Sandboarding in Tinogasta

Towards Saujil

Joel is one of those men who know what is good. “Get everything ready because we are going surfing”, he told me a little while after we met and, taking into consideration the board he was holding, I guessed he was not joking.

Sandboarding is a new discipline very similar to surfing. In order to practice it, adventurers need a board that may slide along a smooth and quite skiddy surface so as to reach great speed. If said surface also has a moderate slope, we may feel as if we are on the crest of a wave.

All this happens in Tinogasta, more precisely in the surroundings of small Fiambalá, at the foot of a huge sand hill whose endless white tongues hide adrenaline.

Dozens of youths spend their summer days going up and down the beautiful natural hills at full speed. They do this once and again incorporating several obstacles, ramps and other alternatives to make this activity even more interesting.


First School

Joel and his friends have developed the first sandboarding school in Tinogasta and they have begun to get ready the first local championship. It will certainly be declared of local and provincial interest. No wonder several European visitors have been fascinated by the large sand hills and the sandboarding practices held at this spot, which is only limited to lower heights in their countries of origin.

Today, many surfers go crazy when Joel starts to get them into a practically lunar landscape, where the fine white sand invites everyone to let themselves be carried away and jump into the void in search for adrenaline and speed. Anything goes when it comes to having fun: acrobatic jumps, positions, times, records and slides. Everything visitors may suggest is possible at Tinogasta, even surfing on the sand.