Chocolate Factory is a right-hand point break in the village of Jasri on Bali's East Coast, near Candidasa. Named after an actual chocolate factory on the beach. Its sheltered position lets you surf when the rest of the island is overloaded — when Keramas is double overhead, the wave here is still head-high.
The wave & conditions
A long, soft right-hander over cobblestones. Not heavy barrels — an open wall for carves and turns. On a good day with the right conditions, rides of 200 metres and more. Strictly mid tide on the incoming water: at high tide backwash ruins it, at low the wave closes out in sections. It needs a big swell to start working, but it doesn't close out even in the most powerful one.
Conditions & tips
You get in and out over slippery cobblestones covered in razor-sharp shells — reef booties are essential. Ask the locals where to enter properly, or you'll cut yourself and your fins up. The best wind is NW in the wet season (November–March), but there's less swell then. In the dry season the swell is more powerful, but it often goes onshore — come in the morning. When the wave is working, it can get very crowded — the spot is known to surfers from all over Bali.
In the rainy season a river enters near the spot, and after downpours it carries rubbish and logs into the surf zone. The water turns murky and chocolate-coloured. The waves can still be perfectly rideable, but it takes the comfort out of the session — it's worth checking conditions from the beach first.
Hazards: slippery cobblestones on entry, crowds, fickle conditions
