What's on in Quito, Ecuador through the year

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

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

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

• Holiday

  Carnaval

  13–18 FebCarnivalClosures

  Four days off, water and foam thrown at anyone within range, and half the city driving down to the coast. Quito itself is quiet and a fair number of restaurants close with it. Source ↗

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Jesus del Gran Poder, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Jesus del Gran Poder

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  On Good Friday tens of thousands of purple-hooded cucuruchos walk from San Francisco through the old town, some of them barefoot and carrying crosses. The centre is closed to traffic all day. Source ↗

Still on: Carnaval (13–18 Feb), Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Jesus del Gran Poder

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Jesus del Gran Poder (29 Mar – 5 Apr), Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

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

• Season

  Dry and windy months

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyDry season

  The local summer: dry, dusty, hard sun at 2,850 metres and a wind that gets up every afternoon. It is the settled window for Cotopaxi and the Quilotoa loop.

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: Dry and windy months (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Dry and windy months (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Dry and windy months (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Andean rainy season

  1 Oct – 31 May · usuallyMonsoon

  Quito's rain arrives as a hard couple of hours in the afternoon, heaviest around April, and the streets in the old town run fast. Mornings are usually clear enough for the volcanoes.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Festival

  Fiestas de Quito

  1–6 DecMajor festivalCrowded

  The city's founding week at the start of December: chivas with brass bands through the streets, bullfight-week nostalgia and a lot of canelazo. It is the loudest week Quito has. Source ↗

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Fiestas de Quito, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Andean rainy season (1 Oct – 31 May (usually)), Fiestas de Quito (1–6 Dec)