Windsurfing & Kitesurfing in Sotavento

When the trade winds blow strongly over the Jandía peninsula — and they almost always do — the beaches of Sotavento transform into one of the best wind sports spots on the planet. It's no coincidence that the Windsurf and Kitesurf World Championship is held here every summer: constant winds of force 4 to 6, an inner lagoon of flat waters that appears at low tide, and on the other side of the sandbank, the open ocean with its waves.

The magical lagoon of Sotavento

The phenomenon that makes Sotavento unique is its inner lagoon. When the tide goes out, an extensive sandbank emerges and traps a sheet of water barely half a meter deep, creating a turquoise mirror several kilometers long where the wind blows but there are no waves. It's the perfect classroom for learning: if you fall, you simply stand up. Beginners progress here in hours what would take days at other spots.

Schools, rentals, and championships

Along the beach, more than a dozen windsurf and kitesurf centers operate with state-of-the-art equipment. Beginner classes cost around 60-80 euros for three hours and include full equipment. For the experienced, equipment rental costs between 30 and 50 euros per hour. The nerve center is the Rene Egli Center, a world reference for windsurfing, based on Sotavento beach since the 80s.

Every July and August, the best riders in the world gather here for the PWA World Tour and the GKA Kite World Tour. Watching professionals fly over the lagoon at dizzying speeds is a free spectacle worth witnessing, even if you don't practice these sports.

In Sotavento, the wind is not a problem: it's the reason for the trip. Here you learn to love it.