On Peru's northern coast, just minutes from Trujillo, the fishing village of Huanchaco is today one of the favourite destinations for surfers from all over the world. But its relationship with the Pacific waves is far older than you might imagine.
A tradition over a thousand years old
The caballitos de totora, narrow reed boats built using techniques handed down since pre-Inca times by the Chimú and Moche cultures, are still used today by local fishermen to head out to sea and return riding the waves. It's precisely this manoeuvre, repeated for centuries, that has led many historians to consider Huanchaco the birthplace of surfing, well before the sport became popular in Polynesia and Hawaii.
Built from totora, a reed that grows in nearby lagoons, each boat is handcrafted and lasts only a few months before needing to be rebuilt, keeping alive a craft still practised by a handful of families in the village.
Between tradition and modern surfing
Alongside the caballitos, Huanchaco is also a popular destination for modern surfing, with beginner-friendly waves and numerous schools along the seafront. The pier and the colonial church on the hill overlooking the beach complete a scene where ancestral tradition and contemporary tourism coexist naturally.