When and where are Colombia's best festivals?
Like any South American country, Colombia has it's fair share of festivals. Some, like the Barranquilla carnival and Medellin Flower Festival, are very well known, while others less so. During festival periods, hotels are often full, so best to book in advance. There are many small towns that have yearly festivals, many of which are highly memorable - real travel highlights. Check the details below and try to plan your holiday itinerary accordingly.
Colombia's Main Festivals
January (first few days) - Carnival de Blancos y Negros (Black and White Carnival): multi ethnic celebrations in Pasto in the South of Colombia.
January (first week) - Feria de Manizales: orchestras, tango dancing and beauty contests.
January - Corraleja de Sinclejo in Sinclejo near the Caribbean coast. This running of the bulls ceremony is similar in nature to the famous equivalent in Pamplona in Spain. In Sinclejo, it's equally if not even more mad.
February - Barranquilla Carnival: one of Latin America's best carnivals, and the biggest outside of Brazil's carnivals. Street dancing, street parties, a variety of traditional music types and drunken Colombians.
Easter Week - (Semana Santa) is celebrated in almost every town and village in Colombia. People suggest that the best celebrations are to be found in Popayan and Pamplona. Mompox also has interesting, but more sombre Semana Santa celebtrations.
August (1st or 2nd week) - Feria de las Flores in Medellin: Colombia's most colourful festival, the Flower Festival of Medellin.
December - Feria de Cali (25 to 30 December) - Cali's Festival is based on dancing horse shows, salsa music and partying.
