Punta Mango El Salvador

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The Wave at Punta Mango

 

One of the most famed surf spots in Central America. The wave gets very good by most people's standards, just watch some of the video's if you haven't seen it. On the best days it is a double over head open barrel from start to finish. It is a 200 yard right point that breaks over sand or large rounded rocks, depending on the tide.

Transworld video at Punta Mango

 

This spot is one of the best in Central America, and the world. Countless professional surfers visit each year, surely you have seen it in popular surf magazines like Dane Reynolds on the cover of Surfing Magazine in 2008.

 

You might hear the surf break rated as the second best in El Salvador behind Punta Roca in La Libertad, but if you consider the negative crowd and localism factor at Punta Roca it would put Punta Mango as the best surf spot in the country for most surfers. Plus you will never get as perfect a barrel in La Libertad.

 

 

 

There are only a few true locals at Punta Mango. They take their turn and are not aggressive which makes for a generally positive vibe in the water. Visiting surfers need to be sure to respect the rules of surfing to keep it fun for everyone. And while the locals are friendly and don't mind sharing waves, if people do not take their turn the locals will tell you to leave or they have been known to get angry.

 

About 14 years ago the first surf tours in El Salvador started bringing visiting surfers by boat. Rancho Mango opened as the first lodging at Punta Mango in 2008.

 

The roads to the break are open and fairly well maintained. To get there by land requires a half hour drive west on the coastal dirt road from El Cuco and Las Flores. Pick up truck taxis can easily be found in El Cuco for about $20 to $25. Or take the chicken bus which goes from El Cuco to Punta Mango twice a day and will cost about a dollar, just look for our sign the bus will drop you off right in front. The bus usually leaves El Cuco at about mid day.

 

This surf point gets its name from a nearby beach called Playa Mango. This beach was once was a Mango grove, there are now only a few trees left. The actual name of the point is Playa El Floral.

 

The shoreline here faces exactly south, which means it picks up south swell as good as anywhere and is extremely consistent from May to September. But it is generally very small durring off season months when north swells are predominant. When the waves are small they break very close to the sharp rocks. When its too small its better to surf at one of the nearby beachbreaks that can be really fun and much safer.

 

Wind direction is important to the quality of the wave. Most surf spots in El Salvador are somewhat blocked from sideshore wind by beach front cliffs or hills, but Mango is a river mouth wash which offers no protection from the wind. When the wind is blowing offshore the waves will be perfect and groomed, while other spots will have swirling wind. But when the wind is side or onshore the exposure can work against it. Tide is another factor which heavily affects the wave, changing from big but a little soft, to smaller but heaving barrels. On a big swell the waves break over the rocks and produce a nice open barrel. Falling at high tide or riding a close out for to long might leave you cut up and laying on the barnacle encrusted rocks, so be careful.

 

Punta Mango has been a guarded secret until releatively recently. It was first surfed in the early 1970's by traveling American surf explorers. At that time it was known by its legal name "Punta El Floral". There were a select few surfers who would camp on the point for months at a time. The area, before the civil war in El Salvador, has been described as a "Utopia" because the locals were so friendly and happy to see the travelers and the waves were empty. A few houses existed at the beach at that time and the owners and care takers were more than welcoming to all surfers that came. But Punta Mango remained a secret still because of its difficlut access and those that did surf there were smart enough to not talk or publicize information about it.

 

 

When the Civil War in El Salvador started in 1980, surfers stopped coming. At the onset of the war, which was to last 10 years, the local people of Punta Mango moved to less hostile, more populated areas. The few houses that existed at the beach were looted and destroyed. Remnants of those houses can be found along the coastline. A lot of fighting and arms smuggling took place in the area. Because of the close proximity to Nicaragua and its remoteness most of the arms that supplied the rebel army came in pongas from Nicaragua and landed at nearby beaches. The boats would come at night and the FMLN soldiers would off-load the arms and move them up into the hills to be hidden in caves, and later distributed throughout the country. Some of these caves can still be found in the hills above the point. During the 10 years of war, very, very few surfers were bold enough to surf the perfect empty swells. Since the end of the war surfers have slowly been rediscovering the wonders of this great area and wave.

 

In 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastated all of Central America with constant rain for a week which washed out bridges, roads, and killed 239 people in El Salvador alone. The 100 year hurricane also blew out the rocks at the river mouth and changed the shape of the point, for the better or worse can be debated.

 

We, the owners, of Rancho Mango started surfing Punta Mango rugularly in 2003 and fell in love with the great wave and the small farming community. In 2005 we purchased a small piece of land and built a cabin where we lived a simple life and surfed our brains out for 5 years. When a few years ago the first hotels started being developed we decided to open our little restaurant and rent out some rooms. And we continue to enjoyed the great diversity of adventurers who we are lucky enough to have stay with us.

 

Going to Punta Mango is still an adventure and most people that make the trek still get the feeling of discvering something special. Except for the point, the beaches are still undiscovered by tourists, and the locals are still happy to see surfers. still.