Busojaras at Mohacs

For six days ending on Shrove Tuesday, men of Mohacs put on carved wooden masks with horns, sheepskin cloaks, cowbells slung at the waist and wooden rattles, and take over the town. The masks are made locally by a small number of carvers, traditionally stained rather than painted, and each one is different. On the Sunday, groups cross the Danube by rowing boat and process into the main square, where a bonfire is lit and a coffin standing for winter is burnt on it. Children's groups, folk bands, dancers and food stalls fill the surrounding streets. The custom is on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.

What you actually see

• The masks - horned wooden faces carved and stained by a handful of local makers.
• The river crossing - masked groups rowing across the Danube on the Sunday.
• The bonfire - the burning of a coffin standing for the end of winter.
• The mask workshops - carvers' houses in the town where the masks are made.

When to go

The dates move with Shrove Tuesday and usually fall in February. The Sunday is the main day by a distance and also the most crowded; the weekdays before it are quieter and easier to watch properly. Accommodation in Mohacs and Pecs books out months ahead, and staying in Pecs with a bus in is a common compromise.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely crowded, with tens of thousands of visitors squeezed into a small town, and prices rise accordingly. February on the Danube is cold, wet and usually muddy underfoot. The busos are boisterous by design and will smear onlookers with soot or grab passers-by, which is part of the custom but not to everyone's taste. Long stretches of the day are spent standing about waiting for the next procession.

Nearby

Pecs and the Villany wine villages are both within an hour by road.