Stormriding N Peru

Peru Swell Patterns

There is a winter and summer swell pattern, most notable in the north of the country, but the staple diet is a reliable, almost constant supply of S to SW swells arriving from the Roaring Forties latitudes between New Zealand and the tip of Chile at Cape Horn. This swell train runs on tracks serviced by the mighty Humboldt Current and the deep corridor of the Peru-Chile Trench, drawing in the energy to the coast with a dominant southerly theme. Size ranges from 2-15ft (0.6-5m) on the swell models, but certain breaks will have double that in wave face height. From April to September, there are a high percentage of days over 6ft (2m), plus the wave period tends toward the teens, with occasional forays up to the 20sec mark. The much rarer summer NW swells that herald from the Aleutian lows, way up north in the Pacific, are also super-long period, since there is a lot of decay on the 5-7 day journey and long lulls are part of the deal. Only the real heart of the season from Nov-Feb will have any consistency on the NW-facing Piura coastline, with up to 8ft (2.5m) swell height, but remember the NW days will be outnumbered by the S-SW swell days by 5 to 1. NW swells will struggle to make it further down the coast to the capital and beyond, but when they do, a few choice rights will be on offer for the regular footers at beaches and reefs that usually don't warrant a check.

Winds

The winds for the bulk of the coast are also predominantly from the south for around 50% of the time, showing a habit of being SE in the morning (20%), before swinging SW in the afternoon (20%). This leaves very little option for any other wind directions besides glassy conditions and wind strength remains moderate (10-20mph/16-32kmh), year-round. Right up north in Piura and Tumbes, there is less wind speed, especially in summer, along with more W in the winds, but the coastal angle offsets this.

Tides, Currents and Temperatures

One constant along the coast is the tidal range, which remains predictably small from 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m), however the impact on the waves varies noticeably. Up north, the hollow reef slabs and rocky points can often be better at lower tides, along with the super-long lefts of Pacasmayo and Chicama although many sections handle high tide as well. Lima's beaches get fat on full tide, while Punta Hermosa is a mixed bag, with all tides covered in the concentrated zone. Down south is pretty much all tides, especially when it gets overhead, which is most of the time! The Humboldt is a cold current and the coastal desert, along with the cross-offshores, helps promote upwelling on a grand scale, creating coastal fog as a by-product, which often obscures the waves until the afternoon onshores shift it. There is a stretch of coast between Mancora and Talara where the chilly Humboldt meets the tepid Panama Current flowing down from the NE, which every few years, brings with it the devastatingly warm El Niño current. The El Nino is responsible for flooding the desert, dispersing the fish and breeding massive numbers of malarial mosquitoes, but it also usually brings awesome surf to the Piura region. This translates to wearing boardshorts or a springsuit in Northern Piura to donning a 4/3 and boots for the mid-teens

Tumbes

There are waves to the north of the well-known Piura region in Tumbes, courtesy of North Pacific, mid-winter swells which fire while the rest of Peru is in the grip of summer swell patterns. Tumbes is a warm sub-tropical zone cloaked in equatorial rainforest and mangroves, contained within a number of sanctuaries and national parks. Anomalous with the rest of the Peruvian coastal landscape, the waves are also weird, with wide, open beachbreaks receiving N-NW swells from December to March. Major fishing towns on the mangrove estuaries like Puerto Pizarro are no good, but further south there are some swell magnet spots like south of the pier in La Cruz and Pena Redonda at km 1210 of the Pan American Hwy. There is still a propensity for lefts, wrapping around sandy curves rather than headlands and the most crowded spot will be Punta Mero, where rocks help hold the shape. The road parallels the beach at Cancas, allowing an easy surf check of the occasionally perfect reefs and semi-point bends in the coast north of the pier. Exclusive houses and hotels line the beach at Punta Sal where a left runs down the headland, but it is inconsistent and a good locale for alternative ocean sports.

Northern Piura

Most of the Peruvian coastline is chilled by the Humboldt Current and rocked by S swells, but the northwest corner of the country is an area that enjoys very different conditions. The waters in the north part of the Piura province are warmed up by the southern extremity of the Panama Current. The swell pattern is also different on this stretch of Peru's coast as it favours swells coming out of the N Pacific. However it's not as consistent as the rest of Peru and is only worth visiting in the middle of the N Hemisphere winter. At this time of year it can get quite busy with surfers from Lima coming up for Christmas. If it does go flat here, then it's only a short distance to the beaches exposed to the more consistent S swells.

PIURA HOTSPOT

Los Organos

Los Organos needs W-N swell to wrap onto a shallow rock ledge, which propagates some short, sharp barrels, mainly to the left, but there are some rights for those don't mind close-outs on the shelf. More tide is a good idea and glassy conditions will help make the drop. Further round the headland back towards Mancora, Organitos has some fun walls for the less experienced. It's a bit of walk round the point past the fancy houses. Advanced surfers will be the only ones able to get some sets off the local contingent.

PIURA HOTSPOT

Cabo Blanco

On a big N swell, world-class Cabo Blanco will wake up. It's an excellent barrelling reefbreak that explodes dangerously close to exposed, board-chewing rocks with plenty of fast tubes. The take-offs are usually late, straight into a spacious cavern, then race off past the elbow of the reef and down towards the pier 100m away. There's a constant rip to fight as the convergence of south and north currents here continuously deposit and withdraw the sand that is essential to this wave's shape, meaning early season is often best. Time low tide paddle-outs carefully either off the reef or towards Punta Panico. Unfortunately it is an extremely crowded wave (9/10) these days, attracting Peru's best surfers and the atmosphere can become aggressive. It's also inconsistent (4/10), only breaking from Nov-March with any regularity and the challenging barrel is obviously for experts only.

PIURA HOTSPOT

Lobitos

Lobitos is another one of those perfectly shaped Peruvian points that when the sand fills in the gaps in the rocks, long mechanical peelers will wall and run for a couple of hundred metres minimum. Hot-dog heaven when it's small with lots of lip climbing and floating to link it up, but it's not much of an out and out barrel unless it is big and the sand is in. Works in winter S and summer NW swells with higher tides making the inside steeper section less susceptible to close-outs. Stays pretty clean most of the time in the S winds, but even if it is a bit bumpy, it will usually yield a few fun rides. Rates highly in the Peru pointbreak league as it has something for all from improvers to experts, who can also head out to the tip and ride the mad barrels of El Hueco. Scores 8/10 for both crowds and consistency, with some heavy vibes in the long line-up where drop-ins are prevalent. Area also has a history of armed robbery on surfers en route to the waves from Talara.

North Piura Swell

The swells which hit NW Peru come from the North Pacific, being the same swells that pound Oahu's North Shore five or six days earlier. Only the heart of the season (Nov-Feb) will see reliable 2-8ft (0.6-2.5m) conditions. Being long distance swells, the waves will be perfectly lined up with long lulls between sets. There is lots of due W swell throughout summer, but if it's flat here then it's only a short drive to the SW-facing coastline beyond Bayovar and the consistent S swells. Winds are invariably from the S-SW and S is straight offshore for most of the left points, while afternoons see a light SW sea breeze that can have a slight effect on the quality of some of the more exposed spots. Although the winds are light year-round, they are lighter still in the prime swell season. Tidal ranges are up to 2m with most spots breaking better at low tide.

Southern Piura

Heading towards remote Bayovar seems un-necessary when the ultra long rides of Chicama are just a few hours south and the deep tubes of Cabo Blanco a few hours north. However, persistent rumours of 10ft barrels reeling forever are enough to lure the intrepid to this vast desert region of sand dunes and granite cliffs. Conditions are extremely harsh and for the most part, untouched by tourists (there isn't even a hotel) leaving daily activity to the companies that operate a pipeline bringing petroleum from the Amazon basin or tapping into one of the largest phosphate deposits in the world. Paita is the only real "coastal resort" in the area as it provides a port and accessible beaches for Piura, the fifth largest city in the country, 50km (30mi) inland.

PIURA HOTSPOT

Noñura

Bayovar's world-class spot, Nonura is only accessible by 4WD and camping is the only accommodation option. A long, tough paddle out against strong currents, leads to the classic tubular pointbreak lefts. Nonura will take any swell from the SW to the NW but it needs to be big enough as the wave only really reveals itself over 5ft (1.8m) and maxes out around 10-12ft (3-4m). This wave is to be taken seriously. There have been claims that recent development of shellfish cultivation farms have robbed the point of its sand and now Nonura needs an even bigger swell to break. It can be sometimes crowded as more businesses try to monetise the set-up and bring in more surfers to this arid, lonely region. Everyone who gets it on agrees with 2 things; it's a hell of a wave and a hell of a current.

Southern Piura Swell

The Bayovar area relies on two sources of swell coming at different times of the year. April-October is the best season for regular 3-12ft (1-4m) S-SW swells coming from lows down in the southern latitudes, with a minimum of 2-3ft (0.6-1m) swell produced by the southerly winds accompanying the cold Humboldt Current. The winter months from May to August typically sees the largest swells. Between November and February, NW swells will come down from the North Pacific 5-6 days after pounding the Hawaiian shores. Because of the constant temp difference between dry land and relatively cold water, prevailing S winds are perfect and regular. The direction is direct southerly 40-55% of the time and SE 30-45%, which is offshore on NW exposed bays like Nonura. Usually, SE morning winds turn to the S after noon. The tidal range doesn't exceed 5ft (1.5m), but that's enough to affect the pointbreaks.

La Libertad

In this crowded surf world it is almost unbelievable to think that the longest left hand point break on earth is reeling along right now with very few crowding issues even when there is a surf camp right on the doorstep and a speedboat into the lineup. It breaks mainly on sand, is relatively gentle and is also consistently offshore. This utopian wave is Chicama, but amazingly, there's more to this part of Peru than just Chicamas' endless walls.

LA LIBERTAD HOTSPOT

Pacasmayo

Pacasmayo is the most northerly of the handful of endless lefthanders in the La Libertad region. It catches loads of swell, peels forever and is often referred to as Chicama's big brother, as it will always be bigger and hold much larger waves than its more famous neighbour. It is also claimed to be a longer ride on the rare occasions that that a 12ft (4m) S-SW swell transports surfers on a 2.5km marathon from the tip of the point till it smashes into the pier in town. Rides have been timed at 4mins and what makes it probably the longest wave in the world is it doesn't section off like Chicama, which has a longer headland, but a couple of gaps in the wave. Pacasmayo starts off with a hollower, squirting section as it spins down towards the exposed engine of an old wreck, then mellows into a wall of varying steepness with little pockets and crumbling lip-lines, perpetually motoring northwards with symmetrical precision. A perfect day would see low tide incoming, double-overhead SSW swell, light ENE wind and hope it is a weekday for lower crowds......

Pacasmayo continued...

To get the longest wave of your life you are going to have to work for it and the northward sweeping current reaches epic proportions when it's big. Most walk back up, but getting through the rocks, wreck, urchins and stingrays can be tricky, so those with the arms will paddle back by heading straight out to sea then across to the point in an effort to avoid the rip. Sitting still to rest means going backwards. This has meant that local surf businesses have bought zodiacs to the line-up, greatly increasing the wave count of the wealthy and annoying the paddlers with fumes, wake and bad etiquette. Kite-surfing has grown massively as the afternoon cross-shore provides the power to launch and saves the arms from the paddling. High consistency for some kind of rideable wave (9/10) and these days it is often crowded (7/10) with large groups of foreign and South American travellers.

LA LIBERTAD HOTSPOT

Chicama

Chicama is to be found halfway between Lima and the border of Ecuador. The landscape around Chicama is extremely arid, the water is unusually cold and sea fog often shrouds the extensive line-up. Ask any surf traveller where the longest wave in the world is and the answer is invariably Chicama. The actual distance between the furthest take-off point and the fishing jetty where the wave ends is 4km (2.5 mi), although to be fair no one has actually ridden it for that distance. On good days most people end up catching 3-5 different waves on a journey down the point, surfing through 4 defined breaks and using the constant current to drift down to the next take-off point....

Chicama continued

Furthest out on the tip is El Cape aka Malpaso, which is always the biggest, but not necessarily the best. It draws off a cluster of rocks and starts fast and sucky before hitting the sandier shallows inside the point and backing off into what will become a familiar scene - long sections of slightly tapered, lip-feathering walls that demand a repetitive approach of drive, lip bash, float and snap until a temporary shoulder gives respite for a roundhouse or two. It's the place to go in small conditions, as it picks up W swell better, but cops more wind, plus it is rockier and breaks all tides.....

Chicama continued

It's a neat but unmakeable kilometre to the next spot on El Cape called Keys, where a crop of black rocks signals a defined launch spot into what can be a racy wall with barrel potential, provided the swell is moderate to strong, when it can transport you up to three-quarters of the way towards the main point, 800m away. Keys provides the best protection from any S wind and the proximity of the cliffs help also. It's soft when small and prefers mid to high tide to help hold up the sections. Chicama's main break is El Point and is easy to identify as the biggest protrusion from the long line of the cape. This is where most surfers try to start their sessions, making the 20+min walk from town. The exposed rocks make a good marker in this faceless line-up and the wave starts off fast with some hollower, close-out sections to keep everyone on their toes, but quickly settles into an ideal tempo that peels like it was designed in a laboratory. Foam-climb re-entries are a useful weapon to keep up if caught behind and will help negotiate the longest makeable stretch of Chicama that spins for 1.1kms before reaching the last El Hombre section.

Chicama continued

Located in front of a swathe of beachfront hotels (including the famous El Hombre), this is the place where you are most likely to get barrelled as the swell hits a clump of rocks and sandbanks, then speeds up on its way to the pier. It also means it can be greatly affected by sand flow and swell direction, often only working for short, but intense sections. If on a big swell it is all aligned then there is another 800m sprint to play for, if your jelly-legs will allow. It's a good idea to kick out well before the pier as the sweep can take you into the danger zone of pylons and swirling currents. Lower tides favour the 2 end sections and they are better oriented for E-SE or even rare NE winds, but such is the angle of refraction and the scale of the headland that even SW winds are doable closer to the cliffs in a cross-shore sense and SE-S will be fine. Sometimes the wind is so strong it will blow the waves to shreds and you over the back, if you can see through the sand storm. Wave height rarely reaches double overhead with a 12ft swell barely producing overhead conditions at El Point. The 15ft face height upper limit is rarely, if ever reached and the current of Rio Chicama would be so strong, jet ski assist would probably be needed.

Chicama Environment

The north sweeping current is so strong, it is far easier to keep surfing waves down the length of the point, get out and then walk back up to the take-off zone. The Point could happily handle a crowd of 100 surfers, because most of the time at least half will be either out of the water or out of position, but the recent development of zodiac assist for surfers willing to pay a fairly hefty price and get ferried back to the peak has changed the dynamics for the paddlers who are often snaked by a boatload of fresh arms after paddling constantly for 10mins to try and maintain position near the peak. The locals are skilled and strong paddlers, often picking off the peaches, while drop-ins are common by those speculating that the guy on the inside wont make it. Being so long, it does give the option of sitting anywhere down the line and waiting for someone to fall or get tired/bored/cramp! The whole Chicama show is consistent if you dont mind surfing small broken up soft shouldered sections and the days of real quality S-SW heaving swell are much rarer, but when they come, so do the crowds from all the other points in the region, hoping for a slice of the legend. Proper name for the place is Puerto Malabrigo, as signposted and there are now every type of surfer accommodation from budget to luxurious.

LA LIBERTAD HOTSPOT

Punta Huanchaco

Another place worth checking out is Huanchaco, home of the Totora reed Caballito riders, maybe the world's first surfers. Fishermen have been riding the lefts back to shore at this spot for the last 2000 years. For today's surfer it offers easy and super-consistent waves, as it is very exposed to all swells. There are no cliffs on the headland, making it more of a reefbreak style set-up and more open to being blown out. From the tip to past the long pier is a good 800m, but it hardly ever links up, preferring to peak and wall in a disorganised fashion, with some nice punchy hooks and corners linking the flatter trundling walls. All the various sections have names like La Posa and Sunset, plus there are some waves on the north side of the pier including a rare but welcome righthander.

La Libertad Swell

Regular 4-12ft (1-4m) S-SW swells come from lows circulating the southern ocean between New Zealand and Cape Horn, propagating mainly SW pulses off their leading edges. The average size of 5-6ft (1.5-2m) for autumn, winter and spring means flat days are really rare on the most exposed points. Swell consistency exceeds 95% from March to August and only drops to the high 80s during summer. The other noteworthy fact is the average period never drops below 13 seconds, with 18-20 second days a regular occurrence, especially in April, May and June when the biggest swells are expected. Dominant winds are due S, with more SE early and maybe a touch of SW in the afternoon. This means offshore in many of the NW-facing bays, where most of the lefthand points are located. Tidal ranges are small.

Ancash

Ancash is a Quechua word meaning blue and this region is where the first Peruvian civilization, known as Chavín, originated and flourished in 600BC. It is a land of contrasts, with the 6,768m (22,204ft) white summit of the Andes mountains lying only 100km (62mi) from the deep blue Pacific coast. From Chimbote to Lima, much of the coast is a monotonous and inhospitable stretch of vast sand deserts, except along the green rivers valleys, cultivated with sugarcane, rice and cotton. Despite being blessed by highly consistent swells and a bunch of quality spots, this area is usually missed by travelling surfers who focus on the incredible waves further north, or the easily accessible breaks of Lima and Punta Hermosa. As crowd levels increase everywhere, this rich, empty surf region is definitely one worth checking out.

Ancash Swell

Central Peru receives world-class surf year-round and the stretch of coast from Lima to Chimbote is consistently exposed to most swells. Regular S-SW swells can occur anytime from March through November, while the NW swell season (November to March) will turn on a few spots, but is definitely not the best time to surf here. Prevailing winds are from the SE-S and blow all through the year, offering a lot of sideshore conditions for much of the SW angled coast and offshores for a few points. Usually, SE morning winds turn more S after noon, so wake up early. The strongest winds occur in the winter months from May-October, while the summer months from November-April have considerably lighter winds. Tidal ranges are up to 6ft (1.8m) with most spots breaking better at low tide. Get a tide table in Lima's surf shops.

ANCASH HOTSPOT

Centinela

From Huaura, a labyrinth of dirt tracks makes it hard to find Centinela, one of the country's best left pointbreaks, with up to 4 consistent sections that attract weekend crowds. Best with a W swell and definitely better at low tide, the outside sections (4-10ft) are for experienced riders only, as they are very rocky with frequent rips. The sandy inside sections (2-7ft) wall up very nicely too and suit all standards. On S swells only the powerful first section breaks, but the more the swell turns to the W and even NW the sandy inside section walls up and very long rides are on offer. Watch out for backwash and and cliff bounce on the jacking take-off section out the back, where there are lots of barely submerged rocks. Rips at size, local surfers crew, weekend crowds. Surfcamp or camping on beach, but thievery is a regular occurance. Cold water thanks to the wind driven upwelling.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Stormrider Surf Guide
South America eBook

Coming Up....

Lima is the bustling, growing capital that could be the continent's ideal surf city, blessed with a range of waves from rolly beachbreaks to terrifying tow-ins and just about everything in-between. This includes the urban beaches of the Costa Verde, which have been surfed since 1939 and Punta Hermosa, a concentrated wave-park just south of the city. Empty and clean it isn't, so the crowd and pollution averse need to blow off San Bartolo and Miraflores to explore the points of Southern Lima and Ica regions for some isolated, desert exploration......

Soon to be released - The Stormrider Surf Guide: Peru eBook