Cajamarca Carnival
March 4th-9th
| Destinations: | Cajamarca. |
| Price: | Please contact us Why? |
| Departures: | March 4th-9th |
| Type of Tour: | Available in both Group and Private See Details |
| Number of People: | No minimums or maximums |
| Accommodations: | Budget, Moderate, Luxury See Details |
| Domestic Flights & Trains Options: | Best value, Well-known Airlines. All Train Options See Details |
About the Festival
One of the most fun festivities in Peru. The different traditional neighborhoods get organized in patrols or groups lead by the “clones”; or masked people that wear loose and colorful cloths and pointed hats.
The first day, the main square is complete madness during the competition. All the patrols parade in front of a jury, which will choose the best of them. They will also choose the best custom, which will take part in the collection with the rest of the best customs of each year. The next day, the parade takes place and hundreds of people wearing customs parade trough the streets of Cajamarca along with allegoric cars from each neighborhood and different institutions.
People douse each other with water using balloons and buckets. Everybody sings and dances to the rhythm of the “tarolas” (snare drums) in squares and parks, while they wait for the arrival of “Ño Carnavalon”, the King Momo of pleasure and happiness. At the end of the day, each neighborhood get together and celebrate their own “Yunza” or “Corta Monte”, where people dance around a tree up to ending for knocking down it to obtain someone of the hung gifts of his branches. These pfestivities are full with a home made liquor call Chicha de Jora and other spirits.
The second day the “Ño carnavalon” will die and their dozens of widows will cry and many of them will wear black as a show of mourning. The town will suffer its death while departing among the assistances the traditional “Caldo de Cabeza” a traditional broth.
Finally, on the last day, the town celebrates the funeral of the “Ño carnavalon”. In front of the whole town, his will is read. In this document it leaves roguish and sarcastic goods the authorities and local prominent figures, which causes the total hilarity between the presents. After the reading the “Ño carnavalon” is burned while people cry but knowing that next year he will be back to light up the town with joy and happiness.
A characteristic of the carnival are the “coplas de carnaval”, which are crafty verses sung by the cajamarquinos that have a traditional character and of identity of the people.
We will customize a tour for you.
As the festival offers many interesting options, we will like to hear from you as which of the days you are interested in the most and we will work with you on customizing your tour to better fit your interests and budget. Remember that we focus on providing the best available options without compromising the quality of your tour. Just contact us with your questions and preferences and we can create the best itinerary based on your expectations and requests.
Price
Upon request.
Price will depend on how much of the festival do you want to take part into and if you want to add an extension. Please contact our agents to help you put together an itinerary for you.
If you prefer a suggested itinerary, please send us the following information and we will respond.
- Number of people in your party
- Level of accommodation (3,4,5*). Please see options
- Choosing a Private or Group Tour?
- Adding options: if you like to add other destinations, day tours, extra days, meals, etc
- Need domestic or international flights?
- Have a special request (ie: special diet, wheelchair, children, senior, etc)
