Pico Alto Surf Guide

Pico Alto Surf Guide

One of South America's biggest waves and Peru's premier heavy-water reef, a 30-minute paddle from shore, located south of Lima in the classic Punta Hermosa district, this thick "High Peak" draws out of deep water and offers a relatively long right wall, although the left is sometimes attempted. A cold, gray, Hawaiian-style wave, rideable to as big as you can handle, in plain view from the highway. Needs slack wind and a huge SW swell, which are common in winter. Only experienced big-wave surfers need apply.

Pico Alto is one of the biggest waves in South America. Fast, hollow and heavy, it starts working at 12-15-feet, holds until 30-feet and almost never closes out. The rides get longer as the waves get bigger. It breaks right and left, but favors the right. The paddle is about a kilometer to the open-ocean break. Best time is from April to June, but through the winter, as well.