What's on in Otavalo, Ecuador through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in January.

Peak crowds — Carnaval, Pawkar Raymi

• Festival

  Carnaval

  14–17 FebCarnivalCrowdedClosures

  Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are national holidays, and the long weekend means water balloons, foam spray and flour thrown in the streets, so dress to get wet. Buses fill as families travel, and offices and many shops close. Source ↗

• Festival

  Pawkar Raymi

  5 Feb – 5 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The flowering festival runs eleven days in Peguche, built round a football tournament that brings Otavalenos home from Europe for it, plus the Nusta contest and Andean music every night. Source ↗

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

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  3–5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosures

  Good Friday is a national holiday and many Ecuadorians travel over the long weekend, so buses fill and beach and mountain towns get busy. Churches hold processions, and fanesca, the grain and salt-cod soup of Holy Week, is served everywhere. Source ↗

Still on: Carnaval (14–17 Feb), Pawkar Raymi (5 Feb – 5 Mar (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Semana Santa (3–5 Apr)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Inti Raymi, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Drier highland months

  15 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyDry season

  The northern sierra gets its break from the afternoon rain around midyear, which is when the Cotacachi crater rim and the walk down to Peguche are reliably walkable and the volcanoes show.

• Festival

  Inti Raymi

  19–29 JunMajor festivalCrowded

  The solstice weeks belong to the communities: ritual bathing at the Peguche waterfall before dawn, then days of masked dancers stamping their way round the plazas of Otavalo, Iluman and Cotacachi. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Drier highland months (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Drier highland months (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Fiesta del Yamor, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fiesta del Yamor

  4–13 SepHarvestCrowded

  The town's own fortnight thanks the harvest with a chicha brewed from twelve kinds of maize. Floats, open-air concerts on the plaza, and every family with a pot of it on the go. Source ↗

Still on: Drier highland months (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Busy — Dia de los Difuntos

• Holiday

  Dia de los Difuntos

  1–2 NovNational holiday

  Kichwa families spend 2 November at the indigenous cemetery with their dead, sharing food laid out on the graves with musicians playing. Colada morada and guaguas de pan are sold all over town. Source ↗

Busy — Ano Viejo effigies, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Kapak Raymi

  19–23 Dec · usuallyMajor festival

  The December solstice festival, one of the four Andean raymis, is being revived by Otavalo's communities as a rite of passage for children and teenagers, alongside the town's Christmas celebrations. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Ano Viejo effigies

  28–31 DecChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Life-size effigies of the old year, often mocking politicians and celebrities, go on sale and on show in the days before New Year's Eve, then are burned in the street at midnight. Source ↗