Carnaval de Negros y Blancos

Pasto's carnival runs through the first week of January and its two central days give it its name: on the fifth people mark each other with black cosmetic paint, on the sixth with white talc and foam, and nobody comes home clean. The centrepiece is the great parade on the sixth, when carrozas built over months by workshops of carroceros are pulled through the streets, enormous articulated papier-mache figures with moving heads and limbs. Before that come the Carnavalito, a children's parade with their own small floats, and the arrival of the Castaneda family, a satirical procession of a household on the move.

What you actually see

• The great parade - articulated papier-mache floats through the streets on 6 January.
• The carroceros' workshops - year-round float building that can be visited outside carnival.
• Dia de Negros - 5 January, when everyone is marked with black paint.
• Carnavalito - the children's parade with their own small floats.

When to go

The carnival runs from 2 to 7 January, with the biggest days on the fifth and sixth. Hotels in Pasto are booked out months in advance and prices multiply, so plan early and arrive a day or two ahead. Outside carnival, the float workshops and the carnival museum can be visited year-round, which is a much quieter way to see the craft.

Honest expectations

You will be covered in paint, talc and foam whether or not you want to be, so cameras and phones need protecting and old clothes are essential. Crowds are enormous and the parade route is packed hours ahead. Pasto sits at around 2,500 m and January is cold and often wet. Drinking is heavy and the city is chaotic for the whole week.

Nearby

The Las Lajas sanctuary is south towards the border; the Galeras volcano stands above the city.