The Best Beaches in Peru

Peru’s dry northern coastal region has the best beaches in the country, and recent developments in infrastructure have connected these formally inaccessible beaches into great stops for waders and surfers alike. If you’re traveling during the during the hot and dry December through April summer season, it’s the perfect time to give some of these beaches a try!

Máncora has the most facilities, with hostels, restaurants and other services from surfboard rentals to horseback rides, kitesurfing and bonfire parties. It’s become a popular backpacking town for those needing to let loose, especially during the holidays. Mancora is great for those looking to meet people and have fun while enjoying drinks on the beach. Those who’d like a less beaten path do have more laidback options, however.

Los Órganos, for example, is a family-oriented spot with great beaches, especially Punta Veleros. It’s just 8 miles south of Máncora and in November is a prime whale-watching spot. It’s also close enough to the hostels and restaurants of Máncora to make it accessible even if you don’t want to spend your nights there.

Another alluring beach near Máncora is Las Pocitas, which is home to as many chic hotels as palm trees. The waters are tranquil, perfect for swimming, and the area is upscale.

 

For surfers, Cabo Blanco beach, 93 miles north of Piura, is an inspiring spot thanks to the perfect pipeline waves at spots such as Panic Point. Oil rigs in view of beach mean that nature-lovers could be put off, but it’s a small price to pay if surfing is your passion. The fisherman’s village of the same name, where the beach is located, was incorrectly rumored to be the inspiration for Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, as Hemingway spent time in area indulging in deep-sea fishing. It’s actually renowned for sportfishing, with the record for the largest black marlin caught.

Surfers shouldn’t stop there, however. Slightly farther north than Huanchaco fishing village, famed for its traditional reed boats, is legendary Chicama, known for having the world’s longest left-hand waves. It’s considered one of the best surfing spots in South America.

All of the beaches mentioned thus far located along the northern coast of Peru, where the days are warmer, the beaches cleaner, and the waves larger. The southern coast does some iconic beaches, however: those of Paracas National Reserve. Paracas is popular with travelers thanks to the Ballestas Islands off its coast, which teem with penguin and sea lion colonies. The beaches themselves are worthy of mention as well, especially the colonial beach village of Mollendo, which serves up wonderful seafood with picturesque views of pristine sand and rustic fishermen’s boats.