Punta Sal

Punta Sal is at the far northern end of the Peruvian coast where the cold Humboldt current gives way to warm equatorial water, and that single fact defines it: the sea here is around twenty-four to twenty-seven degrees, calm and swimmable, which is true almost nowhere else in Peru, where the coast is cold and grey. The result is a several-kilometre bay of pale sand backed by resorts and holiday houses, and a domestic tourism industry built on being the place Peruvians go to swim. Humpback whales pass offshore between roughly July and October on their migration, and boat trips run to see them from Punta Sal and Máncora. Fishing boats work the same water. The coast has developed fast and unevenly, with construction close to the shore and some erosion. Máncora, half an hour south, is the busier and louder version of the same coastline.

What you actually see

• The warm water - twenty-four to twenty-seven degrees, unlike the rest of Peru's coast.
• The calm bay - several kilometres of pale sand with little surf.
• The humpbacks - passing offshore roughly July to October.
• The resort strip - domestic tourism built along the shore.

When to go

December to April for the warmest weather and water; July to October for whales. It is warm year-round, unlike the rest of the country.

Honest expectations

Development along the shore is dense and uneven with some erosion. Resort prices are high by Peruvian standards. Whale trips are seasonal and operators vary in how closely they approach. Máncora nearby is much louder.

Nearby

Máncora is south; Tumbes and the mangroves are north toward the Ecuadorian border.