What's on in Ica, Peru through the year

Peak crowds — Navidad Negra in El Carmen, Summer / year-end holidays in Peru

• Hazard

  Highland rains and huaicos

  15 Jan – 31 Mar · usuallyFlood season

  Rain in the Andes sends mudflows and river surges down into the desert valleys; in bad years the Ica, Ocucaje and Nazca areas flood and the Panamericana Sur is cut for hours. Source ↗

Still on: Navidad Negra in El Carmen (24 Dec – 6 Jan)

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

• Season

  Grape harvest

  1 Feb – 15 Apr · usually

  Picking runs from February into April and the bodegas around the valley open their presses and stills while it is on — the only weeks you can watch pisco actually being made.

Still on: Highland rains and huaicos (15 Jan – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Festival de la Vendimia, Semana Santa and the Luren procession

• Festival

  Festival de la Vendimia

  6–16 MarFood & drink festivalCrowded

  Ten days of grape-treading in the fairground, bodega tastings and a queen's coronation, with the central Friday a regional public holiday. Hotel prices in the town roughly double for it. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Semana Santa and the Luren procession

  20 Mar – 25 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  Holy Week peaks on Good Friday night when the Senor de Luren leaves his sanctuary for a procession of more than sixteen hours over flower carpets. Pilgrims and Lima's long-weekend crowd, many bound for Huacachina, arrive together. Source ↗

Still on: Highland rains and huaicos (15 Jan – 31 Mar (usually)), Grape harvest (1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa and the Luren procession

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Grape harvest (1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually)), Semana Santa and the Luren procession (20 Mar – 25 Apr (usually))

Busy — May break in Peru

Nothing new starts in May.

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — National Pisco Day, Fiestas Patrias

• Season

  Paracas wind and sandstorms

  1 Jul – 15 Oct · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  La paraca, a strong afternoon wind that lifts sand off the desert, is most frequent in the southern winter. It can cut visibility on the Panamericana and in Huacachina and ground Ballestas boat trips. Source ↗

• Festival

  National Pisco Day

  22–28 Jul · usuallyFood & drink festivalCrowded

  Pisco's official day falls on the fourth Sunday of July, and Ica, where much of it is distilled, marks it with a mass toast on the Plaza de Armas and tastings at the fairground and bodegas. It runs into the Fiestas Patrias traffic from Lima. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Fiestas Patrias

  25–29 JulNational holidayCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Independence on 28 and 29 July is Peru's biggest domestic travel break, often widened into a long weekend. Buses and domestic flights sell out and fares rise, hotels fill, towns hang flags for parades, and banks and offices close. Source ↗

Busy — Mid-year break (Fiestas Patrias) in Peru

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Paracas wind and sandstorms (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Paracas wind and sandstorms (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Señor de Luren processions, October break in Peru

• Festival

  Señor de Luren processions

  14–28 Oct · usuallyReligious feastCrowded

  The city's Cristo Moreno is carried through the streets on the third Monday of October and again the Sunday after, setting off at dusk once the desert heat drops. Ica plans the month around it. Source ↗

Still on: Paracas wind and sandstorms (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Peak crowds — Navidad Negra in El Carmen, Summer / year-end holidays in Peru

• Festival

  Navidad Negra in El Carmen

  24 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  A day trip north to El Carmen in Chincha, where the Afro-Peruvian Hatajo de Negritos and Las Pallitas dance to violin through Christmas; 27 December, the feast of the Virgen del Carmen, draws the biggest crowds. Source ↗