What's on in Arequipa (Colca Canyon), Peru through the year

Busy — Summer / year-end holidays in Peru, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Andean rainy season

  1 Jan – 31 Mar · usuallyMonsoon

  The rain comes as heavy late afternoons rather than all day, and it puts cloud into the Colca in the mornings. Dirt roads out to the canyon and the volcanoes wash out from time to time.

Busy — Summer / year-end holidays in Peru, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Summer / year-end holidays in Peru, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Clear season on the volcanoes

  15 Apr – 30 Nov · usuallyDry season

  From April the cloud lifts off Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu and stays off, which is also the window for climbing them. Nights on the altiplano roads are well below freezing.

• Festival

  Virgen de Chapi pilgrimage

  1 MayPilgrimage seasonCrowded

  Tens of thousands walk the desert road to the sanctuary at Chapi through the night of 30 April, many of them the whole 45 km from the city. The southern exit is a procession for two days. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Virgen de Chapi pilgrimage, May break in Peru

• Nature

  Condors at Cruz del Condor

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyBirdlife season

  Condors ride the first thermals out of the Colca between eight and ten in the morning, and the dry months are the ones without cloud in the canyon. Common rather than guaranteed.

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Virgen de Chapi pilgrimage (1 May)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Condors at Cruz del Condor (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Fiestas Patrias, Mid-year break (Fiestas Patrias) in Peru

• Holiday

  Fiestas Patrias

  28–29 JulNational holidayCrowded

  The national holidays on 28 and 29 July sit inside the school winter break, which fills the buses to Colca and Puno and the hotels in the centre. Source ↗

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Condors at Cruz del Condor (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Semana de Arequipa, Mid-year break (Fiestas Patrias) in Peru

• Festival

  Semana de Arequipa

  14–16 AugMajor festivalCrowded

  The city was founded on 15 August and takes most of the first half of the month for it: the Corso de la Amistad through the centre, bullfights, a climb up Misti and a folk-dance festival to close. Source ↗

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Condors at Cruz del Condor (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Fiestas Patrias (28–29 Jul)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Condors at Cruz del Condor (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — October break in Peru

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Clear season on the volcanoes (15 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer / year-end holidays in Peru, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.