Home to some of the world’s earliest surfers! Huanchaco is surprise surprise, another World Surf Reserve ™ (other notable ones include Ericeira, Santa Cruz and Malibu, CA!) The people of Huanchaco rode caballitos de totora, which are traditional reed canoe-like vessels that they used for fishing, and I guess maybe wave-riding, too! I was so, so pleasantly surprised by Huanchaco.
My journey arriving at Trujillo (the city right next to Huanchacho), was one of the all-time most miserable, even though I coordinated a rideshare with a kind Peruvian man, I was super sick with heat stroke/ dehydration and couldn’t cool down until we escaped the heat of Northern Peru after 4 hours of travel time. After a full day of travel, the sea and the foggy coolness of Huanchaco completely cured me, and I felt at home - me sentí en casa. You see, Huanchaco has got those chill CA surf vibes. Sure, there’s plenty of people just there watching the sunset, but there is also this mystical fog that creeps in the morning and evenings, a long beautiful pier, and there’s surfboard decorations and monuments everywhere! Maybe I just kinda missed the wetsuit weather after all this time in hot water, but I was so happy to arrive in Huanchaco, where I actually booked an AirBNB for a week because I realized it would be a great place to get some work done— and at $10 USD a night with my own room, bathroom, and high speed wifi, it was heaven after months of hostel life!
Peruvian beach sunsets are like something I've never seen before
Funny enough, I didn’t even surf my first nor second day in Huanchaco while I recovered from my strange heat sickness, and on the second night I left all my stuff in the room and headed to Chicama for one of the most magical weekends of my life… peep the most recent post to hear about that amazing episode! When I finally made it back to Huanchaco on a Monday morning, I stumbled upon the tastiest crepe place, Crepes del Sol, where you can get coffee and juice and crepe (many veggie options!) for like 13 soles ($3 USD) they also have wifi and definitely cater to the local expat/ digital nomad LOL. The other best brunch spot I've found in Peru is the Chocolate Cafe, where you can the yummiest veggie combos, coffee, juice, french toast, you name it! And the ambiance is so gorgeous and green.
i think i went to chocolate cafe everyday hehe
My days in Huanchaco mostly consisted of working on my computer and surfing by the evening. The ways the tides worked out, surfing the afternoon high tide was definitely the move here. What I didn’t expect— surfing was pretty scary! I knew a couple friends in the water but was mostly paddling out alone. The waves were extremely consistent all week, 4 star conditions with about 4-6 feet of swell. I definitely had some freaky moments and made sure to rent a small shortboard to get ducking under the waves, but I am happy I didn’t have my surf leash snap here! The current was powerful but not too bad, making me get out and walk back up to one of many points about every 30 minutes. This place is kinda like a lot of predictable beach breaks, almost all of them going left, which leaves basically a playground full of points where no one really has to crowd around each other!
I got some pretty decent rides— maybe up to 30 seconds— and there were some incredible local long boarders that could connect 3 or 4 different waves to get waves that rival Chicama— in fact, I think some of us call this spot “little Chicama.” Chico at Muchik surf shop is totally the plug, with the most beautiful boards that he shapes and rents (I wanna find a reason to buy one, he sells them new at an incredible price...). I rented one of his custom boards, with a wetsuit, for 30 soles a day ($8 USD), and believe it or not I didn’t surf even as much as I hoped because it was pretty scary these big waves, and I kept my sessions short and intense. I wanted to go back this week, on my way back to Chicama, but Huanchaco has is reading 10-12 feet this week—— noooooo gracias
On one particularly big day when I was tired/ traumatized by the bigger waves, I found myself on the right side of the pier which is the beginner spot, with much mellower waves that still hold size. I tried about 30 minutes to catch some lefts and rights, but found myself bailing over the shore break every time. The bottom is somewhat sandy, but mostly covered with pebbles and small, sharp rocks. If you are nervous, you might do better with booties in Huanchaco!
Overall, the surf culture here was top notch and the waves probably the emptiest waters I’ve seen when you consider the quality of the wave. No need to wake up early for dawn patrol here, because you’ll find empty line ups almost all day.
Another breath of fresh air in Huanchaco was the food variety I had after spending a couple months in little towns. I really enjoyed getting Thai food at this homey rooftop restaurant, and got a great deal on a batido (smoothie with milk and oatmeal) every morning at a little local coffee bar. The beach is lined with vendors selling shaved ice for 4 soles (1 USD) and they pour fresh fruit juice on the ice! There is a really nice balance of tourism and local vibes here, as Peruvians come from Trujillo in the evenings to enjoy the beach, then filter out for most the day. Honestly, if I had to choose another destination where I could put up for a month and just work and surf, I think this would top the list!
Just the perfect sized town — not too big, not too small— great waves, great location, great weather, and while I didn’t get the chance to make many friends I think it would be even more fun with some amigos. Overall, this is an awesome stop for a surfer on the Peruvian coast, and I would highly recommend combining it with a Chicama trip so you can see multiple sides of Peru <3 hasta luego Huanchaco
