Kitesurfing
Kitesurf Downwinders Colombia
Downwinders in Colombia are full blown adventures
There is some amazing downwinders in Colombia! We are blowing up with the international downwinding crowd, the secret is out!
Our downwinding scenarios are divided in two regions of our Caribbean coast. Farther north we have the Guajira Desert downwinders where we start our first downwinder from the northernmost tip of South America and start heading south.
Then there’s the downwinders a bit farther south passing the snow-peaked Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the Salinas del Rey area. Here we also have fantastic downwinders so read on if you’re up for some downwinding adventures like no other!
Kitesurf Downwinders in Colombia start with the Guajira Desert region
Kitesurf Downwinders in Colombia Guajira Desert Is An Extreme Adventure For Advanced Kiters
On this 6 day/5 night downwind adventure you get to know and downwind all the spots in the Guajira Desert. It will be a total of 170 kms/105 miles (measured in straight line) done in three sessions.
Furthermore, you get to experience the amazing desert, a totally different world where modern civilization has not arrived yet. You will travel over wide open salt flats, dunes, and through towering cacti forests. You will meet and interact with the indigenous Wayuú natives in a land they have conquered since before the arrival of the European settler.
But to complete these downwinders requires advanced kiters with good fitness level and experience doing expedition type travel and downwinding. The conditions are demanding both on land and sea.
The wind can go up to +35 knots, there are sections with 2-3 meter waves, and in the first 2 stages, Punta Gallinas to Cabo de La Vela and Cabo de La Vela to Manaure, the is offshore. On the downwinders with offshore wind we have multiple boats in the water during the entire trajectory.
General Timeline of the Guajira Downwinders Trip:
Day 1 – Arrival at Riohacha airport and transfer 40 minutes to Mayapo beach, kite Mayapo locally.
Day 2 – Local downwind El Pájaro – Mayapo, 14.6 kms/9 mi downwinder. This is a very fun warm up downwinder.
Day 3 – Drive Mayapo to Punta Gallinas, ~5 hours, 226 kms/140 mi drive through the desert. Kite locally in the bay of Punta Gallinas.
Day 4 – Downwind Punta Gallinas – Cabo de La Vela, 60 kms/37.2 miles downwinder.
Day 5 – Downwind Cabo de La Vela – Manaure, 55 kms/34 miles downwinder.
Day 6 – Downwind Manaure – Riohacha, 55 kms/34 miles downwinder. End of kite trip.
Day 1: Arrival to Riohacha airport and transfer to Mayapo Beach
Upon arrival at Riohacha airport you will be transferred by air conditioned vehicle to the hotel in the Mayapo beach area. Riohacha airport is pretty much in the city itself. Riohacha is the capital of thestate of Guajira, the northernmost state of Colombia. Flight time from Bogotá to Riohacha is 1 hour 30 minutes.
The drive time from Riohacha airport to our first destination, Mayapo Beach, is 45 minutes. Mayapo Beach is a beach north of Riohacha and on the road to the other spots farther north deep in the Guajira Desert.
Mayapo is quickly developing both in tourism and kite surfing. There are a number of kite schools and hostels, plus also non-kite surf related beach businesses.
Mayapo has a wide and long beach, with very reliable 25-30 kts wind.
Included In All Our Kitesurfing Downwinders in Colombia:
- Hydration
- Individual sleeping arrangements in beds and private bathroom
- Ground transportation
- Boats in the water with a pro rider onboard during offshore wind downwinders
- Pro riders in the water acting as guides and assistants
- Radios. Each rider will carry a radio that we provide
- GPS locator for live tracking on the internet during downwinders
- Risk insurance
Not Included In All Our Kitesurfing Downwinders in Colombia:
- Meals. We do not include meals because all our food will be provided from restaurants in the locations that we visit, and these vary in choices and prices, so each one orders the food dishes they prefer
- All the other standard non inclusions such as alcohol beverages and airfare
Our first night in Mayapo
Will be in a hotel and spot right on the beach. You can walk out of your cabana 50 meters to the beach and set up your kite. This first day will be a fun afternoon of kiting Mayapo’s great spot. The hotel is very comfortable with amenities such as air conditioned room, bar, restaurant, and a pool.
The wind in Mayapo averages 18 – 25 kts, with a wind direction in the afternoon that is side/side-on. The water has some chop, but the waves are not very big. One of the favorite characteristics of Mayapo is the cleanliness of the wind.
The hotel in Mayapo is right on the beach and has a pool!
Rooms in Mayapo have AC
Restaurant and beach bar in Mayapo
Day 2: Downwinder El Pájaro to Mayapo
El Pájaro is a spot 20 kms north of Mayapo, and we do ground transfer from the hotel to El Pájaro to do a very fun downwinder. It is fun because on the way down we get to visit a group of lagoons that can be accessed and exited by kiting directly in from the sea or sometimes walking over the beach with the kite in the air and board in hand to pass from one lagoon to another. There’s even one spot where we cross the main road like this. The water is flat and thigh-deep in the lagoons. We end the day by kiting to the hotel.
The water is flat and thigh deep in the lagoons, great for practicing tricks!
Day 3: Road trip from Mayapo to Punta Gallinas
From Mayapo we begin a 6 am departure for the drive to Punta Gallinas, ~5 hours, 226 kms/140 mi. The drive starts with 2 hours of paved road, and then it turns into desert no-road off-road driving.
This is now what’s known as the High Guajira, where there are no roads and the desert is as harsh as it is beautiful. It is the land of the Wayúu indigenous people since ancient times. They have tamed the desert and know how to survive where no one else can.
In Punta Gallinas we first visit the famous Dunas de Taroa, these are dunes that reach the sea in a beautiful display of nature. Huge towering copper colored dunes that drop straight into the Caribbean’s bright green waters. Here there is the option to rent some sand boards and have a hoot racing down the dunes into the ocean.
After visiting the dunes we arrive at our hostel for lunch. The hostel is right on the edge of the inner bay. It’s a traditional Wayúu “ranchería” that has been in the business of lodging tourists for many years. It also has its own kite school and kite spot a short distance from the hostel.
The hostel is built on a plateau overlooking the bay from a bluff. To reach the kite spot you walk down stairs that go from the bluff to a dock on the water’s edge. Then a boat crosses you to the spot about 500 meters away.
In the afternoon and after a delicious lunch we will kitesurf in the bay. At around 5:30 PM we hop in the vehicles to go see the sunset at the lighthouse, El Faro, officially South America’s northernmost geographical tip. Afterwards, sleeping arrangements will be in rooms with beds and private bathrooms. The next day begins the first of the 3 downwinders we will be doing in the Guajira Desert!
Day 4: Kitesurf downwinder Colombia from Punta Gallinas to Cabo de La Vela, 60 km
This incredible downwinder will blow your mind with all the amazing different scenarios you will see!
We start kiting inside the bay and make it down until reaching a narrow passage called “La Boquita” (little mouth) that leads out into the sea. Once out in the sea we head south towards Punta Gallinas passing open stretches of ocean away from shore, beautiful desert landscapes, long stretches of no-beach shore, and even a vast eolic windmill park with huge turbines spinning gigantic blades on the shoreline.
This will be a downwinder where you will find it hard to believe where you are at at the moment. You will feel so lucky to be able to experience such distant lands and kiteusurfing through narrow channels, over open sea, and hugging a coastline with amazing views.
In the last part of there will be waves up to 3 meters high just around the bend before reaching Cabo de La Vela, adding more adventure to this downwinder!
Punta Gallinas to Cabo de La Vela
“I would say its a pretty epic adventure. Amazing start in the bay of Punta Gallinas and kiting out towards the shore with the boats following. Hard work in the middle section when crossing the open water but well worth it. Last section also very very nice! Definitely not for beginners though :)”
Offshore Wind
The wind in the northern Guajira blows in counter clockwise direction, making it side to offshore wind all the way down to Manaure. We always have boats with advanced kiters on board ready for pickups and assistance. A team leader will be on the radio keeping things tight. Anybody boarding a boat will have to continue in the boat until reaching Cabo de La Vela, there will be no stops to land to hop into the cars because during this section of downwinding there are no roads or tracks on the coast, not even beaches for long stretches.
Arrival to Cabo Upwind Finish
When reaching Cabo at the very end, we must go around a peninsula and tack upwind to reach the town and our kitesurf hostel. When going around the peninsula you will have to tack upwind. The wind will be coming from land creating mechanical turbulence. There are two ways of getting into Cabo, one is hugging the coast and eating lots of mechanical turbulence, the other is going around farther out away from the coastline to avoid the rotors. There is a rock outcrop some distance from land, we must pass on the outside and not too close to it to also avoid the wind shadow behind it if you decide for this route.
Arriving in Cabo de La Vela at the end of first day’s downwinder
The downwinder ends directly at the hostel, Tawi kite hostel. It is a kiters hostel owned by a local Wayúu kitesurfer called Tawi. This is the best hostel because it is some distance away from the main street and all the other hostels, bars and businesses, more isolated, hence more calm and quiet for a good night’s sleep. But it is still within walking distance to the main street area. Plus Tawi is a super cool dude.
In the hostel you will sleep in beds, in private cabanas, with private showers and bathrooms. This is worthy to mention because they are new, traditionally it has been sleeping in the big Wayúu hammocks called chinchorros (which are quite comfortable), and there is electricity until midnight.
DAY 5:
Cabo de La Vela to Manaure
The straight line distance from Cabo de La Vela to Manaure is 55 kms/34 mi. The wind is off-shore averaging 25-35 kts. We will have boats in the water escorting the kiters during the downwind.
From Cabo de La Vela to Manaure we will have our chase vehicles on land. The terrain is very broken and doesn’t allow for the 4×4’s to be all the time on the beach, so if any rider needs to bail for whatever reason, they will be picked up by the boat and continue in the boat until arriving in Manaure.
In Manaure we will stay at a hotel 600 meters inland from the beach where we arrive. After settling ourselves in the hotel and having lunch, we will go visit the open air sea-salt mines Manaure is famous for.
The next day we continue toRiohacha.
Day 6: Manaure – Riohacha
This downwinder is 55 kms/34 miles measuring in straight lines. During this downwinder we will be passing by familiar territory from days 1 and 2 such as El Pájaro, the lagoons, Mayapo Beach, and our Mayapo hotel.
You can have fun visiting them all again as you make it down to Riohacha, with a pit stop for refreshments.
The wind in this section is side-on, so rescue boats are not necessary.
As always, there will be pro local riders in the water ready to assist.
And don’t forget all our other cool stuff!
