Travellers eager to get off the over-crowded 'gringo trail' in Southern Peru come to enjoy the 'endless spring' in the easy-going fishing village of Huanchaco, a prime spot on the way to the 'hidden' attractions of Northern Peru.
SURF'S UP!
Guess where surfing was invented way before any surfer set foot on the beaches of surf mecca Hawaii? Yep! Kontiki (named by the Incas) on the Peruvian coastline. Huanchaco is the only village along the Peruvian coast where the local fisherman continue to use the reed canoes (Caballitos de Tortura) to fish every morning, a tradition dating back more than 3000 years.
Learning to Surf
Huanchaco is a haven not only for surf addicts endlessly searching for the perfect wave, but also for those that have never picked up a board before in their lives! For the rookies, we can hook you up with the best locals to give you your first lesson on a longboard. You can also check surfing forecasts at peru azul.
Surf Schools & Surf Classes
There are numerous surf schools in Huanchaco, all catering to surfers of all levels, including total beginners! Schools typically offer special deals to volunteers, so you can cheaply rent a board and wetsuit for a day, week, month or even for a whole year!
For beginners, Huanchaco is a perfect place to learn and practice as the waves are divided by the muelle (pier). The left side of the muelle is where the pros surf, with much bigger waves, while the waves are much smaller on the right side of the pier, creating the perfect place to start if you have no idea what you are doing!
If you stick around long enough, you will graduate from the baby waves just next to the pier and level up to the intermediate further along to the right, and eventually to those waves that at first looked so scary on the left hand side, but with practice and determination, these can be yours!
Huanchaco is also a great place to surf as, compared to some other parts of the world, the local surfers are very welcoming to beginners, forgiving us for our complete lack of knowledge of ‘the Laws of Surf’ and even happy to dish out a few tips to you along the way.
Surfing Spots
- Huanchaco: a long irregular point which wraps around from the south for about 700m past the pier into the bay. The left wave has several sections with lengths of 50 to 300 meters on good days. Mostly it's a fun kind of wave that starts working at 1 metre up to 3 metres.
- Puerto Chicama: two-hours north of Huanchaco is the famous 'longest left breaking wave in the world'
- Pacasmayo
- Poemape
- Centinela
- Playa Grande
- Bermejo
- Bayover
This region is ideally situated to pickup medium to large S and SW swells and the waves generally break with superior shape and more favorable wind conditions than the breaks south of Lima. In Chicama, the wind blows offshore 365 days of the year.
For more information on surf spots check out www.wannasurf.com/peru and www.wavehunters/peru