What's on in Cuenca, Ecuador through the year

Busy — Inocentes masquerade parade, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Inocentes masquerade parade (28 Dec – 6 Jan)

Busy — Carnaval, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Carnaval

  1 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyCarnivalCrowdedClosures

  A long national holiday weekend. Expect water, foam and flour thrown in the streets, while rural parishes such as Tarqui elect a Taita Carnaval and serve mote pata and carnival bread. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Carnaval, Semana Santa

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  20 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  Holy Thursday's night visit to seven churches and Good Friday processions fill the historic centre, and fanesca, the Lenten soup, appears on every menu. Source ↗

Still on: Carnaval (1 Feb – 10 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Fundación de Cuenca

• Holiday

  Fundación de Cuenca

  10–14 AprNational holidayCrowded

  The city keeps its 1557 founding on 12 April with a craft fair, street stages and a long weekend for the province. Smaller than the November holiday, and the one locals actually stay in town for. Source ↗

Still on: Semana Santa (20 Mar – 20 Apr (usually))

Busy — Corpus Christi and the Septenario

• Festival

  Corpus Christi and the Septenario

  20 May – 30 Jun · usuallyReligious feastCrowded

  Seven days from Corpus Christi, Parque Calderón fills with stalls selling nothing but sweets, and a paper hot-air balloon and a castillo of fireworks go up outside the cathedral each night. Source ↗

Busy — Corpus Christi and the Septenario, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Corpus Christi and the Septenario (20 May – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Highland school holidays, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Highland school holidays

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyCrowded

  Schools in Ecuador's highlands break from early July to the end of August, so Cuenca, Cajas and the hot springs at Banos de Cuenca see more domestic families, especially at weekends. Source ↗

Busy — Highland school holidays

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Highland school holidays (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — Independencia de Cuenca

• Holiday

  Independencia de Cuenca

  31 Oct – 5 NovNational holidayCrowdedBook early

  The Day of the Dead on the second runs straight into the city's independence day on the third, which makes it the longest bridge in the Ecuadorian year and the week Cuenca is fullest. Rooms are gone by September. Source ↗

Busy — Independencia de Cuenca

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Independencia de Cuenca (31 Oct – 5 Nov)

Busy — Inocentes masquerade parade, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Pase del Niño Viajero

  24 DecChristmas & New YearClosures

  A procession that takes most of Christmas Eve to pass: thousands of children in costume, decorated trucks hung with fruit and roast pig, and the historic centre closed to traffic from morning until dark. Source ↗

• Festival

  Inocentes masquerade parade

  28 Dec – 6 JanMajor festivalCrowded

  Masks and pranks season ends on 6 January with a satirical costume parade along Avenida Huayna Capac, where university troupes lampoon the year's politicians and scandals before large crowds. Source ↗