Things to do in Huanchaco | Peru
or the 9 reasons to fall in love with Huanchaco!
Huanchaco is a charming fishing town where it feels good to spend a few days relaxing and surfing. The town lies right by the beach outside of Trujillo, right between Lima and the border of Ecuador. It is, therefore, the perfect place to split the long bus trip between the two countries. Although, if you spend a couple of days here, you may also be surprised by all the great things to do in Huanchaco
When we arrived in Huanchaco, the weather wasn’t really attractive and as we walked to our hostel, we both felt this was a very sad little town with not much to offer. How wrong were we to think that? As the days went by, our love for this sleepy town grew incommensurably. It even became one of the hardest places we had to leave during our travel in South and Central America. In fact, we couldn’t stop eating the tasty street food and watching the traditional reed fishing boats at sunset.
Fishermen use 3000-year-old reed boats
The caballitos de totora are one-man boats made of reeds that kind of look like kayaks. These were already made more than 3,000 years ago and are still in use on a daily basis in the town of Huanchaco by the local fishermen. The technique is the same as the one used by the Uros people to build their floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca. Here, the reed used to make the boats comes from nearby swamps, an ecological reserve called “los totorales“ which can easily be visited on foot from the village.
Each morning, around 7 am, local fishermen, come back to shore riding the waves to unload the fish caught in the nets set up hundreds of metres from the beach. Watching this local activity and tradition is one of the best things to do in Huanchaco. It is so unique!
During the day, a few of them also offer international and local tourists to hop on their boat for a 30-min tour. They demonstrate how their ancestral reed boat floats, how they paddle to navigate the waves and how they place the nets at sea. It is a fun way to see Huanchaco from the ocean, meet locals and hit the waves alongside the surfers and pelicans!
Cost: 9 Soles (€2.30) per person
It is a World-class surfing spot without the crowds
Huanchaco is one of the most popular surf destinations in Peru with its world-class waves and year-long swell. Thanks to its 3 different breaks, the bay of Huanchaco will satisfy any level and weather condition. These 3 spots are indeed excellent to either learn, improve or catch big breaks for the most advanced.
One of the greatest things in Huanchaco is that despite its amazing swirls, the beach is far from being crowded. Locals usually come out late in the afternoon and compared to other similar spots in the world, Huanchaco is “muy Tranquillo”. The town is also a great place to be based for the most experienced surfers wishing to ride the longest wave in the world since Chicama is located only one hour drive away.
If you are not interested in surfing, we would recommend hitting the beach after 4 pm with chips and your favourite beverage. Find a spot on the sand to chill and enjoy watching the surfers until sunset. This is probably one of the best activities to end a great day in Huanchaco.
GOING NORTH? NEXT READ: Off-the-beaten-path: What to do in Mancora?
The sunset over the wooden pier is captivating
Huanchaco’s pier is a very nice site where locals often go fishing or just take a stroll during the day. Entirely made out of wood, it was initially built to act as the main harbour for the nearest large city Trujillo before being used to export sugar. The wharf advancing into the Pacific Ocean is pure beauty, especially at sunset, when the sun drops right behind it and casts its golden rays down through the wooden structure.
Many like to walk and watch the sunset from the pier, but we think it is much more captivating from the beach with the surfers catching their last waves of the day in the foreground. Couple the show with a picnic and you are for sure in heaven!
Note: To enter the pier, you must pay a couple of soles.
The temples Huacas Del Sol Y La Luna are incredible to visit
Peru is mostly known for the Inca civilisation which built incredible citadels in the Andes such as Machu Picchu. However, long before the Incas, many other civilisations had lived on the land. The Moche People, in particular, lived in the region of Huanchaco from 100 to 700 AD during which they built a remarkable empire. Quite advanced, the Moche people were already using irrigation channels, creating painted and sculpted artefacts and building colourful temples.
The best place to witness the work of the Moche is at the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Huacas meaning something sacred). The site is located a few kilometres outside of Huanchaco, past Trujillo. Explored by Archaeologists since 1910, but officially excavated during the 90’s, the sites are still being dug. This means that unfortunately, only the Huacas de la Luna is accessible to visitors currently.
The Temple of the Sun (Huaca del Sol), the largest Adobe structure in America, is closed to the public but can still be seen from the Huacas de la Luna.
During the visit to the Huaca de la Luna, the guide brings you to different chambers where you can see the incredible work of colour and carving of the murals friezes. Despite the many destructions due to lootings, the temple is impressively well-preserved, revealing multicoloured friezes and duplicated iconography. If you have the chance to visit, you will be stunned by the unexpectedly high quality of the site! Photos, unfortunately, don’t do it justice.
Open from 9 am to 4 pm – Entrance fee: 10 soles (€2.60)
Chan-Chan – Unesco World Heritage Site
There is another pre-Colombian archaeologic site near Huanchaco, called Chan Chan. This place is actually better known than the Huacas because of its very “instagramable” charm! For sure a nice thing to do near Huanchaco.
It is also the largest adobe city in the world and was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. We haven’t had the chance to visit the site but if you can, it is only 10 mins away from Huanchaco Beach by local bus.
Entrance fee: 11 soles – (€2.90)
It is a laid-back place, perfect to relax
Apart from those travelling to and from Ecuador, most of the crowd ends its Peruvian journey in Lima or Cusco before flying home or to another capital in South America. This has an impact on the atmosphere of the place and obviously on the mentality of the locals toward international tourists. In comparison to the other towns in southern Peru, we didn’t feel pressured by overdeveloped tourism or locals acting up as if we were walking wallets.
In Huanchaco it is the contrary, the people don’t insist if you don’t buy from them and they don’t run at you to get you to eat in their restaurant. It’s a very relaxed town mostly because of the lack of major international tourism. However, Huancacho is well-developed with many hotels and restaurants and frequent transport in and out to the main hub of the area, Trujillo. The town is actually very busy during the local holidays or weekends, as it is a nice beach town where Trujillos like to escape for a day or two.
Try Huanchaco’s Ceviche and its amazing street food
You have surely heard of Ceviche, the dish Peruvians are the proudest of.
Well, let’s give credit where credit is due. Ceviche is amazing, and if eating fish isn’t a problem for you or your taste buds, there is no reason not to try it in Huanchaco. It is actually the supposed birthplace of this seafood delicacy. Fishing is very important for the locals in Huanchaco and the economy of the area. With direct access to fresh fish almost all year round, restaurants and streets shacks have often on offer delicious ceviche which consists of raw fish in lemon with garlic, onions and parsley or coriander.
But let’s be honest, Ceviche isn’t the only incredible food in Huanchaco. Picarones are a must to try! We only found out about them in Huanchaco as we were leaving Peru (that was truly heartbreaking). Picarones are usually served late at night from street stalls; they are fried dough made of sweet potatoes or squash topped with sweet syrup and cinnamon. It is all you like about “Christmas but in a doughnut!“
Finally, if still hungry, you can try something we didn’t taste but which is highly praised by locals: the deep-fried chicken feet… There is probably no need to describe it in more detail. Bon Appetit!
FOODIE? NEXT READ: A speciality coffee guide to Lima
Go Sandboarding at the nearest dunes
If you have missed the sand dunes of Huacachina or are not planning to go towards Ica but still want to try the fun activity of Sandboarding, Huanchaco gives you another chance. The Laguna de Conache located 10 km from Trujillo, is surrounded by high sand dunes, perfect for a day out Sandboarding. At the Laguna, a few people rent boards for 15 soles (€3.70).
There are a few debates around whether it is best to stand, sit or face down while sandboarding and as far as we are concerned, we prefer sliding on the stomach, head first. So try the different options, don’t hurt yourself and have a lot of fun!
There are Pelicans everywhere
I don’t know you, but it is not every day we get the chance to see pelicans, so while in Huanchaco, we thought that was pretty cool to watch them feeding and walking on the sand like they owned the place. These birds are really huge and it is very impressive to see them opening their gular pouch and eating their prey whole and still alive.
One of the best hostels in Peru
When it’s good, you need to share it with other travellers. We highly recommend the hostel ATMA in Huanchaco. The place is quite new with a large kitchen well furnished and comfortable beds that make you feel at home. We particularly enjoyed the common area, very chill, and the outside patio where 4 rabbits and 2 turtles like to hang out!
The owner and his wife offer daily yoga sessions for 5 soles (€1.30), rent surfing boards and give surfing classes. On top of all this, they make the best homemade peanut butter we have ever had! They also have great advice to get to the nearby archaeological sites by local transportation.
Whether you want to chill for a few days after hiking in Huaraz, looking for peace and good wifi to work or taking surf lessons, ATMA is seriously the place to go. We regret not staying longer thinking Mancora will offer all of this for cheaper… Well, we got it all wrong as when we arrived in Mancora, the wifi was shut off for 3 days in the entire town, the hostel was without any plugs or places to sit, it was double the price and the waves at the local beach were close to zero. We’ve warned you.
6-bed dorms: 20 Soles (€5.20)
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I think the information is wrong you should fix it. Because Atma hostal can’t rent surfboards or surf lessons. Atma is a yoga hotel and on huanchaco we have 10 surf school and Atma is not authorized for give lessons or rent surfboard you should recommended the local surf schools.
Hello Angelo, on our blog we share tips and recommendations according to our experience. During our time in Atma, we were able to rent a board and organise lessons. We totally acknowledge the fact it isn’t the only way to learn how to surf in Huanchaco and that there are indeed surf schools, but since we haven’t tried them ourselves we are not in the measure to vouch or recommend any.
Thanks for this post. I’m planning to visit Trujillo, Huanchaco and Chan Chan in January and couldn’t find many good blog posts, so this one came in handy.