Surf spot guide · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sheltered sandbar corner under Morro do Leme with quick hollow lefts, beginner-friendly small days and heavy Pipeleme barrels when it fires.
Leme is the northeast corner of the Copacabana crescent, a sandbar beachbreak tucked beneath Morro do Leme beside the mureta where the neighbourhood fishes and swims. Shifting banks along the strand throw short, fast lefts, and when a solid S or SE swell lines up the inside spins hollow enough that locals call it Pipeleme; on bigger days a heavier peak known as Leme de Noronha breaks with real force. It starts working under 1 m and holds around 2 m, on any tide, and the hill shelters the corner from the east wind that chops up the open beach. The catch is consistency: most days it is small and soft, which is exactly why surf schools run beginners here. Entry is instant from the Avenida Atlantica promenade. The lineup is a bodysurf stronghold first, welcoming surfers who show respect, and while weekends and good swells pull a crowd, midweek it is often the quietest option in Zona Sul. After heavy rain the water runs dirty for a day.
Quick sandbar tubes beneath Morro do Leme, in a corner where bodysurfers still rule the peak.
You’re seeing the next 3 days. A free account opens all 14, which is the difference between checking tomorrow and planning a trip.
Weekends and good swell days pull a real crowd of surfers, bodyboarders and bodysurfers, but on an ordinary weekday it is one of the quieter corners of Zona Sul.
Old-school, local, unhurried
Rio de Janeiro
Copacabana's most exposed beachbreak, a busy sand-bottom a-frame that turns hollow and fast on solid E to S swell.
Rio de Janeiro
The sheltered fort corner at Posto 6: flat most days, long point rights when a big south swell shuts the open beaches, and a heavy bodyboard ledge off the fort.
Rio de Janeiro
A short, sharp A-frame beachbreak wedged between Arpoador and the Copacabana Fort, packed and heavily local.
+9 MORE →The Morro blocks east wind, so check the canto by the mureta when the open stretch of Copacabana is blown out.
It breaks on all tides but locals favour the push up to high tide.
Worth a quick check when the city is small, the corner makes the most of little S and SE pulses.
Bodysurfers rule this peak, wait your turn and keep your rubbish off the sand and out of the water.
Skip the first 24 hours after heavy rain, runoff from the drainage galleries fouls the water.
HAZARDS · KNOW BEFORE YOU PADDLE
Direct entry from the Avenida Atlantica promenade at the Leme end; street parking along the beachfront. The peak sits by the mureta below Morro do Leme.
Open in Maps