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Carnival 2025, 2026 and 2027

Carnival is a major event and season in Bolivia, as it is in many other Roman Catholic countries. It comes just before the beginning of Lent, a 40-day religious fast from that begins on Ash Wednesday and runs up to Easter Sunday.

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2025	3 Mar	Mon	Carnival
	4 Mar	Tue	Carnival
2026	16 Feb	Mon	Carnival
	17 Feb	Tue	Carnival
2027	8 Feb	Mon	Carnival
	9 Feb	Tue	Carnival
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

Carnival events take place all over Bolivia, with some major parades and colourful cultural displays being centred in Santa Cruz. But the real fame of Bolivia’s Carnival is dominated by the small town of Oruro.

Literally hundreds of thousands of visitors crowd into the usually quiet, western highland town of Oruro on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. They come for a two-day party that can get very wild at times.

The Oruro Carnival features costumed folk dancers, some of them called “Devil Dancers”. It also is full of lively Latin music, local foods, and an abundance of unique hand-made crafts for sale.

The Indian population of the mining town of Oruro have blended Catholicism with their traditional pre-Columbus beliefs – and it shows in the Carnival costumes.

For example, “El Tio” (The Uncle) is supposed to be the owner of the minerals the community mines, and he is also referred to as the Devil. People leave appeasement gifts to him during Carnival, such as beer or cigarettes, to keep him from getting angry about the townspeople “stealing” his minerals.

And “Pacha Mama” (Earth Mother) is blended in with the Virgin Mary, and she also looms large in the Carnival dances.

Previous Years

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2024	12 Feb	Mon	Carnival
	13 Feb	Tue	Carnival
2023	20 Feb	Mon	Carnival
	21 Feb	Tue	Carnival