{{Infobox settlement , name = Cerro Azul , native_name = , native_name_lang = es , settlement_type = Village , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = Bandera de Cerro Azul.png , flag_alt = , image_shield = COA Cerro Azul District in Cañete Province.png , shield_alt = , nickname = , pushpin_map = Peru , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cerro Azul in Peru , coordinates = {{coord, 13, 01, 57, S, 76, 29, 12, W, region:PE, display=inline,title , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type =

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, subdivision_name = {{flag, Peru , subdivision_type1 =

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, subdivision_name1 =

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, subdivision_type2 =

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, subdivision_name2 = Cañete , subdivision_type3 =

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

, subdivision_name3 = Cerro Azul , established_title = Founded , established_date = August 16, 1921 , seat_type = Capital , seat = , leader_party = , leader_title =

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, leader_name = Terencia Tiofa Cordova De Salazar , unit_pref = Metric , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = 105.17 , area_note = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 3 , population_footnotes = , population_total = 6491 , population_as_of = 2005 census , population_density_km2 = auto , population_note = , timezone1 =

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

, utc_offset1 = -5 , blank_name_sec1 =

UBIGEO Ubigeo is the coding system for geographical locations ( Spanish: ''Código Ubicacíon Geográfica'') in Peru used by the National Statistics and Computing Institute ( Spanish: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática'' INEI) to code th ...

, blank_info_sec1 = , website
municerroazul.gob.pe
, footnotes = Cerro Azul ("Blue Hill") is a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

and formerly a commercial port in the

Cañete Province Cañete Province is located in southern Lima Region, Peru. It is bordered by the Lima Province on the north, the Ica Region on the south, the Huarochirí Province and Yauyos Province on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital ...

Lima Region The Department of Lima () is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru, the ''seat of the Regional Government'' is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, the country's capital, is located west of the Departm ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Located 131 km south of

, it is frequently visited in the summer by its residents, and those of

San Vicente de Cañete San Vicente de Cañete, commonly known as San Vicente or Cañete, is a city and capital of the Cañete Province, in southern Lima Region. With a population of 85,533 (2015 estimate). The warm and peaceful town of Cañete is located just one and a ...

. The village has come to depend more heavily on tourism than on fishing. It was quite considerably damaged in the 2007 earthquake that shook much of the southern coast of Peru. The beach forms an attractive bay that ends in a rocky point where the waves it is famous for break. These break from left to right, are well shaped and go for about half a mile on a good day. The renowned quality of its

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...

s is mentioned in the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

' song " Surfin' Safari". However, the quality of the waves changes seasonally and from year to year, as the sand and stones that make up the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

are chronically withdrawn by the sea to form a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

where the waves break. South of the pier is the area known as Puerto Viejo ("old

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

" ), where all the holiday homes are and where most of the surfing takes place (left breaks). To the north of the pier, the beach is much longer, less curved and much sandier. There are no holiday homes on it and in the winter is empty. During the summer, it is popular with campers and

day-tripper A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location tha ...

s. It is possible to surf here too, when the swell is high, particularly adjacent to the pier, where the waves are fast and the rides tend to be short. . Cerro Azul's main feature is the

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

which was built by a British company around 1900 for the

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

of locally grown

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. The pier has been disused for over 60 years and is now frequented by fishermen and tourists and is one of the main tourists attractions. The village also has an attractive main square and the remains of Pre-

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

mud buildings, half buried by sand between two hills which are made from the blue rock that gives the village its name. The other hill features a derelict lighthouse from the days when the area functioned as a port. It sits above craggy, vertical, dangerous cliffs, where birds in the area make their nests. Of note is the

Inca tern The Inca tern (''Larosterna inca'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is the only member of the genus ''Larosterna''. This uniquely plumaged bird breeds on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and is restricted to the Humboldt Current. In 2021 a si ...

, a bird

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Humboldt Current, which sweeps the Peruvian coast. Other wildlife of note commonly seen in the area: porpoises, pelicans,

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s, herons and, on rare occasions,

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

s. The village prides itself in catching the largest shark in Peruvian history (in 1989), a 5m long great white. Behind the village, across the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

, are fields and winding

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s in the foothills of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

History

In pre-Columbian times, Cerro Azul was the site of a fishing village of the Kingdom of Warku. Warku was contemporaneous with the Chimú culture to the north. The Kingdom of Warku was hierarchical; at Cerro Azul elites lived in large compounds while commoners lived in smaller structures. All residences at Cerro Azul included rooms for drying fish. The dried fish could later be traded for goods from outside the village. Elite residences included a brewery that contained large hearths and gigantic vessels to store the chicha (corn beer) that could be served during feasts. The town was subdued by the Inca Pachacutec who ordered to build a stone fortress (Fortaleza de Cerro Azul), with steps down to the sea in honor of his victory and a symbol of his absolute power. This fort was as grand and magnificent as the Sacsayhuaman fortress according to Cieza and some historians. In 1830 it is issued a decree which temporarily enables the Port of Cerro Azul for the coasting trade, i.e. to allow landlocked products in the valley of Cañete, as well as the production of the guano islands nearby.

Images

Image:01 puerto cerro azul y sakura maru full.jpg, Arrival of the Sakura Maru to the port of Cerro Azul Populated places in the Lima Region Surfing locations in Peru