El Pico
Surf spot · Peru
Is it worth the trip?
36Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 5 ft swell at 12 s
Mon 2 · 46 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft12 ssoft
- Energy
- 759kJ
- Wind
- SSE 5 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Tue 3 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 smushy
- Energy
- 395kJ
- Wind
- SSE 7 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Wed 4 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft12 scrumbling
- Energy
- 622kJ
- Wind
- SSE 5 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Thu 5 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft11 scrumbling
- Energy
- 473kJ
- Wind
- E 3 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 19 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 scrumbling
- Energy
- 308kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sat 7 · 33 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft14 scrumbling
- Energy
- 420kJ
- Wind
- S 4 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sun 8 · 42 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft12 scrumbling
- Energy
- 531kJ
- Wind
- ENE 4 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 148, fair
- Mon 246, fair
- Tue 320, too small
- Wed 435, too small
- Thu 535, too small
- Fri 619, too small
- Sat 733, too small
- Sun 842, too small
- Mon 936, too small
- Tue 1022, too small
The spot in six facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit
- Best Jan–Feb2 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 48, fair | 5 ft12 ssoft9 ft at break (est.) | 791kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 5 knots | 27°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 46, fair | 5 ft12 ssoft9 ft at break (est.) | 759kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 5 knots | 28°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 20, too small | 4 ft11 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 395kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 7 knots | 26°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 35, too small | 5 ft12 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.) | 622kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 5 knots | 26°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 35, too small | 5 ft11 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.) | 473kJ | offshorewind from the east, 3 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 19, too small | 4 ft11 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.) | 308kJ | wind from the south-east, 3 knots | 28°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 33, too small | 3 ft14 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.) | 420kJ | wind from the south, 4 knots | 28°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 42, too small | 4 ft12 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.) | 531kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 36, too small | 5 ft10 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 494kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 5 knots | 28°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 22, too small | 5 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 288kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 26°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 05:06 −0.1 mHigh 09:24 +0.0 mLow 15:35 −0.3 mHigh 23:10 +0.4 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 06:29 −0.2 mHigh 11:22 +0.0 mLow 17:07 −0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 00:21 +0.4 mLow 07:28 −0.3 mHigh 13:04 +0.1 mLow 18:37 −0.2 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Jan–Feb
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
El Pico on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About El Pico
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (237°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (57°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 500 m out (1 in 48). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 16°C in September, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 21°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January and February, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Barranca, 0.8 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$931–US$1,780 each
about US$931–US$1,780 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to LIM, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$429–US$898 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$80–US$134 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$268 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$181–US$342 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$80–US$134 |
| Total | about US$931–US$1,780 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Barranca
1 min by car · 55 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Barranca its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 18h 25m
About 18h 25m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → LIM, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 3h by road
Flights MDW → LIM on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.