Best time to visit Peru

Visiting Peru in February

Observe the Festival of the Virgin de la Candelaria, Patroness of the city of Puno, Folk Capital of the Americas. Over 16 days, from 2 to 18 February, Catholic devotion and the carnival spirit mix in the streets, with thousands of dancers and musicians moving around the city in an endless parade.

February is one of the wettest times to visit Peru and this is especially true in Puno and the surrounding region. During this month the Inca trail closes and transport around Machu Picchu is challenging. Don’t let that put you off though. Plan a visit to Trujilo where rain is far less likely and learn about pre-Incan cultures with a side-serving of Peru’s natural landscape. 

Visiting Peru in March

Peru sees the start of the tourist season in March, as the Inca Trail re-opens and more visitors begin to arrive. Leave these crowds behind and choose from the Wine Festival – honouring the grape harvest, wine and pisco brandy or Las Cruces de Porcón – re-creating the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. 

While there is still a chance of rain, this is dramatically less than in February. Humidity and temperatures combine to make this season feel warm with highs ranging from 20°C and 25°C.  

Visiting Peru in April

Events abound in April. The Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is the most famous religious feast in Peru and celebrated in Ayacucho and Cusco with spectacularly reverent Easter processions. In Pachacámac near Lima, the Peruvian Paso Horses Exhibition takes place, attracting the best horse breeders in the world to showcase outstanding examples of this elegant breed.

With the rainy season drawing to a close, the visitor influx begins in earnest. It is one of the best times to visit should you wish to combine your Peru holiday with a trip to the Galápagos Islands.

Visiting Peru in May

May marks the start of Peru's dry season, with clear, blue skies likely until October. The fine weather makes this a good time to visit Machu Picchu, especially before the crowds begin to arrive in June. 

May is a month of daring feats as the Festival of the Holy Cross commemorates ‘scissor dancing’ where communities decorated crosses and performed dances on top of church bell towers. Cusco, Ica and Lima embrace this feast with lively events to outdo their neighbours. Celebrating nature also is part of the agenda near Cusco, at the ritual of Qoyllur Rit’I where a pilgrimage marks the worship of the spirit of the mountains and appreciates the fertility of the local land. See 10,000 pilgrims hike to the snowline in full costume or to the summit of Mount Ausangate, seeing the Snow Star and descending with ice blocks on their backs.

Visiting Peru in June

One of the most beautiful folklore religious feasts of Peru takes place in Cusco. The Corpus Christi procession of saints and virgins greets the body of Christ at the Cathedral, with an overnight vigil. Cusco stays busy with the Inca Festival of the Sun or Inti Raymi, celebrating the winter solstice and the sun god. Pageantry, parades and dancers fill the streets. For a more sedate celebration, head to fishing villages near Lima and Chiclayo where the patron saints San Pedro and San Pablo are honoured with incense, prayers and hymns along the seafront.

This is now peak season, with a range of comfortably cool weather and high temperatures that are pleasant. 

Visiting Peru in July

This is one of the best times to visit Peru, but also one of the busiest. Peru's national holiday of independence from Spain takes place in July, and the continued fine weather attracts increasing numbers of tourists. This is also a popular time for visitors to hike the Inca trails to Machu Picchu.

The Virgin of Carmen festival is a highlight in the Cusco calendar. Taking place a few hours from the city, in Paucartambo, it is a beautiful example of Peruvian dance and music. Over four days, dancers can be seen on the streets and on rooftops, in wild costumes and often fuelled by much alcohol in this traditional Andean fiesta.

This festival is relatively new on the tourist itinerary and so remains very unspoilt. It is however gaining in popularity.

Visiting Peru in August

The annual celebration of Arequipa's Cultural Anniversary dominates the second largest city in Peru over most of August. Thousands of visitors flock to these festivities, occasionally also attended by Peru’s President, to celebrate the city’s art, culture and history. From marching band parades to iron and copper work demonstrations, or the giant cuy chactado, the fried guinea pig staple of local picanteria eateries and the Friendship Parade, the UNESCO World Heritage Site has it all in August.

This is a great time of year for family holidays as it is still peak dry season, with excellent weather and little likelihood of rain.

Visiting Peru in September

In the last week of September, Peru celebrates the International Spring Festival, but nowhere does it better than Trujillo. Here, marinera norteña dancers compete, streets, houses and floats are decorated, and schoolchildren dance around the town. Get waving your handkerchiefs in time to the beat and admire the pageant beauty queen, leading the procession and surrounded by drum majorettes of all countries who arrive here to show off their skills. 

With the arrival of spring, daily highs range between 19°C and 22°C. With some humidity and wind, this is a comfortable time to travel.

Visiting Peru in October

Lima takes centre stage in October with the greatest show of religious fervour in the Americas. The Lord of Miracles is the largest procession in South America. Dating from colonial times, it lasts almost 24 hours. Weighing nearly 1,000 kilograms, an image of Christ is carried upright through Lima’s streets on a massive wood and silver bier, on the shoulders of 20-30 men. This image survived the 1746 earthquake and is now the most revered image in the capital.

Visiting Peru in November

In the first week of November, festivities become a little more funereal around Todos Santos (All Saints’ Day) and Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. These celebrations are marked by Peruvians visiting cemeteries carrying flowers and food, and hosting familial, candlelight vigils in the cemetery until dawn. In Puno, a procession takes place from Lake Titicaca to the town stadium in celebration of the legendary Manco Cápac, who rose from the lake to establish the Incan Empire.

Although the weather is starting to warm up, the chance of rain increases as the rainy season draws closer.

Visiting Peru in December

As the year closes, Cusco opens its doors for Santuranticuy, or ‘saints for sale’, the largest arts and crafts fair in Peru. Typical handicrafts are bought and sold, as visitors arrive from many small towns and villages with their craft. These pieces represent the Saints in clay, straw, wood or cloth. Stalls and blankets cover the city square of Plaza de Armas. Beware the ponche, or hot rum punch, or you may find yourself buying more Saints than you need.

December can be very hot and humid, but the month’s anticipated rainfall brings a change in the Amazonian areas, with an increase in abundance and beauty of the native flora and fauna.