shape, the island features the only beach in Peru where one can surf right-running tubes that break to the West. A fairly long wave that breaks down into four sections. The sea is very cold and winds gust in the afternoon. San Gallán is a unique landscape, where surfers take to the waves amidst hundreds of sea lions. The island, located off the Paracas peninsula, was recently included in the national reserve.

Access: One can only reach this spot by sea (one and-a-half hours). Surfers tend to rent motorboats on El Chaco beach.

Other good surfing Spots

Máncora: the point at Máncora is located to the far south of the town with the same name, at kilometre 1.164 of the North Pan-American Highway.

Organos-El Ñuro: the beach at Organos nestles to one side of the North Pan-American Highway, at kilometre 1.152. El Ñuro is to be found 9 km south of Organos and is only accessible using 4WD vehicles.

Huanchaco: the most famous of Trujillo's beaches, because fishermen still ride totora reed rafts over the waves as the locals have done for thousands of years. The village is located just 4.5 km from the city of Trujillo, next to the pre-Hispanic mudbrick citadel of Chan Chan.

Costa Verde: located at the foot of the cliffs that plunge down from the city of Lima, the Costa Verde is made up of a chain of beaches mainly located in the district of Miraflores (such as La Pampilla, Makaha, Waikiki and Redondo). Great for surfers of all levels, with good waves year-round.

Señoritas: between Punta Hermosa and Caballeros, just 44km south of Lima down the South Pan-American Highway, this beach has become a popular spot for all kinds of surfers. This beach draws the biggest crowds in the summer, when the area's many seaside restaurants offer beach-goers a varied menu of marine dishes.

Puerto Viejo: located 70 km south of Lima down the South Pan-American Highway, on the edge of the Cañete Valley. In the summer, the beach bustles with seafood restaurants catering to weekend campers and holiday-makers.

Cerro Azul: just 131 km south of Lima down the South Pan-American Highway. A superb, fairly long wave. The beach offers dozens of restaurants and hostels.

Recommendations
Never surf alone. Keep beaches clean by taking your refuse with you, and do not disturb the marine wildlife that shares the sea with the visitors (dolphins, sea lions and seagulls). Check for the presence of undertows as well as reefs and rocks on the sea bottom. In addition, remember that, depending on the area, in March or April (around Easter Week), tides tend to rise and the waves swell, increasing the risk.

Source: PromPerú (Comission for the Promotion of Peru).

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