Puno Virgen de la Candelaria Photography Tour 5 Days Peru Cultural Festival
The Puno Virgen de la Candelaria Photography Tour is a 5-day immersive cultural photography journey designed for photographers seeking to document one of the largest and most visually striking festivals in South America.
Held every February in Puno, Peru, the Virgen de la Candelaria Festival is a UNESCO-recognized celebration featuring thousands of dancers, elaborate traditional costumes, Andean music, and Catholic-Indigenous rituals that fill the streets with color, rhythm, and emotion.
This tour offers exclusive photographic access, expert local guidance, and carefully timed shooting sessions that allow you to capture processions, dance competitions, intimate cultural moments, and dramatic street scenes. Unlike standard tours, this journey is crafted by photographers, for photographers, ensuring the best light, locations, and storytelling opportunities.
Whether you focus on documentary, portrait, street, or cultural photography, this tour delivers a portfolio-defining experience in the heart of the Peruvian Andes.
PHOTOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS
Vibrant traditional dances of the Virgen de la Candelaria
Colorful folkloric costumes and embroidered masks
Emotional religious processions and rituals
Street photography in Puno’s historic center
Portraits of dancers, musicians, and local communities
Daytime energy & night festival photography
Cultural storytelling through movement and expression
WHY THIS TOUR IS UNIQUE (SEO POWER SECTION)
One of the best cultural photography festivals in Peru
Carefully curated 5-day photography itinerary
Small groups for authentic access & clean compositions
Led by local cultural experts & photography guides
Focus on visual storytelling, not rushed sightseeing
Ideal balance of festival intensity and creative time
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Puno Virgen de la Candelaria Photography Tour 5 Day Cultural Festival Experience
The tour begins in the afternoon at around 2pm. The Sillustani Chullpas (pre-Incan funeral towers) are situated on an Aymara peninsula of Lake Titicaca, about 32 km from Puno. The setting is dramatic and beautiful. Most of the towers date from the period of Inca occupation in the 15th century, but the engineering involved in their construction is more complex than anything the Incas built. The towers were Aymara tombs where they kept the human remains of the nobles, called “the Mallkus”. Once we have finished the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel. After Dinner Optional:
Later in the afternoon, the bands and dancers make their way to the middle of the city and by 7pm the Vísperas de la fiesta octava begins. This night also ends in a showing of fireworks.
Day 1: Sillustani Funeral Towers.
Day 2: Puno Festival
The exact origins of the Candelaria festival are debated, but its significance and vibrancy continues with dance and music groups from Peru and Bolivia converging on Puno, a melting pot of native culture: the two largest Andean ethnic groups –the Quechuas from the north, the Aymaras from the south. The festivity is related to the traditional farming cycles of planting and harvesting (worshipping Pachamama or Mother Earth), as well as with the region’s mining activities.
The day of the ‘Gran Concurso de Trajes de Luces’ (Great competition for costumes of light). On this day, dancers will perform from 7am to 5pm.
Day 3: Puno Festivity .
Festivities continue on these days with the ‘Gran Veneracion a la Virgen de Candelaria’ where dancers parade for 4 km in celebrations of the Virgin of Candelaria and Puno again is filled with music and colour. Parades will continue in different destinations around Puno continue over the final few days. Then, to finish off the festival, awards will be given at the closing ceremony for the best dance groups.
We spend a full day watching the parades that focus on storytelling in the form of costumes, masks, and music. Your guide is there to help explain the sights and sounds and to translate, and you will have great seats along the procession route that the dancers follow to pay their respect to the Virgin. The devil’s dance is one of the main themes and is based on a story of a group of miners who, when trapped in a cave, saw images of the Virgin of Candelaria.
Day 4: Islands of Lake .
Depart this morning with your guide to the the floating islands of the Uros people. Peru’s floating islands are built using the buoyant totora reeds that grow along Lake Titicaca, and these reeds are interwoven to make homes, boats, and crafts.
In the afternoon, visit Taquile Island. Climb the steps to the plaza at the center of the island for breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Return to Puno and relax this evening on the shores.
Day 5: Transfer Out.
Entire roundtrip Juliaca – Puno Juliaca by private ground transportation
Fully guided sightseeing during the trip
End of Festivity Virgen de la Candelaria Puno
Group Size1 – 8 Guests
Experience | Difficulty
Beginner, amateur, enthusiast and semi-pro photographers
DSLR, mirrorless, compact or iPhone cameras
Moderate schedule
Travel by car or minibus
Moderate elevation changes and lots of walking and hiking (none of our adventures have difficult hikes)
(non-photographers also welcome)
Includes
5 Days
Travel, landscape, nature, wildlife and people photography
Professional photographer | guide
Photo walks & discussions
Small group size (1-8 guests)
3 or 4-star hotels
Breakfasts
All Meals
National Park Permits
Local transportation
AccommodationsHotels -Hotel, Home Stay.
Information
Price Per Person:2026
1 Person . U$$1650.00 Per Person
2 people : US$1350.00 per person
3 people: US$1250.00 per person
4 people : US$1150.00 per person
5 people : US$1050.00 per person
6 people : US$950.00 per person
7+ people : US$850.00 per person.
