Lobitos
Piura · Talara province, on the old English oil-company coastline south of Máncora · Lobitos; nearest larger town and airport: Talara
also known as Baterías
Riding essentials
Season
May–Nov
Months riders and schools name
How windy
15-25 knots
Character: thermal
Room to launch
huge
access rules on record, below
Water
waves
23–29 °C in summerLobitos Point is a left point wave with barrel sections and open face
Hazards
12
Reported by riders
Level
Advanced only
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
high crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Sep
Schools
1
named at this spot
From the airport
30 min
Talara (TYL)
On the clock
10:00 · 11:00 · 13:00 · 17:00 · 18:00
Mornings are the calm part of the day. The wind starts moving around 10:00-11:00, is properly in by midday to 13:00, and dies around 17:00-18:00 through the season.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
Nearbystraight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Bateriasalso a name for this spot
- Piscinasno page yet
- El Huecono page yet
- Tres Crucesno page yet
- El Nurono page yet
- Pocitasno page yet
The spot
Hazards
Wind timing
Seasons
The rule
The wind
Direction
Direction to shore
cross-off
Dominant direction
SSW to SW, with south/southeast also reported for nearby Baterias
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
Wild Kite Peru recommends 9 m plus 12 m for May-August, and 9 m plus 7 m, plus 12 m if possible, for August-December on the north shore.
Character
Typical strength
15-25 knots on season afternoons; Baterias next door runs 16-22 knots. Midday can still be only 13-16 knots before the afternoon build. Models run 2-4 knots under the real wind on this coast, and no measured climatology exists for Lobitos itself.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan81
- Feb42
- Mar35
- Apr47
- May, riders' month98
- Jun, riders' month95
- Jul, riders' month97
- Aug, riders' month92
- Sep, riders' month98
- Oct, riders' month97
- Nov, riders' month97
- Dec92
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 81%Jan23°
- 42%Feb26°
- 35%Mar25°
- 47%Apr25°
- 98%May23°
- 95%Jun22°
- 97%Jul22°
- 92%Aug20°
- 98%Sep19°
- 97%Oct21°
- 97%Nov21°
- 92%Dec21°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.
Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | Wind from | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 81% | 94% | 90% | 15 kt | SW | 13:00 | 25 °C | 22.6 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 42% | 74% | 58% | 12.9 kt | SW | 13:00 | 26.4 °C | 25.5 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 35% | 66% | 56% | 12.5 kt | SW | 13:00 | 26.8 °C | 25.2 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 47% | 68% | 62% | 12.3 kt | SW | 13:00 | 25.5 °C | 25 °C | 60 |
| May | 98% | 100% | 100% | 16.8 kt | SSW | 13:00 | 24.1 °C | 22.7 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 95% | 100% | 100% | 17 kt | SSW | 13:00 | 22.5 °C | 21.7 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 97% | 100% | 100% | 17.7 kt | SSW | 13:00 | 21.9 °C | 21.6 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 92% | 100% | 100% | 17.3 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 21.4 °C | 20.4 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 98% | 100% | 98% | 17.1 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 21.2 °C | 19 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 97% | 100% | 100% | 17.2 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 21.5 °C | 20.7 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 97% | 100% | 100% | 16.5 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 21.5 °C | 20.5 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 92% | 98% | 97% | 15.8 kt | SW | 13:00 | 23.6 °C | 21.1 °C | 62 |
How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
waves
Standing depth
No measured depth exists for this spot, and it is not a stand-up beach.You ride a point break over sand with rock sections, and outside the shorebreak you should not count on touching bottom.The water you can stand in is the inside at low tide, which is where the rocks are. Tide at the local stations swings roughly between 0.4 m and 1.5 m, so the inside and the launch shallow out noticeably on the way down.
Tides
Best at low to mid tide, and the coming tide is the one usually recommended for kiting. The local range is about a metre, roughly 0.4 m to 1.5 m, and low water makes launching and landing at the main point harder.Tide tables for this stretch come off the Talara and Baterias stations, so timing at the point itself can differ.
Temperature
23–29 °C summer · 17–23 °C winter
Modelled monthly average: 19–26 °C
Wetsuit
Summer can be lycra/shorty weather, but bring rubber; dawn, dusk or windy sessions may need a 2 mm top/shorty, and early September minimums can require a sealed 3/2 full suit.
Currents
Current can rip. Between the main point and the pier the water tries to escape the bay and sets up a current, weaker on 1-2 m days than on the big ones. Side-off to offshore wind means a rider who loses the kite gets carried out to sea rather than back to the beach.
Conditions
Your level
not for beginners herenot for intermediates here
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch: huge
Somewhere else
3 spots nearby
Rescue
Launch
Launch from the beach/point at Lobitos for the main wave; a large launch area with a sand point building off rocks. If riding Baterias instead, the beach sits close to a hill, with tricky launching/landing and little room downwind.
Rules & access
1 min read
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Schools that ride here
Rider tips
- Stay off the main peak when the surf crowd is packed; surfers have priority here.
- Plan around the afternoon thermal but read the wind at the beach, because the land makes a dead, gusty band at the launch.
- Carry a 3/2 and a lighter top or shorty rather than assuming tropical water, because the Humboldt influence swings it sharply.
- If offshore self-rescue is not something you have done, pick another north-coast spot or ride with a guide or support boat.
- At Baterias, walk the downwind stretch before launching, because the hill is close and the ride finishes fast.
Getting there
Airport
Talara (TYL) is the nearest airport; Piura (PIU) and Tumbes (TBP) are other regional options, with Lima (LIM) as the usual international connection.
Route
Fly to Talara or Piura from Lima, then continue by taxi, colectivo or bus through Talara. Talara to Lobitos is roughly 17 km and about 30 minutes by taxi or colectivo, from older local information. Mancora, about 1-1.5 hours north depending on the route, is the usual base for kiters coming down on guided trips.
Transfer
30 min
Cost level
Low to medium; local-style transport and budget hostels exist, but current 2026 taxi and lodging prices are unconfirmed.
Staying
Small Lobitos surf-town accommodation, hostels and surf camps near the beach; Mancora has a much wider accommodation, restaurant and nightlife base for kiters using guided trips to Lobitos.
No-wind days
Surfing, surf lessons/rentals, yoga, BJJ, artisanal fishing trips, cultural-center art classes, dry-forest trekking/birdwatching, nearby beaches, sea caves and towns.
Photos
FAQ
Is Lobitos suitable for beginners?
No, only advanced riders should attempt the main Lobitos point; the wind is cross-off, current can rip, and there is no reliable rescue.
When is the best time to visit?
May through October is the most defensible kite window, with the official surf-tourism season given as June to November.
What is the wind like?
Wind is thermal and cross-off (side-off to offshore), typically building around 11:00-13:00 and fading by 17:00-18:00.
What are the hazards?
Strong current that can pull kiters out to sea with no rescue nearby, a rocky point, two piers downwind, and a heavy surf crowd requiring wave-priority etiquette.
Are there rules?
No kitesurf permit exists, but the wave is legally protected under Peru's Ley 27280 breakline registry since 2017, restricting activities that could affect it.
The bigger pictureEverything about Máncora
Last updated: August 2026