What's on in León, Nicaragua through the year

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosures

  Sawdust and flower carpets go down on the streets of Sutiaba for the Good Friday processions, among the most elaborate anywhere in Central America. The city fills, then empties to Las Peñitas for the weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Semana Santa (29 Mar – 5 Apr), Dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Liberation of León anniversary

  15–20 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalClosures

  León marks its 1979 liberation on 20 June with a horse parade from the Sutiaba plaza to the stadium, marching bands and a street walk. Expect closed streets and a strongly political tone. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

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

• Festival

  Griteria Chiquita

  14 AugReligious feastCrowded

  A smaller August echo of December's Griteria, first held in 1947 to pray for an end to Cerro Negro's eruptions. Families tour neighbourhood altars to the Virgin singing and receive sweets in return. Source ↗

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  14–15 SepNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  Torch relays and school bands work through the streets around the cathedral on the fourteenth and fifteenth. Banks, offices and most of the museums close for both days. Source ↗

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Festival

  Gigantona season

  1 Nov – 8 Dec · usuallyMajor festival

  From early November the gigantonas, towering dolls with a drummer and a big-headed dwarf, dance through the streets trading satirical verses, ending in a competition in the central park on the night of 8 December. Source ↗

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

• Season

  Dry season

  1 Dec – 30 Apr · usually

  The rains stop hard and the country between León and the Pacific goes dust-dry, which is when the boards go up Cerro Negro every morning. Afternoons in the city are for sitting under a fan.

• Festival

  La Gritería

  7–8 DecReligious feastCrowded

  La Gritería began in León in 1857 and the city still keeps the loudest version: altars to the Virgin on every block, gigantona puppets in the street and firecrackers that do not let up until morning. Source ↗

Still on: Gigantona season (1 Nov – 8 Dec (usually))