Month by Month
TOP EVENTS
New Year’s Eve in Valparaíso, December
Fiestas Patrias, September
Carnaval Ginga, February
Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo, April
Tapati Rapa Nui, February
January
It’s summer peak season and Chileans start flocking to beaches. Annual celebrations break out in every Chilean town and city with live music, special feasts and fireworks. It’s also high season in Patagonia.
zBrotes de Chile
One of Chile’s biggest folk festivals takes place in the second week of January and includes traditional dances, food and crafts in Angol.
zMuestra Cultural Mapuche
Six days of all things Mapuche in Villarrica, including artisans, indigenous music, foods and ritual dance.
2Ruta del Huemul
Held the last week in January, this two-day, hundred-person community hike traverses Reserva Nacional Tamango near Cochrane. Reserve ahead in order to participate.
zSantiago a Mil
Latin America’s biggest theater festival (www.stgoamil.cl) brings acts to the streets of Santiago, as well as international works, emerging theater and acrobats.
3Semanas Musicales
All month, prestigious international acts ranging from classical to hip-hop come south to perform in Frutillar’s stunning Teatro de Frutillar (www.semanasmusicales.cl), with sublime lake and volcano views.
February
February is Chileans’ favorite month to vacation. With unrelenting heat from the north to Santiago, people flock south, particularly to Pucón and the Lakes District. Beaches fill and Santiago nightlife transplants to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.
zCarnaval
Putre puts out highland merriment and flour bombs, ending with the burning of the momo – a figure symbolizing the frivolity of Carnaval.
zCarnaval Ginga
Held in Arica in mid-February, this festival features the musical skills of regional comparsas (traditional dancing groups).
zFestival Costumbrista
Castro struts Chiloé’s distinctive folk music and dance, plying revelers with heaps of traditional foods in mid-February.
3Festival Internacional de la Canción
This fancy star-studded concert series held in Viña del Mar showcases top names in Latin American pop.
zFiesta de la Candelaria
A religious festival in early February, most fervently celebrated in Copiapó, where thousands of pilgrims and dancers converge.
zTapati Rapa Nui
The premier festival on Easter Island is an incredibly colorful event that keeps the party going for two weeks, with a series of dance, music and cultural contests.
March
A great month to travel. As fall moves in, summer crowds disperse. Though all of Chile cools a bit, usually Southern Patagonia is still dry and less windy, with great hiking weather. The central valley’s grape harvest begins.
zFiesta de la Vendimia
Santa Cruz celebrates the grape harvest with stands from local wineries in the plaza, a harvest queen, songs and folk dancing.
3Lollapalooza Chile
Chile rocks this international edition (www.lollapaloozacl.com), with 60 bands playing Santiago’s Parque O’Higgins; kids get their hair punked at the adjoining Kidsapalooza.
April
Bright reds and yellows highlight the forests of Northern Patagonia, though rain will come any day. The south is clearing out, but you might get lucky with decent hiking weather. Santiago and the central valley enjoy still-pleasant temperatures.
3Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo
In Rancagua in April, the National Rodeo Championship features feasting, cueca (a playful, handkerchief-waving dance that imitates the courtship of a rooster and hen) and, most importantly, Chilean cowboys showing off their fancy horse skills.
June
Winter begins. With days at their shortest, nightlife and cultural events pick up. The world-class ski resorts around Santiago start gearing up and it’s a good time to visit the desert.
zFestival de la Lluvia
Why not celebrate what’s most plentiful in a Lakes District winter – rain? This cheeky week of free events in Puerto Varas includes a parade of decorated umbrellas and live music.
zFiesta de San Pedro y San Pablo
In San Pedro de Atacama, folk-dancing groups, a rodeo and solemn processions mark this animated religious festival.
July
Chilean winter vacation means family travel is in full swing. Ski resorts are up and running and those who brave Patagonia will find lovely winter landscapes without the infamous wind of summer.
zCarnaval de Invierno
Punta Arenas gets through the longest nights with fireworks, music and parades in late July.
zFestival de la Virgen del Carmen
Some 40,000 pilgrims pay homage to Chile’s virgin with lots of street dancing, curly-horned devil masks with flashing eyes and spangly cloaks. Held in La Tirana in mid-July.
August
August represents the tail end of the ski season and cheaper lodgings in holiday destinations, now that school vacation is over. In the south, winter rains begin to taper off.
zFestival de Jazz de Ñuñoa
Held in late August, this free winter jazz fest brings together Chile’s best jazz acts for a weekend of music.
zFiesta de Santa Rosa de Lima
A huge Catholic celebration of the criollo saint with a colorful street procession, held August 30.
September
Spring comes to Santiago, with mild, sunny days. Though low season, it’s not a bad time to travel. Everything closes and people get boisterous the week of the national holiday.
zFiestas Patrias
Chilean Independence is feted during Fiestas Patrias (week of September 18), with a week of big barbecues, terremotos (potent wine punch) and merrymaking all over Chile.
October
October is a fine time to travel, with spring flowers blossoming in both northern and central Chile.
zOktoberfest
Join the swillers and oompah bands in Puerto Varas and Valdivia for live music in lederhosen and beer festivals.
November
Chile’s south is in full bloom though the weather is still crisp. It’s a good time to visit the beach resorts and Patagonia; the crowds and high prices are still a month or so away.
7Feria Internacional de Artesania
Weavers, potters and artisans show off Chile’s best traditional crafts at a huge fair in Providencia’s Parque Bustamante.
December
Summer begins and services return to the Carretera Austral. It’s still quiet but an ideal time for outdoor activities in the Lakes District and Patagonia.
zNew Year’s Eve
December 31 means the year’s biggest bash in Valparaíso, where revelers fill open balconies and streets to dance, drink and watch fireworks on the bay.