The Backpacker’s Guide to Huanchaco, Peru
Among the Trujillo beaches, Huanchaco beach is one of the most visited and loved places by surfers. Huanchaco, Peru surfs are known worldwide. Visit for the most thrilling surfs in the longest waves ever experienced.
Located in the province of Trujillo, Peru, Huanchaco is a well-known vacation beach. Huanchaco is distinctly known for its surf breaks. The Caballitos de totora, the ceviche, and the ruins of Chan Chan are some of the main attractions of the beach. The ‘Save The Waves Coalition’ organization declared Huanchaco as a World Surfing Reserve.
This traditional and historic city of Trujillo offers you one of the best vacation spots in the north, a beautiful beach, and the opportunity to observe artisanal fishing in Caballito de Totora, a millenary technique- that lasts to this day. And Ah! Do not forget to walk along its pier.

How to get to Huanchaco
How to get to Huanchaco
By Airways-
Huanchaco is a dream vacation place in South America, 12 kilometers away from Trujillo. Trujillo is Peru’s third-largest city, served by Captain FAP Carlos Martinez de Pinillos International Airport, which also serves Huanchaco. The airport consists of regional flights only. The distance from Lima to Trujillo is 1 hour and 20 minutes, and the flight from Cusco to Trujillo arrives within 2 hours. Once you reach Trujillo, Huanchaco is not more than 20 minutes by a bus.
By road –
Roadways may also be an option to get you to your holiday destination, Huanchaco. There are abundant bus options to select to travel from Lima to Trujillo. Trujillo gives you public bus options that will ride you to Huanchaco within 20 minutes. The distance of around 554 kilometers will take 8 hours from Lima to Trujillo and vice versa. Buses are the most populous mode of transport among travelers due to their low budget.

Weather in Huanchaco
Weather in Huanchaco
Huanchaco weather is pretty great all year round. According to Gregorian calendar month, Summer begins officially around January and ends around March. However, in November, it starts warming up. In the Gregorian calendar from- January to March, the temperatures are at their best, around thirty-five degrees. Although it feels a lot hotter being because of the equator, you might need to use a lot of sunscreens to protect yourself from the sturdy sunlight.
Although, Huanchaco is not like Lima- that has three months of sun and nine months of gray haze. In Huanchaco, even throughout the winter, there are many sunny days and might be around twenty-two degrees.
In summer, the nights are hotter and excellent for the outdoor party scenes in the city, and in winter you may in all probability like to wear a jacket because it will drop to 10-15 degrees.
Month | Average temperature |
---|---|
Jan | 20 |
Feb | 22 |
Mar | 22 |
Apr | 21.5 |
May | 20 |
Jun | 19 |
Jul | 18 |
Aug | 17 |
Sep | 18 |
Oct | 19 |
Nov | 19 |
Dev | 20 |
Surfing at Huanchaco beach
Huanchaco is a world aloof from the noise and pollution of the capital town. This tiny coastal fishing village has long been a destination for international surfers thanks to its year-round surf that caters to any or all levels.
There isn’t any doubt that this part of the Republic of Peru is crazy for surf, and surfers are crazy for it. Within the city itself, the best swell is to the right-hand aspect of the pier; however, there are a few more breaks scattered on the beach. Throughout the morning or afternoon, you will see a lot of folks taking lessons with undergone riders.
You can additionally ride one of the world’s longest waves on a day trip from Huanchaco. Almost forty-five minutes away, Chicama is furthermore appropriate for beginners and intermediates. For transport there, a variety of hostels and surf faculties provide the best services.
Need to note- Many hostels provide low-cost board rental, while their area unit masses surf faculties providing a wetsuit-associated board at an hourly or daily rate.

Surfing at Huanchaco beach
Best places to stay in Huanchaco
Hotel Bracamonte
Finding Hostels and Hotels in Huanchaco is not a difficult task, however, one of the standout hotels that we would suggest would be hotel Bracamonte with a nice swimming pool and a cozy restaurant.
Hotel Bracamonte offers rooms with free WiFi and private balconies 164 feet from Huanchaco Beach. And Trujillo’s historic center is 8.1 mi away.
Caballito de Totora is a hotel in Huanchaco
Caballito de Totora
located a couple of steps away from Huancarute, Caballito de Totora provides accommodations with a restaurant, free personal parking, a bar, and a shared lounge.
Hotel Riviera Muchik is a hotel in Huanchaco
Located on the beach, almost 656 feet from Huancarute. With a shared lounge, the 3-star hotel has air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi.
Huanchaco Paradise hotel
Huanchaco Paradise hotel serves a nice breakfast and a magnificent outdoor pool.
Hospedaje Nuna
Hospedaje Nuna is another hotel that offers a nice terrace and Trujillo is not more than five miles away. And the airport is around two miles away which makes it a good choice of accommodation.
Huanchaco history and Introduction
About 500 kilometers north of Lima, Huanchaco is a mini beach; nearby the province of Trujillo. Huanchaco was only a fishing village before it took its current identity; thus, it has a rich history. Today, it is recognized as a perfect vacation beach and serves a diverse mix of activities for visitors.
Huanchaco was originally populated just by fishermen. They offered their worship to the moon and a golden fish named Huaca Taska. According to some theories, the name “Huanchaco” derives from Gua-Kocha, meaning a beautiful lake.
During 800 to 1400, the era of Chimu culture, Huanchaco was the main port for Chan Chan, set 4km away. During the Moche period too, the beach served as the main port. As described by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, this port was the foremost preference of the Incas.
After the Spanish conquest of 1534, the Franciscan friar Alonso of Escarcena and Juan de Barbaran found “Huanchaco” on January 1st, 1535.
Huanchaco was the main port of Trujillo city, but in 1870, the port was closed. Two decades later, Victor Larco Herrera rebuilt the pier exclusively for exporting sugar from businesses in the neighboring Chicama valley, one of the significant areas for sugar production in the country.
Best Things to do in Huanchaco
RUINS AT CHAN CHAN
Famous because of the incredible song by Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, did you recognize that Chan Chan was the biggest town within the Americas several centuries ago?
Capital of the Chimu folks, it had been invaded and abandoned by the Incas within the fifteenth century. Additional hostility by the Spanish conquistadors meant that, what was once the world’s largest adobe town, was left to fade out.
However, with the United Nations agency recognizing it as a World Heritage site in 1986, efforts were made to enhance and preserve the location. Travelers nowadays are ready to walk amongst the pathways and rooms of just one of the 9-citadels, Tschudi.
It may be a stunning sight to lay eyes upon.
The walls, adorned with friezes of geometric styles and representations of fishes and seabirds, offer an impact of how spectacular this town once was. In distinction to the remainder of the world, this site is well-preserved with staging and canvas roofs erected in components to safeguard the ruins from any possible threat; the weather.
The earth, sand, and water material will never accommodate the construction of buildings here because it doesn’t last well with the rain and the wind. Also, a mix of El Niño, global climate change, and the lazy funding and efforts at preservation by the Peruvians; means that erosion and deterioration are probable.
So, fancy the weakening grandeur of Chan Chan before it crumbles into the mud.
EATING CEVICHE
Peru is legendary for the dish of food burned in juice and seasoned with salt, coriander, and chilly. As it’s, well, raw food, it is best to eat it at its freshest and safest once you will truly see the ocean from your dining table.
Huanchaco has dozens of restaurants providing ceviche dishes to suit each budget. However, it would be troublesome for you to decide on one that appears sensible. Our tip?
Ask the staff at your hotel what their favorite ceviche-eating house is. You’ll always get different answers; however, a minimum of it’ll offer you a short-list to figure through and cut back your probabilities of paying for a dodgy batch. Though, costs vary wildly. You’ll get one amongst the ceviche lunch deals at an eating-house for backpackers for 7-10 soles or pay upwards of thirty-five soles at a fancy restaurant.

CEVICHE in Huanchaco
THE PIER
Here you will eat good food, and you will be able to appreciate the ancestral fishermen sailing in their Caballitos de Totora, and of course, you will fall in love with the sunset.
Tourist stalls, street food vendors, holidaying Peruvian families, Argentinian jewelry makers camp there. Grab a Trujillo beer at the look, get pleasure from picas, and watch the skilled and amateur tourists dancing with the waves. Top it all off with a view of the attractive sunset.
This emblematic place full of history will captivate you. You would love to surf the continuous waves over and over again. The beach lovers are bound to visit for a fabulous and worthy experience. Visit Haunchaco for the most memorable beach experience ever!