Festivals in Peru

Every February, Puno throws a two-week party to honour the city's patron saint, the Virgin of Candelaria. Also linked to fertility and the Inca goddess Pachamama (Mother Earth), the festival blends Catholic and Indigenous customs and is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

As the country's largest festival, people travel from all over to join religious processions, dance to panpipes and charango music, and watch traditional performances – including the famous Diablada (Devil's Dance).

Celebrated in June in Cusco, Inti Raymi, or the Festival of the Sun, marks the winter solstice. Once the biggest festival in the Inca Empire, thousands of people would gather to mark the end of the cold season and give thanks to Inti (the Sun God) and Pachamama through elaborate ceremonies, rituals and feasts – including a parade of ancestral mummies brought from temples.

The festival looks a bit different nowadays, and while there are no mummies, it features theatrical reenactments of ancient traditions at the Sacsayhuaman ruins, Plaza de Armas and Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun).

The lead-up to Lent sees Carnival festivities across Peru, but the biggest (and messiest) parties are in Cajamarca, aka the Capital of the Peruvian Carnival, in the northern highlands.

Along with large float parades, colourful costumes, masks and dancing, this five-day event features street parties where festival goers spray each other with water, flour and paint to symbolise renewal (best to wear something you don't mind getting ruined!).

While Carnival has Catholic roots, the people of Cajamarca blend it with Indigenous traditions – including yunza, a ritual representing fertility and abundance, where participants dance around a tree decorated with ribbons and gifts before cutting it down.

On 28 July, Peruvians gather to mark the day Peru gained independence from Spain in 1821. It usually kicks off the night before with street parties, folk music and fireworks. Head to Lima if you're in the mood to party, though it’s almost guaranteed there’ll be something going on no matter where you are.

The 28 July sees more patriotic celebrations, with military parades, speeches and flag-raising ceremonies. It's also a time for families to feast on traditional Peruvian food including ceviche and pachamanca – a centuries-old meal of meats and veggies cooked in an earth oven.

On the first Saturday of February, Peruvians show just how much they love their national drink. Big cities and Pisco-producing regions like Lima, Ica and Arequipa are the liveliest, but you'll find celebrations everywhere.

Expect live demonstrations and tastings, street performances, competitions and, you guessed it, lots of cocktail drinking.

On the second Sunday in June, local communities gather along the Apurimac River in the Cusco region to repair one of Peru's last remaining Inca rope suspension bridges. Hanging 30 metres above the water, it's a testament to Inca craftsmanship.

Honouring the ancient weaving technique, locals twist dried grass into cords and braid them into new ropes to fix and reinforce the bridge. After four days of repairs, villagers test its strength before celebrating with a Pachamama ceremony, singing and feasting.