3 Oct to 1 Nov 2026
Come for 18 or 28 October, when the float leaves Las Nazarenas at six in the morning and is carried through the centre until night. Watch from a side street in daylight and carry almost nothing.
3 Oct to 1 Nov 2026. Times are approximate and can change from year to year.
From Las Nazarenas along Avenida Tacna and Emancipación. Shorter than the October outings.
From Las Nazarenas down Jirón de la Unión to the Plaza Mayor, ending the day at the Iglesia del Carmen.
From the Iglesia del Carmen through the streets of Barrios Altos.
From Las Nazarenas along Tacna, Nicolás de Piérola and Alfonso Ugarte.
A shorter loop by Tacna, Callao and Chancay.
For a month Lima's old centre belongs to one image. Purple habits tied with white cord are everywhere, the sanctuary at Las Nazarenas stays open from dawn until ten at night, and on procession days an avenue fills from wall to wall behind a float.
It is among the largest religious processions in the world, and you do not need to be a believer to feel the weight of it: the incense, the brass bands, and the teams of bearers taking the float on their shoulders in turn.
The float, heavy enough to need more than thirty bearers at a time, is carried by teams in purple habits tied with white cord, with incense and brass bands ahead of it. The long processions circle the historic centre and last most of the day and into the night. Wear purple if you like. Turrón de Doña Pepa, the sweet of the month, is on sale everywhere from the first days of October. Pickpockets work the crowd, so bring a phone and little else, and leave passports and jewellery at the hotel.
The image is a copy of a seventeenth-century mural painted by an enslaved Angolan, which stayed standing when earthquakes flattened most of the city.
The historic centre puts you on the route; Miraflores and Barranco are calmer and safer at night but a long way in on procession days, when the Metropolitano stations in the centre close.
Where to base yourself, and what else is on
The Lima guide has the rest of the city.
Sixteen days of beer tents and brass bands on a Munich meadow. Get there on a weekday morning and a bench is yours without a booking.
Two October days when Takayama's carved festival floats come out of their storehouses, and one night when they go round lit by lanterns.