A 200 metre coral reef left in the Hinako Islands off Nias, fast and barrelling on a southwest swell and still rarely crowded.
Also known as Pulau Asu.
Asu is the long left that runs down the reef at the northern end of Pulau Asu, a small jungled island in the Hinako group off the west coast of Nias. It sits north of the Tello Islands and a long way north of the Mentawai, which is a large part of why it has stayed quiet. You can watch the whole wave from the beach, which is not something you can say about many waves this good.
Its reputation is built on speed. Surfers and guides have long described it as a smaller, friendlier Desert Point, and while that is a big claim, the comparison makes sense once you have seen it: a wall that stands up and runs, with sections that throw over the top of you if you have the line right. It is genuinely world class, and yet the lineup stays thin. A handful of surfers is a normal day out there, and a dozen counts as busy.
The wave
Asu is a left-hand point that peels along a coral shelf for around 200 metres when the swell has the right angle. There is no single fixed peak. Take-offs spread along the reef depending on how the swell is wrapping in, which is a big reason the crowd never bunches up. Off the top you get a steep drop into a fast wall, then the reef bends away and the wave picks up speed rather than losing it.
Size changes its character completely. At three or four feet it is walled and playful, a rippable left with plenty of face and not much consequence. From four to eight feet it comes alive, the sections start linking and the barrels open up. Double overhead and above it turns thick and serious, and the take-off zone shifts wider as the sets swing in from further out.
It works on all stages of the tide, which is rare and part of the appeal. Mid to high gives the best combination of shape and water over the reef. Low tide sharpens it up and exposes coral heads, so pick your entry and your exit carefully. The wave wants a long-period southwest to west-southwest groundswell. Straight south swells slide past the reef angle and do very little. Southeast to east winds hold it clean.
Conditions at a glance
- Wave type: Left-hand reef point break
- Best swell: Long-period southwest to west-southwest groundswell
- Best wind: Southeast to east
- Best tide: Works on all tides, mid to high is best for shape and safety
- Best size: 4 to 8ft, holds double overhead and bigger
- Season: April to October, with the most consistent swell from June through August
- Crowd: Light by Indonesian standards. A handful of surfers is a normal day and a dozen counts as busy, though a good swell can stack the lineup when the camps are full and charter boats call in. Quiet rather than empty.
- Where: Pulau Asu, Hinako Islands, Nias
Who it suits
Asu is usually described as forgiving by Indonesian reef standards, and relative to Bawa across the way, that is fair. It is not forgiving in absolute terms. The bottom is live coral, the wave is fast, and a bad decision on the drop puts you on the reef rather than in deep water. A confident intermediate who can surf down the line, read a lineup and handle a reef take-off will get a lot out of it.
If you are still working on getting to your feet quickly, or you have never surfed over coral, wait. Small mid-tide mornings are manageable and a fine place to step up. Anything from six feet is advanced ground, where getting caught inside on a set is a real event and the hold-downs are over shallow reef. The Hinakos are remote. There is no hospital nearby, so treat every reef cut seriously and bring a proper first aid kit.
How to surf Asu with WaveBorn
Both of our charters run this far north. Ombak Kabau takes up to ten guests over eleven nights and ten surf days, and Odyssey Mentawai is our 46ft catamaran for up to eight guests with a surf pro on board. Asu sits north of the Tello Islands off the west coast of Nias, so it is a swell call and a route call: we plan the northern run around the forecast rather than dropping it into any week. Tell us at the enquiry stage that Asu is the wave you have come for and we will be straight with you about whether your dates make it realistic.
Surfing it from a boat suits the wave. You sit off the reef, wait for the tide you want, surf it, then move when the wind swings. Numbers stay small either way, and the crew read the sections and the entry points so you are not learning them the hard way. Bring a spare board and spare fins. The islands are a long way from a surf shop and Asu breaks boards.
Trips that reach it: Ombak Kabau and Odyssey Mentawai .
Nearby breaks
Asu sits within easy reach of Bawa, Hamutala, Sirombu and Lagundri Bay , which is what makes this part of the archipelago so productive: if the wind or swell does not suit one reef, another is usually working a short ride away.
Conditions here are a guide, not a guarantee. Our crew reads the swell, wind and tide each morning and puts you on the break that matches your surfing that day. See the full Mentawai surf spots guide or browse every break we surf.