Kites rigged on the sand and flying over Cauípe. — Photo: Elissonm

Wading out through the shorebreak on a July afternoon. — Photo: Otávio Nogueira

Kites rigged and flying off Praia do Cumbuco in July. — Photo: Fabiobarros

Rigging on the sand at Cumbuco, late afternoon. — Photo: Otávio Nogueira

Brazil

Sep · 99% rideable

Cumbuco

What it's actually like

Kiters, the trade comes in cross to cross-onshore from the right. It keeps you powered up for hours at 15 to 25 knots, over more than six kilometres of beach. September is the pick, with flat Lagoa do Cauípe downwind.

Cumbuco is a fishing village on a long sandy beach north-west of Fortaleza, about an hour’s drive from Fortaleza airport. The beach runs for more than six kilometres, with coconut palms behind the sand and dunes behind the village. From August the sky over it fills with kites. Bora pra água! That is Brazilian for let’s get in the water.

The trade blows from the east-south-east and hits the beach cross to cross-onshore from the right. The season runs from July to January, August to November is the heart of it, and September is the pick, with nearly every day rideable. It is lighter first thing, filled in by about ten, then holds through the afternoon. At 15 to 25 knots you are powered up for hours. March and April sit right down, so do not fly in for them. The water stays at 26 to 28°C all year.

Out front the sea is choppy over sandbanks, with a small shorebreak. You wade out through the white water, and the chop hands you ramps to boost off. Low tide widens the beach and flattens the water a little. High tide pushes the sea up towards the palms and brings more chop. The beach is more cluttered nearest the village, so go further along for your own piece of water. Lose too much ground downwind and it is a long walk back along the sand.

When you want it flat, Lagoa do Cauípe is downwind to the west, about 7 km from the centre of the village. Allow 15 to 30 minutes on a fast downwinder, or one to two hours if you stop to ride Pico das Almas. The lagoon is flat fresh water, shallow in places, with room for about 30 riders. It is often packed by noon, so go early or late. When the lagoon is small it can be almost impossible to ride, so ask at your stay before you go.

Cumbuco is a popular starting point for the long Brazilian downwinders, with trips heading north up the coast from here. November and December are the busiest months, with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Aim for September, the first two weeks of December or the end of January for water that is less crowded and still windy. Near the village the beach fills with swimmers and fishermen at weekends: give them space and keep well clear of their boats.

Kiters have the village beach, and the schools spread along it to find room. Beginners go where their instructor takes them, a quieter stretch of sand or the lagoon, and first-timers are welcome. Wingers find the sea choppy, so look for more sheltered water. Pros often ride Cauípe, and after a session you can watch their tricks from a beach restaurant on the western shore.

You are never short of a lesson, and the schools on the beach rent kite and wing kit. Indiana Kite runs downwind trips, including one that goes all the way to Jericoacoara for riders who have already done a downwinder of at least 30 km. Tell your school your plan before any downwinder and sort the buggy back before you go. On a day off, buggy tours run over the dunes, some out to Lagoa de Parnamirim at Tabuba beach, where you can try sandboarding.

Fly into Fortaleza and take a taxi or a ride-hailing car to Cumbuco. Stay on the beachfront and you can walk everywhere in the village. The lagoon is a buggy or taxi ride away.

Rules and safety. NORMAM-211 gives the area for kitesurfing as from 200 metres beyond the line where the waves break. A class V life jacket (colete salva-vidas classe V, made for sports use) is obligatory, so wear one and ask a school what applies. Check the signs on the beach. The village beach is shared with swimmers and fishermen, most of all at weekends. Buggies and 4x4s drive the sand, so always have someone spotting traffic when you rig and launch. Do not leave kit or valuables alone on the sand.

When it's good

Is it for you?

LevelBody dragger
Learn at the beginners’ end of the lagoon, then step out to the choppy sea.
WaterMillpond to chop and swell
Choppy ramps to boost off at sea, or flat lagoon water at Cauípe.
LaunchBarefoot
Over six kilometres of sand, wider at low tide, so the schools find room.
WetsuitBoardies
Sea about 28 °C in September: boardies weather, with a rash vest at most.
AprèsGoes off till sunrise
4 bars, 1 club and 16 places to eat within 5 km: the night's yours.
CostR$300 for two hours, kite rental, LeoKite
Hire a kite from LeoKite for R$230 the first hour, R$300 for two.

Where to launch

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

School
Stay

Cumbuco village beach

Sandy beach in front of the village where the schools set up.

For kite, wing. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Lagoa do Cauípe

Flat freshwater lagoon downwind to the west of the village, reached by buggy or 4x4 along the beach, or by kiting down.

For kite, wing. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Getting there

Nearest airportFortaleza (FOR). Pinto Martins International is thirty minutes to an hour away by taxi or transfer, depending on traffic.
Flying with a board bagLATAM, Air France, Iberia, TAP Air Portugal. Flying into Fortaleza (FOR)? Tap through to their board bag rules and fees before you book.
Getting aroundRoad from Fortaleza. Taxi or transfer to the village, then buggies and 4x4s run along the beach to Lagoa do Cauípe.

Stay, learn and rent

Full details for every place are in the Pocket Guide.

Windtown Brazil

Hotel rooms and apartments on the beach, with a kite and wing centre on site: walk from room to rig.

Website

Duro Beach Hotel

Beachfront hotel on the village beach, with a large kite school, a shop for spares and repairs, and a compressor free for guests.

Book on Booking.com

Vila Coqueiros Boutique Hotel

Boutique kite hotel on the beach, with its own Duotone kite centre teaching out front and somewhere to store your kites.

Book on Booking.com

Book links to Booking.com and Agoda may earn WindChaser a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Pocket Guide

Cumbuco, in your pocket

Everything you need on the beach in one PDF. Save it to your phone and it works with no signal.

01The month: wind, conditions and water02Every hazard, and the local rules03The launches, with maps04Getting there with kit05Stays, schools and kit hire06Where every score comes from

Cumbuco

When it's good

Is it for you?

Where to launch

Cumbuco village beach

Lagoa do Cauípe

Getting there

Stay, learn and rent

Windtown Brazil

Duro Beach Hotel

Vila Coqueiros Boutique Hotel

Indiana Kite

Pousada Meeting Point

Controvento Boutique Hotel

Carmel Cumbuco Resort

Windtown Brazil

Indiana Kite

Duro Beach Kite Center

Vila Coqueiros Kite Center

Windtown Brazil

Indiana Kite

Duro Beach Kite Center

Vila Coqueiros Kite Center

Cumbuco, in your pocket

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