La Paz: Festivals Worth Timing For
La Paz’s calendar runs on a mix of Catholic and Andean-syncretic tradition, indigenous Aymara belief woven through Spanish colonial holidays rather than kept separate from them. Here’s what’s worth planning a trip around.
Alasitas (from 24 January)
A UNESCO-listed miniatures fair centered on Ekeko, the Aymara god of abundance. Vendors sell tiny versions of everything you’d want in the coming year, houses, cars, cash, diplomas, blessed by a yatiri as a wish for the real thing. It’s playful, sincere, and genuinely unlike anything else on the calendar.
El Gran Poder (late May or early June)
La Paz’s biggest folkloric parade and a UNESCO-recognized tradition, with morenada, caporales, and diablada dancers filling the streets in elaborate costume for hours. Check the current-year date before booking; 2026’s edition was delayed by unrest earlier in the year, so confirm timing locally rather than assuming the usual late-May window holds.
Carnaval (February or March)
La Paz has its own Carnaval celebration, but the bigger regional draw is Carnaval de Oruro, in a separate city a few hours away, a UNESCO Cultural Masterpiece and one of the most elaborate carnival celebrations in South America. Worth the side trip if your dates line up.
Willkakuti, the Aymara New Year (21 June)
Marking the winter solstice, this celebration centers on Tiwanaku, about two hours from La Paz, where crowds gather before dawn to greet the first rays of the new solar year, a genuinely moving, quiet counterpoint to the city’s louder festivals.
Fiesta de las Natitas (8 November)
Aymara families bring decorated human skulls, natitas, believed to offer protection and hold favors granted throughout the year, to be blessed at the General Cemetery. This is a devotional tradition, not a curiosity; approach it with the same respect you’d bring to any cemetery ritual.
Independence Day (6 August)
Bolivia’s national holiday brings parades and civic events throughout La Paz, a good window into the city’s patriotic side alongside its indigenous traditions.
A practical note
Festival dates shift year to year, especially around Gran Poder given 2026’s disruptions, so confirm the current schedule locally once you arrive rather than booking flights around a fixed date months out.
Read more: things to do in La Paz and travel tips .