Carnaval in Cajamarca
Parades and masked groups of revelers fill the streets of Cajamarca for carnaval, the city’s most important annual event.

For these days, the participants are accompanied by musicians with guitars tucked under their arms, singing traditional coplas, which are rhymed quatrains which express the feelings of the locals.

During the main days of the festival, expect the entrance of Ño Carnavalón, the main character ofcarnaval, who wears a hat, streamers on his neck, sandals and a sack of molasses. The figure travels every year from a truck on Calle Independencia, accompanied by his wife, the Big Head.

Groups of boys accompany the procession, providing the rhythm of the snare drum and wind instruments. Later, the agenda includes a competition of parade groups.

Find a good spot early, and definitely bring a rain coat or umbrella, because it is the rainy season.

Dates: February 8th to 26th
How to get there: By land (859 kilometers to Cajamarca; 13 hours)
By air (1.5 hours from Lima)

Carnaval in Iquitos, Loreto
This year, the different neighborhoods will gather to dance around the humishas (huasai palm trees decorated with gifts, balloons, fabrics and palm bundles). During these days, the jungle starts ts celebrations with a traditional marksmanship competition using blowguns, as well as traditional indigenous songs. It continues with theatric dances.

Original activities, like the story competition, dances and the exhibition of body painting will also occur during the main days of the festival.

Floats will travel through the main streets of Iquitos, and a contest will award the best street decoration.

Dates: February 11th to 19th
How to get there: By air

Carnaval in Mejia, Arequipa
The beach of Mejia, in Arequipa, is one of the areas of the coast where carnaval is celebrated most intensively. In Mejia, the preferred beach of Arequipeños of yesteryear, parade groups in creative costumes pass through the streets. Young people celebrate day and night.

Dates: All of February
How to get there: The trip from Arequipa to Mejia takes about two-and-a-half hours.

Candelaria in Puno
It was in Puno that one of the major parties of this part of the world began: the party in honor of the Virgen de la Candelaria. The altiplano city is invaded by thousands of tourists during this time. They come to feel the religious fervor and to see the colorful dances up close. Puno prepares all year for this party.

The celebrations start with a dawn mass and the procession with the virgin. During the main dates, there is a regional dance competition, in which some 50,000 dancers participate in a contest of over 10 hours, held in the Torres Belón stadium, where some 11,000 spectators gather. This year, the spectacle is scheduled for February 12th, with a folk veneration scheduled for the next day, and a music concert to close the festival on the 14th.

It is best to make reservations far in advance, as over 70,000 people attend annually.

Dates: February 1st to 18th
How to get there: Major airlines fly to Juliaca, which is near Puno. There is also a train from Cusco, and buses from different parts of Peru.

Carnaval in Ayacucho
Accompanied by the sound of the quena flute and charango guitar, musicians will accompany Ño Carnavalón through the central streets of Huamanga, Ayacucho.

For several weeks, dancers in traditional local clothing will be joined by revelers who will dance with the king of the carnival. During the celebration, there will plenty of traditional delicacies, like puchero and corn beer.

Dates: February 5th to 27th
How to get there: It is eight hours from Lima by way of the Los Libertadores highway. It is about an hour by plane.

Carnaval in Catacaos, Piura
Carnaval is also celebrated in the north. The traditional artisan town of Catacaos has organized a dance and parade competition, as well as games with the different carnaval societies in town. There will also be a traditional float competition, as well as tunzas.

Dates: January 21st to February 26th
How to get there: There are flights and busses to Piura, located just 12 kilometers from Catacaos.

Carnaval in Huaraz
Huaraz also celebrates carnaval during the whole of February, and it starts with the traditional “rompecalle,” in which all of the neighborhoods of the city participate alongside local bands.
The main event is the poetry and song competition, along with the traditional burial of Ño Carnavalón, when his will is read. One religious practice during the celebration is the Sunday of the Crosses. The crosses, made with wildflowers, are carried on top of the revelers’ shoulders to the church of the Señor de Soledad, the patron of Huaraz.

Dates: February 1st to 25th
How to get there: It is eight hours from Lima by bus. LC Perú also flies to the city.

Carnaval in Apurimac
In Abancay, they celebrate carnaval with the rhythm of music and original Quechua songs. The traditional dances represent the Andean and western worlds.

Dates: February 16th to March 26th
How to get there: It is 14-22 hours by road from Lima, or four-and-a-half from Cusco.
 

If you are interested in visiting this or any of the countless beautiful places here in Peru, contact our travel consultant, Morten Jensen at mbj@peruexperience.com, www.peruexperience.com or 51-1-221-9998.

 

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