All activities / Kitesurfing / Cuesta del Viento
Kitesurfing in Cuesta del VientoAR
A reservoir beside the village of Rodeo in San Juan province, ringed by 4,000-meter pre-Andean desert. More than 300 days a year of 20-plus-knot afternoon wind.
Why here
Cuesta del Viento means slope of the wind, and the name is not marketing: Andes-accelerated thermals blow over 20 knots more than 300 days a year, on a clockwork daily schedule of glassy mornings and 20-to-35-knot afternoons. The result is one of the most reliable wind machines in the Americas, a flat-water lake framed by 4,000-meter desert mountains, with almost nobody on it and Argentine prices. Riders who have done the famous spots come here for the certainty: you book a week, and the wind shows up every day of it.
Best months
The season runs mid-October to early May, with near-daily thermals October through March. Mornings are calm and suit first lessons on glass; the thermal builds from midday. On big zonda days gusts can pass 100 km/h and schools stand down, so build in a rest day.
Getting there & around
Fly to San Juan (UAQ), then about three hours' drive north to Rodeo. Lodging is simple, in the village and lakeside. Schools take walk-ins, but book multi-day courses a month ahead in high season.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (1)
Cuesta del Viento Kite School
SchoolThe first school on the lake, teaching strong-wind kitesurfing at Cuesta del Viento for more than a decade with instructors certified by the Argentine kite association.