Peru Guide
The North
Máncora
The most fashionable beach in Peru with the young at heart, even attracting the surf crowd from Ecuador and Brazil, Máncora ( 
www.vivamancora.com ) is also a highly welcome and very enjoyable stopover when travelling along the north coast. Well served by public transport and spread out along the Panamerican Highway, parallel to a beautiful sandy beach, swimming is safe and the surfing can be pretty good.
Máncora enjoys warm waters and its position is blessed as the place where northern tropical currents meet with the much, much cooler southern one. At Lobitos, the next beach down the coast from Cabo Blanco (30km south of Máncora) the sea is cold. This geographical position gives Máncora near perfect surf conditions at times, with barrel waves achieving up to 4m in height.
At the north end of the main drag, there's a plaza and just beyond this there's sometimes a street market, though only the usual clothing, shoes and food. Between here and the south end you'll find most of the town's hotels and restaurants, and a promenade with hippie artesania stalls, selling sea-inspired crafts and jewellery.