Cusco Festivals 2027: Dates of the Main Celebrations

Cusco’s festival calendar mixes Catholic feasts brought by the Spanish with Andean traditions that are much older. The biggest dates in 2027 are Holy Week (21–28 March), Qoyllur Rit’i in the mountains around Trinity Sunday (23 May), Corpus Christi (27 May) and Inti Raymi on 24 June, which is also the day of the city. Below are the dates of the main celebrations and what happens at each one.

Cusco festivals 2027: dates at a glance#

Dates that depend on Easter (Carnival, Holy Week, Qoyllur Rit’i and Corpus Christi) change every year. In 2027 Easter is early, on 28 March, so Corpus Christi falls in May instead of June.

Our advice for festival dates#

The festivals we recommend most are Inti Raymi on 24 June, Corpus Christi and Qoyllur Rit’i, which falls in May or June. We do not run special departures for them, but we help travelers plan their visit.

Hotels and tours fill up on these dates, so book three to six months ahead.

1. Three Kings: 6 January 2027#

On 6 January Cusco celebrates the Epiphany, the day of the Three Kings, with masses and processions in its churches. It closes the Christmas season, which in Cusco is one of the most important times of the year.

2. Carnival: February 2027#

Carnival fills the weeks before Lent, which in 2027 starts on Ash Wednesday, 10 February. In Cusco and the towns around it there are parades, music and dances, and above all water fights: people throw water balloons, foam and colored powder, and visitors rarely escape. The streets are crowded and noisy, and most visitors join in. February is in the rainy season, so bring a rain jacket as well.

3. Holy Week and the Lord of the Earthquakes: 21–28 March 2027#

Semana Santa is one of the most important religious celebrations in Cusco. Its high point is the procession of the Señor de los Temblores (Lord of the Earthquakes), the patron of Cusco, on Holy Monday, 22 March in 2027. The image of Christ leaves the cathedral and is carried around the Plaza de Armas and the historic center by thousands of devotees, a tradition held on Holy Monday since 1741. The procession was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2007. During the rest of the week the churches hold masses and processions until Easter Sunday.

4. Qoyllur Rit’i (Snow Star Festival): around 23 May 2027#

Qoyllur Rit’i, “snow star” in Quechua, is a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i in the Sinakara valley, in the district of Ocongate, below the glaciers near Ausangate. It takes place in the days before Corpus Christi, around Trinity Sunday, and joins Catholic devotion with the worship of the mountains. Tens of thousands of pilgrims arrive in groups called “nations”, with dance troupes and music day and night, and the ukukus, dancers dressed as bears, climb towards the glacier. In 2011 UNESCO inscribed the pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllurit’i on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The sanctuary is at high altitude and the nights are very cold, so it suits travelers who are well acclimatized and ready for basic conditions. The same mountains are on our Ausangate trek to Rainbow Mountain.

5. Corpus Christi: Thursday 27 May 2027#

Corpus Christi is held on a Thursday, 60 days after Easter, so in 2027 it falls on 27 May. The day before, the images of fifteen saints and virgins from the main churches of Cusco and nearby parishes are carried in procession to the cathedral. On Thursday they go out in a great procession around the Plaza de Armas and then stay in the cathedral for about a week. On this day people eat chiriuchu, a cold dish with guinea pig, hen, sausage, cheese, corn cake and seaweed, sold around the Plaza San Francisco. Corpus Christi in Cusco was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2004.

6. Inti Raymi: Thursday 24 June 2027#

Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, recreates the great Inca ceremony to Inti, the Sun, at the winter solstice. It is held every year on 24 June, which is also the day of the city of Cusco, and was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2001. The ceremony has three settings: it starts in the morning at the Qorikancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun, continues in the Plaza de Armas and ends in the afternoon with the main act at Sacsayhuamán, above the city, which lasts about two hours.

The acts at the Qorikancha and the Plaza de Armas can be watched for free. Seats in the stands at Sacsayhuamán are sold in advance through Teleticket, the official seller (from about USD 144 to USD 250 in 2026); many people also watch from the hills around the esplanade. June is the busiest month of the year in Cusco, so book hotels and tours early. More information on the official Inti Raymi page of PromPerú.

7. Virgen del Carmen: around 16 July 2027#

16 July is the feast of the Virgen del Carmen, celebrated with days of processions, music and masked dancers in several towns of the region. The best known is the festival of Paucartambo, east of Cusco; in the Sacred Valley, Pisac also celebrates it with costumed dancers and a parade.

8. Pachamama Day: 1 August 2027#

Pachamama, Mother Earth, is one of the most revered beings in the Andean world, and August is her month. Around 1 August families and communities in Cusco and the Sacred Valley make offerings to the earth, the despacho, with coca leaves, grains, sweets and other symbolic items, to give thanks and ask for a good year.

9. All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day: 1–2 November 2027#

On All Saints’ Day (1 November) and All Souls’ Day (2 November) families in Cusco remember their dead. They visit the cemeteries with flowers and food, and bakeries sell t’anta wawas, sweet bread shaped like babies, which are shared with family and friends.

10. Christmas, Santurantikuy and New Year’s Eve 2027#

At Christmas Cusco is decorated with lights, and churches and squares show nativity scenes. On 24 December the Plaza de Armas fills with Santurantikuy, a Christmas fair held since colonial times, where artisans sell figures for nativity scenes; read more in our guide to Cusco markets. On New Year’s Eve locals and visitors gather in the Plaza de Armas to see in the new year.

Planning a trip around a festival#

Many travelers combine a festival with Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, for example on one of our Cusco tour packages or the Cusco Adventure 8 Days. Remember that the Inca Trail is closed every February, during Carnival, and that June, with Inti Raymi, is the busiest month for hotels, trains and Machu Picchu tickets.

Frequently asked questions about Cusco festivals#

When is Inti Raymi 2027?

On Thursday 24 June 2027. The main act at Sacsayhuamán is in the afternoon, after the ceremonies at the Qorikancha and the Plaza de Armas in the morning.

What is the biggest festival in Cusco?

Inti Raymi is the best known, but for the people of Cusco Corpus Christi and the procession of the Lord of the Earthquakes in Holy Week are just as important.

When is Corpus Christi in Cusco in 2027?

On Thursday 27 May 2027. The saints and virgins arrive at the cathedral the day before, on Wednesday 26 May.

Can tourists go to Qoyllur Rit’i?

Yes, but it is a pilgrimage at high altitude with very cold nights and basic conditions, so go well acclimatized and with warm clothing, ideally with someone who knows the festival.