Four festivals worth planning a trip around in October, with the day to be there and how far ahead to book.
Lima's purple month: a float carried through the old centre from dawn into the night on five days in October.
Hot air balloons fill the sky over Albuquerque for nine October days, launching at dawn and glowing on the field after dark. A weekend gives you both a mass ascension and an evening glow.
Takayama's carved festival floats leave their storehouses for two October days. Stay for the night they are pulled through town lit by lanterns.
Riders in armour, ox carriages and the women of the Heian court cross Kyoto each October in a free procession to Heian Jingu. Take a place on the kerb an hour or two ahead, or try for a paid seat in the July lottery.
