Chicama Surf Season
La Libertad, Peru · part of the Chicama spot guide
Chicama runs on the austral autumn and winter, April through October, when the Southern Ocean storm engine is most active and best-aimed, firing long-period south-southwest groundswell up the Pacific to Peru. The summer months go quiet — small, inconsistent and dependent on northwest windswell.
It is a length-and-quality spot rather than a big-wave one, a longboard and midlength cruise machine. Its most famous moment came at a contest here when a local rider linked 34 separate maneuvers on a single wave — a Guinness record that captures exactly what the wave is about.
Where the swell comes from
The engine is the Roaring Forties — deep Southern Ocean lows south of about 40° south firing long-period south-southwest groundswell up the Pacific to Peru. Long period is essential: it is what survives the long wrap around the headland with enough energy to link the sections.
Historic swells at Chicama
The 34-maneuver record
At the Red Bull Chicama Challenge, Cristóbal de Col landed 34 maneuvers on one wave in about two minutes twenty — a Guinness record for the most on a single wave, and a showcase of the wave’s endless length.
Point-to-pier days
On rare large south swells with enough size on the point, surfers ride the full length to the Muelle — roughly two kilometres in three to five minutes — the recurring feature of the biggest long-period winter swells.