El Reto Olaya Inverso

In the early 1820s, José Olaya crossed the cold waters of Lima Bay stroke by stroke, carrying clandestine letters between Callao and Chorrillos. The Travesía El Reto Olaya Inverso is an open-water marathon swim held in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Lima and Callao in Peru. Organized by Peru Swimmers, this marathon challenge traverses a demanding distance of 22,000 metres across the bay. The route runs in reverse compared to the traditional course, setting off from Playa Cantolao in La Punta and finishing at Playa Pescadores in Chorrillos. The Pacific waters off Cantolao are celebrated for being very cold, and over a crossing of 22 kilometres, the low water temperature and mounting fatigue mark the swimmer's body deeply.

At the departure beach, however, the conditions are gentle, with calm water lapping over smooth pebbles that allow participants to wade in calmly and settle their breathing before embarking on the long journey across the open bay. The race gathers a dedicated community of endurance athletes, welcoming diverse age categories that range from teenagers of fourteen years old to veterans over seventy. The marathon is held in November, with editions scheduled during the late spring season of the southern hemisphere.

La Punta peninsula: the spit dividing Callao and Lima Bay

The starting spit of the La Punta peninsula extends for two kilometres into the sea and is almost entirely surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Situated along the central coast of Peru, this slender strip of land forms a natural geographical barrier that separates Callao Bay from Lima Bay. The coastline is influenced every year by the El Niño ocean current. The peninsula presents two radically different marine faces. Along its northern edge lies Playa Cantolao, where tranquil seas provide the ideal sheltered environment for staging the race start. Just across the spit on the southern flank lies Mar Brava, an exposed stretch dominated by turbulent waters and rough swells. By setting off from Cantolao, swimmers avoid the early pounding of the surf and can establish an efficient stroke rhythm before navigating toward open water.

At the eastern base of the spit lies the historic maritime district of Chucuito, bordered by Chucuito and Carpayo beaches. This old quarter sits directly adjacent to the Fortaleza del Real Felipe. Just nine kilometres from the race area, in the lower valley of the Rímac River at an elevation of 50 metres, stands the archaeological site of Huaca Huantinamarca. Linked in antiquity to the Maranga complex by canals drawing water from the Huatica irrigation channel, the monument was repurposed during the colonial period to manage valley irrigation and observe the marine horizon for incoming pirate vessels.

San Lorenzo and El Frontón: pirate havens and stone quarries

Looking out from the beaches of La Punta and along the marathon line, the commanding profiles of San Lorenzo and El Frontón rise from the sea five kilometres from the mainland. The largest of the two, Isla San Lorenzo, measures eight kilometres in length and two kilometres across, encompassing a landmass of 1,648 hectares. In pre-Hispanic cosmology, coastal communities associated offshore islands with the realm of the dead, using San Lorenzo as a revered funerary ground where souls crossed into the afterlife. Centuries later under colonial administration, extensive quarries on San Lorenzo provided the stone blocks used to construct the Real Felipe Fortress and the Presidio del Callao. Following the naval combat of the Battle of Callao in 1866, the Spanish fleet retreated to San Lorenzo to repair battle-damaged ships and bury their fallen seamen.

Today, the naval base stationed on the island hosts open-water swimming competitions from Callao, while service personnel pass down legends of a ghostly, blonde-haired young woman who wanders the station grounds. Separated from San Lorenzo by an 800-metre passage known as El Boquerón is Isla El Frontón. Located seven kilometres from the coast, southeast of San Lorenzo and east of La Punta, this desert outcrop spans roughly one square kilometre of arid, treeless rock devoid of vegetation.

The Palomino islets: colonies of sea lions and seabirds

Six miles out from the port of Callao, resting west of San Lorenzo, lies the small archipelago of the Palomino Islands. Large colonies of coastal seabirds nest along the crags of the islets, sharing the barren perches with the marine mammals.

The Costa Verde cliffs: navigating the sweep of Lima Bay

As competitors advance through the long middle section of the crossing, they navigate along the great amphitheatre of Lima Bay. The perimeter of the bay is marked by rocky terrain and high cliffs that rise sharply from the shore. Swimmers sight along this dramatic coastal drop, measuring their progress against the massive wall of earth and stone that defines the rim of the ocean basin. This continuous coastal cliff system forms the famous Costa Verde, running from the La Punta peninsula in Callao south to the headland of La Chira in Chorrillos. The Costa Verde beach circuit connects the various seaside municipalities.

Chorrillos, José Olaya's village, and the race editions

José Olaya, the fisherman remembered in the name of the Reto Olaya Inverso, made his living from artisanal fishing in the village of San Pedro de Chorrillos. Chorrillos, where the swim finishes, was a fishermen's settlement south of Lima that was known for its baths, visited by people of Lima's upper class. Olaya was said to have been an excellent swimmer. The organizer lists the second edition of the Reto Olaya Inverso for 28 November 2026, between Playa Cantolao in La Punta and Playa Pescadores in Chorrillos. The classic Ruta Olaya, whose direction the Inverso reverses, is listed for its twentieth edition on 13 February 2027 and runs from Playa Pescadores in Chorrillos to Playa Cantolao in La Punta.