The Candelaria Festival of Puno

The festivity of the Virgin of Candelaria runs for around two weeks in early February and is built on hundreds of dance troupes from across the Puno region, each with its own costumes, choreography and brass band. The structure is competitive: one great day for the native highland dances, another for the costumed dances that most people picture, with the diablada, morenada, caporales and waca waca among them, judged in the stadium and then paraded through the streets. Bands of a hundred players walk behind each group. Costumes are embroidered and rebuilt every year by workshops in the city. UNESCO inscribed the festivity as intangible cultural heritage in 2014.

What you actually see

• The stadium competition - troupes judged in turn over a full day.
• The street parade - the costumed dances moving through the city centre.
• The brass bands - up to a hundred players behind each dance group.
• The costume workshops - embroiderers and mask makers working in the weeks before.

When to go

The main days fall in the first half of February and shift with the calendar, so confirm the dates before booking anything. Beds go months ahead and prices rise sharply for that fortnight. Arrive a day early to acclimatise, since the festival involves long hours standing at 3,800 metres, and bring wet weather gear because February is the rainy season.

Honest expectations

Puno sits at 3,800 metres, February is wet, and the combination of altitude, cold nights, rain and standing all day wears people down faster than they expect. It is extremely loud and goes on very late. The crush along the parade routes is heavy and moving between points takes far longer than the map suggests. Outside the two main days there is a lot of waiting around.

Nearby

Lake Titicaca, the Sillustani burial towers and the road to Cusco.