Surfing in South America

South America is mostly located in the Southern Hemisphere andis the fourth largest continent by area and fifth in population. It consists of 13 countries (not including the Falkland Islands). Brazil is the largest country in South America followed Argentina then Peru.

South America is a fantastic place to visit just for the sheer variety of natural wonders. There is the Amazon River and surrounding basin - the largest tropical rain forest in the world; the awe inspiring Andes Mountains running the entire length of the country, and some of the most diverse and spectacular landforms on the planet. Spare some time to visit the amazing Iguazu Falls in Argentina, take the Inca Trail from Cuzco to Machu Picchu Inca Ruins, spend some time in the Amazon Rainforest in Bolivia or party away with the locals at the Rio Carnival in Brazil.

South America is home to perhaps the longest waves - Chicama in Peru. An epic spot where you can catch ridiculously long rides.

Peru along with Chile, Ecuador and Columbia all have coastlines on the South Pacific Ocean and have a huge amount of open water for the swells to generate and propagate. Surfing in the west coast is generally a pretty crowd free situation.

Brazil is now firmly the home of South American surfing with several surfers in the Top 44 in recent years. Its long Atlantic Coastline provides great consistency and offers a huge variety of waves. Popular breaks are often crowded and localism can be a problem.

Further south in Argentina and southern Chile the waves are less crowded but the water gets increasingly colder the further south you go. Far south is not for the faint hearted.