October 31 in Peru: Music, Halloween and Local Traditions

Halloween in Lima

Halloween is not an old Peruvian tradition, and nobody here even pretends it is! The celebration came in from abroad and settled in, mostly in the cities, and then Peruvians made it their own fiesta. Lima and Cusco are where you will see it the most. At around five in the afternoon, small children in scary costumes start appearing on residential streets with bags and plastic pumpkins, knocking on doors or wandering the streets asking for candy and chocolate. Teenagers and adults come out to play a little later. Masks, face paints, and a lot of effort has been put into these outfits. Miraflores and Barranco fill up with parties, and some clubs treat the night like one of the biggest events of the year!

Others ignore it completely. That’s the odd thing about Halloween and October 31 in Peru. One street is packed, the next street over is having a normal Saturday. Events change every year, and anything we list now would be wrong by October next year, so ask your hotel that same morning that you are there. If you want to join in, join in. Buy a cheap mask, find a bar in Barranco, stay out. Nobody will think you are strange.

Halloween in Cusco

Cusco goes all out for Halloween! By the evening, the Plaza de Armas turns into one huge party, packed edge to edge, with nearly everyone in costume. Locals, students, travelers, and families with kids, all out in the open air, under the arches and around the cathedral. Candy is the other big thing. People swap it with friends and with strangers. Kids go from group to group with their bags and pumpkins open, and adults join in too. Come with a pocket full of sweets, and you will make friends fast. Private parties are happening everywhere, in houses, on rooftops, in bars, clubs, and hostels. Dress up if you can. You can find cheap masks, wigs, and face paint around the center... all that week.

One tip: Cusco sits at about 3,400 meters, and alcohol hits harder up at high altitude. Drink water between rounds and take it easier than normal!

Día de la Canción Criolla

The same night, October 31 in Peru, belongs to something much older and much more traditional than Halloween. October 31 in Peru is Día de la Canción Criolla, a day for the music of Peru’s coastal region. Creole music grew up around Lima, shaped by Spanish, African and local influences, and most Peruvians treat it as something close to a family heirloom. You will hear guitars and a cajón, the wooden box drum that was born here. You can hear vals and marinera. The songs are mostly about love, and a surprising number are about Peru itself, the streets, the neighborhoods, the feeling of coming home.
Restaurants, small music venues, and cultural centers host most of the celebrations. Sometimes it can be a proper concert. Sometimes it is a table of locals who start singing together, and then the whole room joins in. You don’t need to know the genre or the words. Sit down, order something, and listen. If the person at the next table hands you a glass and starts explaining the song, just say yes. Honestly, if we had to pick between a costume party and a Creole music night on October 31 in Peru, we would pick the music. It is the celebration that tells you exactly where you are, and is rooted in Peru!

What to do in Lima before the night starts

Barranco is the easy answer for the daytime. Slow streets, old houses, cafes, small art galleries. Walk down toward the Bridge of Sighs and keep going. The historic center is another thing altogether. It is busy and heavy with old buildings, and a bit confusing without a guide. A local can tell you which doorway matters and why. A food tour helps too, especially if you want to try local dishes you have never heard of before. Cooking tours in Lima are one of the best things to do and occur all year round! Leave an hour before your evening plans to get back to the hotel and change. People forget that part.

¡Todos los Santos and the Day of the Dead (or the living)!

November 1 is Día de Todos los Santos, All Saints’ Day. November 2 is Día de los Difuntos, the day for the dead. After the noise of October 31 in Peru, the mood drops fast. This is a day for family. People go to church, then to the cemetery, carrying flowers. Many bring a meal, or the favorite foods of the person they have lost. Some stay for hours. In some places, there is music. It can look like a gathering, but it is more personal, and you haven’t been invited to it.
In the Andes, the tradition takes on its own character. Catholic customs and older Andean ideas about the dead sit side by side, and families treat the day less as mourning and more as a way of keeping someone close. It is not the same as Mexico’s Day of the Dead, and it isn’t the same from one village to the next, which is why asking a local guide matters more than reading a blog, including this one. If you pass a family at a grave, keep your distance. Ask before you take a photo. If they say no, put the phone away and move on. This is a private celebration or remembrance.
Markets get busy during these days. Tours and transport can run on a different schedule because of the public holiday, so confirm everything the day before.

The Bread in Cusco

Fly to Cusco in early November, and you will notice the bakeries first. Sweet bread shaped like a baby, with icing faces and little colored details, sometimes an animal instead. This is pan wawa. “Wawa” is the Quechua word for baby, so the name means baby bread, and it belongs to the Day of the Dead traditions. Some families put it out as an offering. Go to Mercado San Pedro, find a stall, buy one. Then buy a second from somewhere else, because the bakers don’t copy each other. Ask your guide what it means in their own family. Then ask someone else. You will get two answers, completley different, and both will be right.

What We Would do with the rest of the trip

Take a day in Cusco to adjust to the altitude. It sits around 3,400 meters, and the first afternoon can be rough. The Qorikancha and the historical center make for an easy walk. After that, head to the Sacred Valley. Pisac for the market and ruins, Ollantaytambo for the terraces, Chinchero for the weaving. You can do all three in one guided day, but spending a night in the valley is even better. You wake up lower, calmer, and closer to the train. Head from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes by train, then Machu Picchu the next morning. That is if you have decided on the train option!

Trekking

Late October is close to the end of the dry season, and the weather is still unpredictable. Cold at night, rain showers are possible. Pack a warm layer for sleeping and a jacket you trust. The Inca Trail needs booking months ahead because permits are limited. Salkantay is longer and tougher, with big mountain scenery. Either one asks for a few days in Cusco first, so your lungs can catch up. If you only have a week, it is best to skip the trek. Take the train instead. The trek will still be there next year. The great thing about traveling to Peru in late October is that there are fewer travelers, so fewer queues, more availability, and if you are lucky, lower prices.

If you have extra days

Down the coast from Lima are Paracas, Nazca, and the Sand dunes of Huacachina. Paracas is where boats run out to the Ballestas Islands, and you can watch sea lions sprawled on the rocks. Huacachina has big dunes and sandboarding, and the Ica vineyards are nearby. For the jungle, fly to Puerto Maldonado and stay in a lodge. River boats, guided walks, and a decent chance of seeing wildlife all await! None of that has anything to do with Halloween, of course, but it does fit.

Before you book

Count your days. Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu can fill a week on their own. The coast or the Amazon need much more time. If you want the music on the 31st and the bread in the markets afterwards, build the trip around those dates first and fit the rest in later. You probably won’t get to see everything. That’s fine too. Leave a gap in your Peru itinerary for whatever you stumble across and go with the Halloween Flow!