Pacasmayo
La Libertad · Pacasmayo
also known as El Faro, Pacasmayo El Faro, Pacas
Riding essentials
Season
Jan–Dec
Months riders and schools name
How windy
12-25 knots
Character: thermal
Room to launch
huge
access rules on record, below
Water
waves
20–28 °C in summer
Hazards
21
Reported by riders
Level
Intermediate to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
medium crowds · busy Sep Oct Nov Dec
Schools
3
named at this spot
From the airport
Trujillo (TRU)
Transfer times under Getting there
On the clock
13:00 · 14:00 · 17:00
Mornings are light or glassy, the surf and foil window. The wind starts building mid-morning and is usually good by midday; first riders are commonly on the water between 13:00 and 14:00. It holds to 17:00 or later, often to sunset.
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.
Pacasmayo has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it, and none other in Pacasmayo. straight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Chicamano page yet
- Chicama / Puerto Malabrigono page yet
- Punta Lunano page yet
- Puemapeno page yet
The spot
Wind and swell
Water and skill level
Logistics
The wind
locals call it southerly thermal / sea-breeze
Direction
Direction to shore
cross-off
Dominant direction
S to SSE, with SSW and SW also given as workable directions
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
A 75 kg rider is covered by an 8 m and an 11 m; guidance for the same weight elsewhere stretches the pair to 9 m and 12-13 m.Take the bigger of the two for early- and late-season days and keep a 7-8 m for strong afternoons. With side-off wind and a long downwind ride, a kite you can depower and hold down matters more than top-end power.
Character
Average strength
About 18 knots in the main season; other reported ranges are 12-22 or 15-25 knots.
Typical strength
12-25 knots covers almost every day here. The season average sits around 18 knots and the normal afternoon band is 15-25 knots. Clear sky means stronger, cleaner wind; cloud cover blunts it.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month63
- Feb, riders' month56
- Mar, riders' month56
- Apr, riders' month75
- May, riders' month100
- Jun, riders' month95
- Jul, riders' month94
- Aug, riders' month98
- Sep, riders' month95
- Oct, riders' month98
- Nov, riders' month92
- Dec, riders' month87
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 63%Jan21°
- 56%Feb22°
- 56%Mar22°
- 75%Apr21°
- 100%May19°
- 95%Jun19°
- 94%Jul18°
- 98%Aug17°
- 95%Sep17°
- 98%Oct17°
- 92%Nov18°
- 87%Dec19°
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 | 63% | 90% | 79% | 13.2 kt | S | 15:00 | 22.2 °C | 20.6 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 56% | 91% | 74% | 13.1 kt | S | 15:00 | 23.9 °C | 22.2 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 56% | 74% | 61% | 12.5 kt | S | 15:00 | 23.3 °C | 22.2 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 75% | 85% | 82% | 14.3 kt | S | 15:00 | 21.7 °C | 20.6 °C | 60 |
| May | 100% | 100% | 100% | 16.4 kt | S | 16:00 | 20.6 °C | 19.4 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 95% | 98% | 98% | 15.5 kt | S | 15:00 | 19.4 °C | 18.9 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 94% | 97% | 97% | 15.9 kt | S | 15:00 | 18.3 °C | 17.8 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 98% | 100% | 100% | 16.3 kt | S | 16:00 | 17.8 °C | 17.2 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 95% | 100% | 100% | 15.9 kt | S | 16:00 | 17.8 °C | 17.2 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 98% | 100% | 100% | 15.8 kt | S | 15:00 | 17.8 °C | 17.2 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 92% | 100% | 97% | 15.3 kt | S | 15:00 | 18.9 °C | 17.8 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 87% | 95% | 90% | 14.2 kt | S | 15:00 | 20.6 °C | 19.4 °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
Not a stand-up spot. The bottom at the point is rock, reef and loose stones, and there is no shallow flat anywhere along the wave, which is why nobody learns to kite here.Depth is less the problem than entry and exit: you pick your way over rock at the top of the point and ride out. Whether the sandier stretch downwind by the hotel gives waist-deep water at low tide is unconfirmed.
Tides
Semidiurnal and small, roughly 0.5 m to 1.2-1.5 m through a normal day, read from a tide station 2 km from the break.Tide does not make or break a session here. Surfers favour low or early incoming water at the point; the lower the water, the more of the rock entry is exposed, so walk it once at low tide before the first session.No kite-specific tide preference is documented.
Temperature
Summer (°C) 20-28, depending on whether the reading is nearshore or an open-water satellite average
Winter (°C) 14-22, depending on whether the reading is nearshore or an open-water satellite average
Modelled monthly average: 17–22 °C
Wetsuit
A wetsuit all year. What riders wear runs from a shorty or 2mm top in the warm summer wind to a 3/2mm or 4/3mm in the coldest months and on long sessions.
Currents
Strong current and rip on bigger swells, running north and making it hard for paddlers to get back to the peak.It is the same drift that makes the long walk back up the point normal here. Currents also run around the reef and rock sections, and there are wind holes near the launch.On a side-off wind with the drift pushing you downwind, losing a kite means a long swim.
Conditions
Your level
not for beginners 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
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: huge
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Launch from the sand and rock in front of El Faro, or walk up to the top of the point, about 400 m upwind of the hotel, for the longest rides, and come out downwind where the beach turns sandier.Parking is next to the beach and campers can stay overnight; toilets and food are on site, showers are not.Keep clear of surfers and windsurfers already on the wave, and get off the beach promptly when the launch-area wind is turbulent.
Rules & access
1 min read
Current rules
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
- Surf or foil early and kite when the southerly builds around midday; a clear sky means strong clean wind, an overcast day usually means weaker and patchier.
- Walk the entry and exit at low tide before the first session, and wear booties over the rock and reef.
- Respect wave rotation: give way to whoever is already riding, and do not cut back up the line after every wave.
- Stay at the point-side hotel if you want the safety boat and jet-ski; US$15 a day at 2026 rates also buys launch and landing help, and nothing else here counts as rescue.
- Bring your own wave gear and spares, and plan at least a week: getting here means Lima plus a domestic flight or a long road leg, and the good days need swell and wind together.
- Let your tyres down if you drive on the sand.
Getting there
Airport
Fly internationally to Lima, then domestic to Trujillo (TRU) or Chiclayo (CIX); both are the usual gateways for Pacasmayo.
Route
Fly Lima to Trujillo (TRU) or Chiclayo (CIX), then drive: about 1h45 north from Trujillo, about 2h south from Chiclayo.Direct long-distance buses run from Lima in roughly 10 hours for 670 km, with fares around US$12-45 depending on operator and seat. Public transport around Pacasmayo is thin, so a rental car or a hotel transfer earns its cost; from town it is 2 km to El Faro by taxi or mototaxi.
Transfer
About 105 minutes from Trujillo, driving north, and about 120 minutes from Chiclayo, driving south. Lima is roughly 10 hours by long-distance bus for 670 km. From Pacasmayo town it is 2 km to El Faro: a short taxi or mototaxi, or about a 10-minute walk from the nearest part of town.
Cost level
medium: the town is cheap for restaurants and basics, but the remote multi-leg access and the thin point-side lodging make it more involved than a mainstream beach resort.
Staying
El Faro Adventure Resort/Hotel sits at the point and is the main wind and wave base. Pacasmayo town has small hotels and basic services a short walk or ride away.
No-wind days
Morning surf/SUP/foil at El Faro, walk the Pacasmayo pier and malecon, visit the El Faro lighthouse/viewpoint, seafood restaurants in town, day trip to Chicama/Puerto Malabrigo, and broader Peru add-ons such as Paracas or Machu Picchu if building a longer trip.
Photos
FAQ
Is Pacasmayo suitable for beginners?
No, Pacasmayo is repeatedly described as an intermediate-to-advanced wave spot, given the side-off/cross-off wind, rocky entry, currents and shared surf lineup.
When is the best time to visit?
Most Pacasmayo-specific sources give April through October as the best wind-and-swell window, though broader Peru directories give conflicting ranges.
What is the wind like?
A southerly thermal (S to SSE) typically builds late morning to midday, running about 12-25 knots, and often continues into late afternoon.
What are the hazards?
Rocky reef and point sections, strong current on bigger swells, side-off wind with long downwind rides, and a crowded lineup shared with surfers and windsurfers.
Are there rules?
No kitesurf permit exists, but the wave itself is officially protected for surfing/tourism preservation under a 2019 government resolution.
The bigger pictureEverything about Pacasmayo
Last updated: August 2026