La Bestia (El Bajo) surf forecast
Iquique · Tarapacá · Chile
Today at La Bestia (El Bajo): waves 1–1.4 m, chest to head around 08:00 (12 s swell), cross-shore wind. Fair for intermediate surfers, poor for beginners, fair for advanced. Updated 21 Oct, 15:51 UTC.
La Bestia (El Bajo) surf forecast, next 7 days
The best daylight hour of each day, rated for each level. No day rates Good for intermediate surfers this week.
| Day | Best | Waves | Wind | Beg. | Int. | Adv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 08:00 | 1–1.4 m | cross-shore | Poor | Fair | Fair |
| Thu 22 | 08:00 | 1.3–1.9 m | cross-offshore | Poor | Fair | Epic |
| Fri 23 | 08:00 | 1–1.4 m | cross-shore | Poor | Fair | Poor–Fair |
| Sat 24 | 08:00 | 0.7–1.1 m | cross-shore | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| Sun 25 | 08:00 | 0.7–1.1 m | offshore | Poor | Poor–Fair | Poor–Fair |
| Mon 26 | 08:00 | 0.6–1 m | cross-onshore | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| Tue 27 | 08:00 | 0.5–0.7 m | offshore | Poor | Poor | Poor |
Model forecast updated 21 Oct, 15:51 UTC. Hour by hour with swell direction, tide and webcams: open the live forecast.
Outer slab about 700 m south of La Punta in Iquique, known locally as El Bajo, that breaks only a handful of days a year when a SW to S swell tops about 3.5 m. For years it was only watched as a set indicator; Ramón Navarro and Gabriel Villarán are among those who have since ridden it, paddling at three to five times overhead and towing above that. Guides disagree on whether the main wave is the right or the left.
- Break
- reef break, peaks both ways; faces WNW
- Level
- advanced
- Best swell
- SW, SSW, S
- Best wind
- NE, ENE, E (offshore)
- Best tide
- all tides
- Season
- March-September
- Typical size
- 3.5-7.5 m
- Crowd
- low
- Hazards
- thick, hollow wave over shallow rock; two-wave hold-downs; strong rips; tow-in at the top of its range
More surf spots nearby: surf spots in Iquique.
Nearby spots
- La Punta, Iquique
- Playa Brava, Iquique
- Punta Gruesa, Iquique
Questions
Is La Bestia (El Bajo) good for beginners?
It is best for advanced surfers (thick, hollow wave over shallow rock; two-wave hold-downs).
What swell, wind and tide work best at La Bestia (El Bajo)?
SW, SSW, S swell, NE, ENE, E wind (offshore), at all tides. Typical size 3.5-7.5 m.
Live swell, wind, tide, a 14-day outlook, satellite pictures and webcams for La Bestia (El Bajo) are in the Surf Spoting app.