Post - Everyday Travel Guides

by Rebecca Hollman
updated Nov 24, 2018

Máncora, Peru

Máncora is no doubt Peru’s best beach town. Most of the coast of Peru is constantly foggy, windy and kind-of cold. Although Peru has tons of great surf spots all along it’s coast, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has nice beaches. But once you make it past Negritos and the coast line starts heading east instead of north, the beaches start getting drastically better. The beach in Máncora is amazing, and so is the vibe from the small town itself. There are also tons of beaches close to Máncora that offer high-end accommodation without the crowd of Máncora, so you essentially have the entire white sand beach to yourself. Below are the top activities to do to enjoy your stay in this fabulous beach town.

Table of Contents

1. Just relax and chill on the beach in Máncora

The best thing about Máncora is obviously its beaches. And arguably it’s best beach is right in front of town. Relax and spend a day (or two, or three…) just laying on the beach enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. Del Wawa Hotel is right on the beach and offers lounge chairs to lay on for its guests. There are also one or two restaurants right next to Del Wawa that rent out lounge chairs/umbrellas. Or just grab a beach towel and go grab your own spot of sand on the limitless stretch of beach.

2. Surf lessons

Máncora is a beginner surfer’s dream. 1) It’s really easy to get into the water 2) the surf spot is 10 meters from the surf 3) it’s a soft wave and 4) it’s a point break so it’s easy to paddle without waves crashing onto your head. The only negative things about this spot are that it can sometimes be crowded with beginners and that at low tide you have to be really careful of rocks. Either get an hour lesson from an instructor or just rent a board and go out there if you’re feeling confident enough.

3. Kitesurf lessons

Just like surfing, Máncora is a kitesurfer’s dream. With almost constant, strong wind it is always a good time to kitesurf, even if the waves are too small to surf. The big openness of the bay allows for plenty of room to practice to kitesurf, but the same issues apply here - be careful of the rocks and be careful of other kitesurfers and surfers! Take an hour or two kitesurf lesson for around S/ 100. There are a few signs up around town advertising kitesurfing lessons.

4. Mud baths

Watch the sunset while soaking in a completely natural mud bath in the hills surrounding the coast. This is a perfect place to watch the sunset since the air will be getting cooler and the baths are warm. Don’t expect a “spa like” experience - this is muddy, dirty, and with zero facilities, but that’s what makes this awesome. It’s almost exclusively locals that come to rub mud on their skin for it’s healing properties or to take bottles of mud home for later. There are three different mud baths in the Máncora area - Hervideros and El Tubo in Zorritos and La Poza de Barro in Máncora. El Tubo is a geyser so has more clear water baths while Hervideros and La Poza de Barro are mud baths so are pools of warm, boiling mud. El Tubo is impossible to find on your own, while Hervideros is clearly marked on Googlemaps and easy to get to. However, if you take a mototaxi, the drivers will know how to get to any of the three mud baths easily.

Read more about the Hervideros mud baths and see tons of pictures on my other post HERE

5. Stay at 5 star hotel with own private beach in Vichayito

The strip of beach to the south of Máncora is called Vichayito, and it holds tons of high-end resorts running down the beach. From the pier at the end of Máncora Beach to Vichayito about 10 minutes south, are over 100 different hotels and resorts (mostly high end 5-star hotels). If you want to splurge and treat yourself to the resort experience, consider staying at one of these hotels for a night or two (or the whole time). Check out my article on the best places to stay in Máncora, Peru and see the list of the best hotels in Vichayito.

Read the article HERE

6. Spend the day exploring Tumbes and the Cabeza de Vaca ruins

About an hour north of Máncora is the city of Tumbes. Drastically bigger in size than Máncora, Tumbes offers some unique experiences that Máncora can’t. Tumbes is essentially the border city between Peru and Ecuador and is surrounded to the north by mangroves. The Santuario Nacional Manglares de Tumbes is a mangrove reserve that can be explored by boat on a tour, and is the main draw for coming to Tumbes. However, the town itself is nice to explore and has beautiful architecture. Besides the city itself, the ruins of Cabeza de Vaca provide for an interesting day trip. The ruins are over 5 kilometres in size and consist of Incan buildings, temples, canals and trails. The ruins are open from 9 AM to 5 PM and are S/ 4 for adults, S/ 1 for students and S/ 0.50 for children.

7. Tumbes mangrove tours/crocodile farm

The Santuario Nacional Manglares de Tumbes is a mangrove reserve that can be explored by boat on a tour, and is the main draw for coming to Tumbes. Tours are organized out of Máncora or Tumbes and take you on a boat ride through the mangrove areas. There is an optional addition to visit the crocodile area, where a couple of hundred crocodiles live - including different species of crocodiles and caimans. It’s not a wildlife rescue or rehabiliation, so I’m not sure exactly why the crocodiles are there but they seem like they are in good health and well-maintained. I always suggest being wary of funding zoos or organizations that keep animals just as means for tourism income. However, we did the extra tour thinking it was a crocodile rescue center and loved being able to see the crocodiles so close but whether you want to pay for it is up to you. If you have your own transportation, it is easy to walk up to the Puerto Pizarro dock and find your own boat ride or join in on another tour for cheaper than arranging the tour from a company.

Read more about the mangrove tour and see tons of pictures on my other post HERE

8. Cerros de Amotape tour

Although complicated to get to, this is one of those things that’s definitely worth the extra effort because of it’s uniqueness - and the fact that very few other people go to the effort! Located inland from Máncora is the Cerros de Amotape National Park - a 1,500 square kilometer national park that contains the mountain range called the Cordillera de los Amotapes and areas of both dry forest ecosystems and Pacific Tropical Forests. The park has four different zones of which some are more easily reached than others. There are a few day hiking trails and some longer trails that can be reached via mules. There is also the option to canoe in the Tumbes River. You need to apply for a park permit in advance to be able to enter the national park on your own so it is much easier to enter with a tour company. However, there aren’t many tour companies and they can get pretty expensive so if you have the time and patience to get your own permit - you should! The best tour company I found is called Tours de Nord Peru and they offer four different tour options for the park. All four tour options can leave out of either Tumbes or Máncora. The four options are (1) Rica Playa - which takes you to archaeological ruins, on a hike through the park, to the Cañón del Mango viewpoint, on a hike through the Quebrada Honda and on a canoe ride through the Tumbes River (2) Huarapal - which takes you to a hike along a stream to the Huarapal waterfalls, on a hike through the tropical humid forest of the park and then to the El Tubo hot springs in Zorritos (3) Hualtaco - which takes you to a hike through the high zone of the humid tropical forest of the park and then to a hike to the Mirador del Hualtaco (4) Fernandez - which takes you to the southern region of the park, on a hike through the Quebrada de Fernandez, an hour horse ride to the Fernandez waterfalls, and to the Poza de Barro hot springs in Máncora.

9. Swimming with turtles in El Ñuro

This was my favorite thing to do in Máncora by far. If you like animals even a tiny bit, then I suggest you do this. El Ñuro is about 25 minutes south of Máncora and pretty much only has the pier for taking a boat out to the turtles and for the fishing boats. A lot of companies offer tours in Máncora but I suggest taking a mototaxi to El Ñuro yourself and then going out to the dock and finding your own boat ride. It costs S/ 10 per person to get onto the dock - which only gives you access to a floating platform where you can get in with the turtles. However, this platform is usually super crowded so I suggest paying a guy to take you out on a boat farther away from the dock. A guy will take a boat out for about S/ 30 per person and drive you on a little tour of the coast and then take you to a secluded spot in the ocean where you can swim with the turtles with only the people from your boat (which is usually max 10 people). The guys throw some food in for the turtles and then all of a sudden there are about 10 MASSIVE turtles swimming around you. I suggest renting a snorkeling mask for S/ 5 on the dock so that you can snorkel with the turtles and watch them from underwater. You can sometimes also pay the boat guy to take GoPro photos/videos of you underwater with the turtles. Be careful not to touch the turtles because you will remove a layer of “slime” they have on them that protects them from bacterial infections. The people in El Ñuro actually put in a lot of effort to protect these turtles and so I would recommend supporting this industry and area. One final tip - wear a wet suit top if you have one because the water is freaking cold.

10. Surf/chill in Lobitos

About an hour south of Máncora is the famous surf spot - Lobitos. The town was originally a British settlement because of the oil in the surrounding area. The area became very rich because of the oil, and you can see it in the European architecture and buildings that are still standing. After there was a change in the Peruvian government, the British were kicked out and the area was abandoned. During the brief Peruvian-Ecuadorian war, the Peru military base was stationed in Lobitos, but this has also been abandoned. Both of these events give the area a really weird feel - with both abandoned colonial British houses and abandoned military base camps from the 1940s. Besides its unique historical background, Lobitos also is famous for its surf spots - particularly La Piscina. There are a handful of surf hostels and hotels around Lobitos to stay in but that’s about all there is here besides beaches and waves. Either take a day trip here from Máncora for a day of surfing or stay in Lobitos for a couple of days if you really want to spend more time surfing.

11. Punta Sal Beach

About 20 minutes north of Máncora is the small beach town of Punta Sal. Like Vichayito or Zorritos, staying in Punta Sal is a way to escape from the more populated area of Máncora to your own private, secluded beach. I would suggest staying in a hotel/resort here for a night or two to really appreciate the seclusion of this beach and truly relax with a book in the sun. Read my article about the best place to stay in Máncora to find the best hotel in Punta Sal.

Read the article HERE

12. Watch the sunset from the lighthouse

The sunset from the beach is epic in itself, allowing you to watch the sun dip behind the pier perfectly perpendicular to the beach. But, if you climb up to the lighthouse, you can see the colors in all directions and gives you an awesome vantage point of the coast up and down in both directions. You can only climb up to the lighthouse on one side of the hill - the part facing town. So even if you are staying in a guesthouse/hostel behind the lighthouse, you can’t go straight up to it unless you scale the side of the dirt hill (and I don’t suggest that). Give yourself about 20 minutes to walk up to the lighthouse. At the top of the stairs is a little cafe where you can buy drinks and they have you sign into a guestbook.

13. Whale watching out of Los Organos

If you’re in Máncora during the right season, then whale watching could be a great day trip from Máncora. Whale migration season is generally April through September. Humpback whales migrate past the coast of Peru and so a whale watching tour allows you to go out closer to the whales and see them as they swim along the coast. The tour can be organized in either Máncora or Los Organos but leaves out of a boat in Los Organos. If you don’t have your own transportation you’ll have to take a mototaxi from Máncora but Los Organos is only about 15 minutes away.

14. Zorritos Beach

Just like Punta Sal, Zorritos is a more remote beach located to the north of Máncora. There’s not much to do here if you are not staying in a hotel/resort in the area. But, if you want a secluded bungalow experience - find a hotel in Zorritos and stay for a night or two. Enjoy the peach and quiet of your own beach and your own private bungalow. If you’re staying in a hotel then it will most likely include a restaurant for all your meals, beach chairs and maybe a pool to also relax at. Check out my article about the best places to stay in Máncora for my list of the best hotels in Zorritos.

Read the article HERE

15. Day at Los Organos beach

Want to escape from the crowds of Máncora? Why not take a mototaxi or car to Los Organos for the day. Los Organos has a big, long white sand beach just like Máncora and almost zero people. But with the lack of people also comes lack of restaurants/cafes/infrastructure so there are way less options if you get hungry/need something. Los Organos is a perfect beach to practice kitesurfing as well. It’s empty, it’s large so you can learn to kite, theres no rocks to get caught up on, and it’s exposed so there’s lots of wind. Many people don’t know about Los Organos and so stick to Máncora to kitesurf, but Los Organos is probably a better place to learn and practice!