What's on in Ouro Preto, Brazil through the year

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

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Rainy season landslides (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Carnival in the republics, Summer holidays in Brazil

• Festival

  Carnival in the republics

  5 Feb – 5 Mar · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  The student republics open their doors and the blocos haul themselves up the cobbles for five days. The hills are the hard part, and every bed in the centre goes a year ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Rainy season landslides (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Carnival in the republics, Semana Santa sawdust carpets

• Festival

  Semana Santa sawdust carpets

  20 Mar – 25 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  Residents lay coloured sawdust down the slopes through the small hours of Holy Saturday, and the Resurrection procession walks over the lot on Sunday morning. The council supplies the sawdust by the tonne. Source ↗

Still on: Carnival in the republics (5 Feb – 5 Mar (usually)), Rainy season landslides (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Semana Santa sawdust carpets, Tiradentes day

• Holiday

  Tiradentes day

  21 AprNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The national holiday on 21 April commemorates the conspirator hanged for a plot hatched in these streets, and the town it belongs to is where Minas comes to mark it. A long weekend when it falls right. Source ↗

Still on: Semana Santa sawdust carpets (20 Mar – 25 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Festival

  Corpus Christi sawdust carpets

  3–4 JunReligious feastCrowded

  Overnight before the Thursday procession residents cover about three kilometres of the old streets with carpets of coloured sawdust, coffee grounds and flowers. Walk the route before dawn, before the procession passes over them. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Corpus Christi sawdust carpets, CineOP film festival

• Festival

  CineOP film festival

  25–30 JunCrowded

  A free festival of Brazilian cinema focused on film heritage and preservation, with screenings, debates and a June-party atmosphere spread across the historic centre. Rooms in the historic centre are scarcer than usual that week. Source ↗

Still on: Corpus Christi sawdust carpets (3–4 Jun)

Busy — July winter break in Brazil, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Festival de Inverno

  1–31 Jul · usuallyArts festival

  The winter festival spreads concerts, workshops, theatre and exhibitions across Ouro Preto and Mariana for most of July, timed with the town's birthday on the 8th. Evenings are cold at this altitude. Source ↗

Still on: CineOP film festival (25–30 Jun)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — Festa do Doze

• Festival

  Festa do Doze

  9–13 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The School of Mines celebrates its 1876 founding on 12 October, when alumni pour back into the student republics. The balls and republic parties are invitation-only, but the town is full and loud and beds are hard to find. Source ↗

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

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

• Hazard

  Rainy season landslides

  1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyLandslide season

  Heavy summer rain on the steep hillsides brings landslides; in January 2022 one on Morro da Forca brought down historic mansions. The civil defence contingency plan runs December to March, and some streets are closed after downpours. Source ↗