La Ventana & El Sargento, Mexico

About La Ventana & El Sargento

La Ventana sits on the Sea of Cortez an hour south of La Paz, between desert mountains and a bay that faces the wind head on. Together with El Sargento next door it has become the winter capital of North American kitesurfing, and it fills every year from mid-October to mid-April.

The everyday wind is a dependable 15 to 18 knots that arrives around noon and holds until five or six, with thermal effect adding five to fifteen knots to the forecast. Every few weeks a high-pressure system off California sends down an El Norte — gusty, north to north-westerly, 20 to 35 knots. November through March are the windiest months. The bay is relatively deep and always slightly choppy, with small kickers forming as the wind builds and waves rarely over a metre or two.

Los Barriles, further south around the cape, works on the same systems: side-shore wind from the left at 18 to 23 knots on an average day, over a wide, uncrowded sandy beach that runs for miles with no tide, no current and nothing submerged to hit.

Between sessions there is the desert, La Paz, and the sea itself — whale sharks in winter, and the Espíritu Santo island a short boat ride away.

When to go

Best months: January, February, March, April, May, October, November, December.

Kite areas

1 distinct riding area documented within this destination.

• La Ventana Bay

  Best months: October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May.