Chihuahua Beach, Naturist beach in Maldonado, Uruguay

Chihuahua Beach is a sandy shore along the Rio de la Plata coast, positioned between the resort areas of Punta Ballena and Ocean Park. The water here is clear and the beach offers an open coastline with views across the estuary.

Nudism has been practised at Chihuahua since the 1960s, when the beach was frequented by figures such as Carlos Perciavalle and Nicolás García Uriburu. In the 1970s a group of investors including Benjamín Volco, Francisco Seco Aparicio and Lureliano Priego bought the land where the settlement now stands to urbanise it and develop tourism. A 1985 chronicle by Alejandrina Morelli in La Razón, followed by Clarín, caused a scandal in Argentina and Uruguay.

This beach serves as Uruguay's main naturist destination, where visitors practice clothing-optional recreation according to informal community standards. The social norms here have developed around respect and acceptance among those who choose this lifestyle.

Access is by Route 10 at kilometre 115.5, or via the Interbalnearia; buses run from Montevideo with stops toward Punta del Este, and Laguna del Sauce airport is about five minutes away. The authorised naturist zone runs from the left bank of El Potrero stream east to the line of El Gratil street, with the dune ridge as its northern edge.

In 1985 a chronicle by Alejandrina Morelli in the Buenos Aires daily La Razón, followed by a piece in Clarín, exposed the nude bathing at Chihuahua and caused a scandal in Argentina and Uruguay; journalists flew helicopters over the beach and police patrolled it. The beach had been used by nudists since the 1960s, when figures such as Carlos Perciavalle and Nicolás García Uriburu frequented it.