Peru Festivals Calendar 2027: Which Ones Are Worth Planning Your Trip Around

Peru’s biggest festivals in 2027 are Candelaria in February, Holy Week in late March, Corpus Christi and Inti Raymi in Cusco in May and June, and Virgen del Carmen and Fiestas Patrias in July. Peru’s statistics institute INEI counts thousands of local festivals a year, so this table keeps only the ones a traveler can realistically plan around, with our verdict in the last column.

January to June 2027

July to December 2027

Moveable dates (Carnival, Holy Week, Corpus Christi, Qoyllur Rit’i) follow Easter, which falls on March 28 in 2027. That is why they land earlier than in 2026.

Inti Raymi 2027 is on Thursday, June 24, as every year, and you only need a ticket for the seated grandstands at Sacsayhuamán. The festival is a reenactment of the Inca Festival of the Sun in three acts: the morning ceremony at the Qorikancha (the old Temple of the Sun), a second act in the Plaza de Armas, and the main ceremony at Sacsayhuamán in the afternoon. The first two are free to watch from the street.

Seats at Sacsayhuamán are sold online through the platform authorized by EMUFEC, the City of Cusco’s festival company. In 2025 the official grandstand prices ran from S/ 455 to S/ 677, with combo packages (Qorikancha + Sacsayhuamán) up to S/ 810, according to Infobae. For 2026, organizers added new VIP categories, and every grandstand was sold out by mid-June.

Our tip: buy only from the official platform. Every year there are fake tickets sold on social media and lookalike websites, and Cusco prosecutors opened an investigation into fake sellers in 2025.

Without a ticket you can watch the Qorikancha and Plaza de Armas ceremonies from the street, and part of the Sacsayhuamán ceremony from the hillsides around the grandstands. If you go this way, arrive early in the morning and bring a hat, sunscreen, water and something warm for the late afternoon.

Everything in Cusco fills up at once. Perú21 reported in June 2026 that Cusco expected around 300,000 visitors during the month and more than 100,000 people at Inti Raymi itself. That means hotels, Machu Picchu entry and train seats all compete for the same dates. If Inti Raymi is the reason for your trip, we’d lock in hotels and Machu Picchu four or more months before, and plan Machu Picchu for a day before or after the 24th, not the same day.

June is Cusco’s festival month, so you don’t need to be there on the 24th to see a major celebration. There are school and university dance parades in the Plaza de Armas through most of June, and three other festivals are worth knowing about.

Corpus Christi in Cusco is a Catholic procession where 15 saints and virgins are carried from churches across the city to the Cathedral, with bands and dancers. The images arrive the day before (May 26 in 2027), the main procession is on Thursday, May 27, and they return a week later. Look for chiriuchu, a cold dish of guinea pig, chicken, jerky, sausage and corn that Cusco families eat on this day. Our view: if you want a real Cusco festival without the Inti Raymi crowds, this is the one.

Qoyllur Rit’i is a pilgrimage, not a show. UNESCO lists it as Intangible Cultural Heritage. It takes place in the days before Corpus Christi, peaking around Trinity Sunday, which in 2027 falls on May 23, when tens of thousands of pilgrims walk to a sanctuary below the Colque Punku glacier. The walk from the village of Mahuayani is about 8 km and the sanctuary sits around 4,800 m. Nights are well below freezing and most pilgrims camp. It is extraordinary, and it is not for most travelers. If you go, go with a specialized trekking outfitter and respect that it’s a religious event.

On the second Sunday of June, communities in the province of Canas rebuild the Qeswachaka rope bridge over the Apurímac River using hand-braided grass, as they have done since Inca times. It is a long day trip from Cusco on mountain roads, but if your dates line up, it’s one of the most unusual things you can see in Peru.

Yes, if music, costumes and dance are what you travel for. The Fiesta de la Candelaria in Puno is one of the largest festivals in South America, and UNESCO added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2014. The main day is February 2, followed by two dance contests and parades over roughly two weeks. UNESCO counts about 170 groups and some 40,000 dancers and musicians from across the region.

Two things to know before you plan it. February is the rainy season in the southern Andes, so expect afternoon storms. And Puno sits at 3,827 m, higher than Cusco, so you need acclimatization days, ideally coming from Cusco or Arequipa first. Hotels in Puno fill up for the main days, so book early. Our Puno and Lake Titicaca guide covers how many days to plan around the festival.

If you want festivals and good weather on the same trip, aim for late May to July: Corpus Christi, Qoyllur Rit’i, Qeswachaka, Inti Raymi and Virgen del Carmen all fall inside the Andes’ dry season, which runs from May to September. The trade-off is that these are also the busiest and most expensive weeks of the year in Cusco.

One detail many travelers miss: the classic Inca Trail closes every February for maintenance, so a Candelaria trip in February can include Machu Picchu by train, but not the 4-day trek.

Peru’s food and drink calendar centers on pisco and the grape harvest. Pisco Sour Day falls on the first Saturday of February (February 6, 2027), and National Pisco Day on the fourth Sunday of July (July 25, 2027), with tastings and bar events in Lima, Ica and Arequipa.

The Vendimia is Ica’s grape harvest festival, held every March since 1958. The second Friday of March is a public holiday in Ica for the festival (March 12 in 2027), and the 2026 edition ran over a full week around that date, with grape stomping, a harvest queen and Peruvian Paso horse shows. If you’re visiting the Ica, Paracas and Huacachina region, March is a good time to add a winery visit.

You’ll still see Mistura listed as Lima’s big September food festival on many travel sites. It isn’t running: its last edition was in 2017. The closest thing today is Perú, Mucho Gusto, a free food fair organized by PromPerú, Peru’s tourism board, that travels to several regions each year (four in 2026). Dates and cities are announced each year, so check before you plan around it. Our take: Lima’s restaurants are a better reason to stay an extra day than any single food fair.

Three dates can make a trip harder rather than better if you don’t plan for them: Carnival, Holy Week and Fiestas Patrias.

Carnival (February 6 to 9, 2027). In Cusco and many Andean towns, Carnival means water balloons, foam spray and paint in the streets, and tourists are fair game. Cajamarca, known as Peru’s carnival capital, has the biggest parties, and its celebrations run for more days than the national dates. Fun if you’re up for it, annoying if you’re carrying a camera to a dinner reservation.

Holy Week (March 21 to 28, 2027). Thursday and Friday are national holidays, so many Peruvians travel. Ayacucho has the most famous processions. Expect higher domestic flight and bus prices and book hotels early.

Fiestas Patrias (July 28 and 29, 2027). Independence Day is one of Peru’s busiest domestic travel weeks, right in the middle of the international high season. Flights, buses and hotels in Cusco, Arequipa, Paracas and Puno are at their busiest. If your dates are flexible, shifting a week makes everything easier.

For festival dates in Cusco, book four to six months ahead; for other festivals, two to three months is usually enough. Machu Picchu entry is limited per day and per circuit, and for dry-season dates we recommend booking two months ahead or more even without a festival. You buy Machu Picchu tickets through the Ministry of Culture’s official ticketing site, or we handle them as part of your itinerary.

Our tips:

• Inti Raymi week: secure hotels and Machu Picchu first, and the Inti Raymi seat as soon as sales open (usually a few months before).
• Candelaria: Puno hotels for the main weekend, plus a buffer day for altitude.
• Fiestas Patrias and Holy Week: domestic flights and long-distance buses sell out before hotels do.
• Dates that move: anything tied to Easter or to a local committee can shift. We confirm the program a few weeks before your trip.

If you want to build your trip around Inti Raymi, Candelaria or any date in this calendar, tell us your dates and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth it, what to book first and what it changes in your route. We don’t sell festival tickets as a product, but we plan the rest of the trip around the event: hotels, Machu Picchu, trains, transfers and guides. We don’t sell flights; you buy them, we plan around them.

The quote is free, with no commitment, and we reply the same day (Peru time). Our Cusco itineraries run 4 to 8 days, from USD 469 per person based on 2 travelers on group tours, and every one can go private. The most popular is the 6-day Sacred Valley Classic, from USD 535. If you’re not sure how long to stay, read how many days you need in Cusco, and if you’re comparing companies, here’s how to choose a tour operator in Peru.

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What is the most important festival in Peru?

Inti Raymi in Cusco, on June 24 every year, is the best known internationally and draws more than 100,000 people. Fiesta de la Candelaria in Puno, in the first two weeks of February, brings together around 40,000 dancers and musicians and is listed by UNESCO.

Is Inti Raymi a public holiday in Peru?

It is not a national public holiday. In Cusco, though, June 24 is the high point of the city’s festival month, so expect road closures around the ceremony route and very crowded streets.

Can I visit Machu Picchu during Inti Raymi?

Yes, Machu Picchu is open, but it’s the busiest time of year. Book entry two months ahead or more and plan your visit for a day before or after June 24, not the same day.

What is the best month to visit Peru for festivals?

June. You get Corpus Christi, Inti Raymi and the Cusco dance parades in the dry season. February is the alternative for Candelaria and Carnival, but it’s the rainy season in the Andes.

Is the Mistura food festival still held in Lima?

No. Mistura’s last edition was in 2017. The main food fair today is Perú, Mucho Gusto, organized by PromPerú in different regions each year.