Peru / Lima region
Playa Arica
Playa Arica is a 2.1 km-long sandy beach facing south-south-west, 6.7 km north-west of Punta Hermosa (Lima region, Peru). The sea averages 21.5 °C in February, its warmest month, and 16.8 °C in September; it is 21 °C or warmer in February–March.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Month by month
October at Playa Arica
Beach-day index 4.1/10 · Peru median 6.0
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 20.9 °C | 21.5 °C | 21.2 °C | 19.7 °C | 18.9 °C | 18.4 °C | 17.6 °C | 17.0 °C | 16.8 °C | 16.9 °C | 17.9 °C | 19.3 °C |
| High °C | 16° | 16° | 16° | 17° | 17° | 17° | 17° | 17° | 18° | 17° | 17° | 16° |
| Low °C | 5° | 5° | 5° | 5° | 4° | 2° | 2° | 3° | 4° | 5° | 5° | 5° |
| Rain mm | 6 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Cloud % | 69 | 74 | 70 | 50 | 44 | 48 | 44 | 43 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 68 |
| Wind m/s | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Daylight h | 12.8 | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.4 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 12.4 | 12.7 | 12.8 |
| Record high/low | 23°/2° | 22°/2° | 22°/2° | 23°/1° | 21°/-1° | 20°/-1° | 21°/-2° | 21°/-1° | 22°/-0° | 22°/2° | 22°/-1° | 21°/2° |
| Beach index | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
No month reaches 5.5 on the beach-day index; the best is February at 5.2/10, held back mainly by cool air (highs of 16 °C) and cloud cover (74%).
Across the year the sea averages 18.8 °C, warmer than 51% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
December is the wettest month (9 mm) and June the driest (1 mm); the yearly total is about 50 mm.
Daylight runs from 11.4 hours in June to 12.8 hours in December; in mid-February the sun rises at 06:06 and sets at 18:36 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces south-south-west (210°). Open water fills about 47% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in every month; in mid-June it goes down at 17:49 local time on a bearing of 294°.
Straight out to the south-south-west there is open water for more than 2,000 km, so the beach is exposed to long ocean swell.
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 98 m deep, so deep water starts close to shore. Behind the beach the ground is about 5 m above sea level 500 m inland and 6 m at 1.5 km, a flat coastal plain.
Within 1 km, the land is 47% built-up land, 33% bare ground, sand or rock and 11% grassland (satellite land-cover map, 2021): an urban beach. Water makes up 51% of that circle.
- Built 47%
- Bare 33%
- Grass 11%
- Crop 5%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Facilities within 1 km
- 47Restaurants, cafés & bars
- –Public toilets
- –Showers
- 6Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 4Hotels & guesthouses
- 7Grocery shops
- 1Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 7Pharmacies & clinics
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 37 restaurants, 7 bars and 3 fast-food outlets. Accommodation: 4 hotels and guesthouses.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Attractions & museums
- Monoland Salon de juegos infantiles attraction 140 m SE
Nature
- Cerro Centinela peak 1.0 km N
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Chávez International Airport Lima | LIM | 40.8 km | north-west |
| Francisco Carle Airport Jauja | JAU | 162 km | east |
| Alferez Fap David Figueroa Fernandini Airport Huánuco | HUU | 278 km | north |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 1 bus stop within 1.5 km and 6 mapped car parks within 1 km.
1 town or village of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 0 residents); within 30 km there are 14 (about 923.1K).
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
- Punta Hermosa7.1 km SECompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 8.9 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w399820479; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2B_18LTM_20231211_0_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 14.8K Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.