All activities / Surfing / Chicama
Surfing in ChicamaPE
A desert fishing town on Peru's north coast, officially Puerto Malabrigo, fronting the longest left-breaking wave on earth. On the right swell, a single ride runs more than two kilometres and lasts three to four minutes.
Why here
Chicama is a pilgrimage wave: the longest left on the planet, peeling for up to 2.2 kilometres along a desert point in rides so long that boats ferry surfers back to the top rather than have them paddle. It is a wave of sections, so every level gets a piece, beginners on the gentler inside, intermediates linking the middle walls, and advanced surfers chasing the full top-to-bottom marathon that cramps legs before it ends. The town exists for the wave: surf lodges face the point, guides run the return boats, and there is blissfully little else to do. For any surfer who measures rides in seconds, Chicama recalibrates the scale to minutes.
Best months
The reliable swell window runs late February through September, with April to mid-May the sweet spot of consistent hip-to-head-high walls and warmer water; June through September brings the biggest south swells and the longest rides in a wetsuit. The wave needs south swell to connect its sections, so the October-January window is smaller and less reliable. The Humboldt current keeps water cool year-round; bring or rent at least a 3/2.
Getting there & around
Fly into Trujillo (TRU) via Lima, then drive about 90 minutes north to Puerto Malabrigo; lodges arrange transfers. Stay at one of the surf houses facing the point, where boat shuttles back to the takeoff, board storage, and guiding are part of the package. Book ahead for the April-May and July-August peaks; the town is small and the front-row rooms go first.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Mauka Surfaris
OutfitterRuns hosted Chicama surf retreats that bundle accommodation, coaching, video review, and the boat logistics of surfing the world's longest left, built for travelers who want a structured week of progression on the wave.
Surfhouse Chicama
OutfitterA surf lodge directly in front of the point, with rooms overlooking the wave, board storage and rental, boat-shuttle service back to the takeoff, and local guiding for surfers working out the point's sections.