WorldPeru › Lima Province › La Isla

La Isla 80.1

#1170 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇵🇪 Peru · Lima Province · near Chilca

Works almost every day, clean mornings are the norm, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
La Isla, Peru
Photo: eurimaco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · photo taken 1.8 km from the spot
Surf score80.1 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days91% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell91% period 11 s+
Typical size1.5 m 4.9 ft median
Water18°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf La Isla

The best time to surf La Isla is February, March, April. The season runs all year. In March the water sits around 20°C, so pack a 2 mm shorty, and the typical wave is 1.4 m. The nearest airport is LIM (47 km) and the nearest town is Chilca (22 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%90%1.3 m20°C2mm
Feb100%94%1.3 m20°C2mm
Mar100%99%1.4 m20°C2mm
Apr100%98%1.6 m20°C2mm
May100%94%1.6 m19°C3/2
Jun100%91%1.8 m19°C3/2
Jul100%83%1.7 m19°C3/2
Aug100%89%1.7 m18°C3/2
Sep100%82%1.7 m16°C4/3
Oct100%94%1.6 m16°C4/3
Nov100%93%1.5 m17°C3/2
Dec100%88%1.2 m18°C3/2

What is under La Isla

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 68 m, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 307 m against 68 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out68 m
Depth 4 km out27 m
Channel beside it307 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 80.1

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
19.1
Best days 22.4%
11.3
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.4
Access 4.1%
3.9

The detail

Faces 230° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 100% of days. Mean peak period 13.4 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.0 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 13%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -12.340, -76.823 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,190/ month
typically €1,050 – €1,330
Rent, one bedroom€625
Groceries€250
Eating out€145
Getting around€85
Phone + internet€90
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,320/ month
typically €2,040 – €2,600
Somewhere to stay€1,370
Eating out€490
Car, transfers, fuel€315
Data + extras€150
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Peru (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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