Six carnivals, six ways to celebrate color. From Barranquilla to Rio and from Pasto to Oruro, these festivals blend music, tradition, and creativity in the streets. Save this carousel for your travel list and choose your favorite.

Barranquilla Carnival, Colombia

Barranquilla transforms into a giant Caribbean party where cumbia, dance troupes and traditional costumes take over the streets. The Battle of Flowers kicks off the show with floats and nonstop dancing. The closing performance by Joselito Carnaval is the most beloved and symbolic farewell.

Photography: Unsplash/Zane Bolen

Rio Carnival, Brazil

Rio turns up the volume as samba schools compete in the Sambadrome with extravagant costumes and enormous floats. Each parade tells a story (enredo) with singing, percussion and meticulously choreographed routines. And outside the Sambadrome, the blocos get the whole city dancing.

Photography: Unsplash/Markus Kammermann

Carnival of Blacks and Whites

Pasto, Colombia celebrates with a unique tradition where color takes center stage: first Blacks' Day and then Whites' Day. The handcrafted floats resemble moving sculptures, brimming with satire, myths and intricate details. It's a creative, vibrant and highly participatory festival.

Photography: Facebook/DiscoverColombia

Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia

Oruro blends devotion and spectacle with dances like the Diablada and elaborate costumes that take months to make. The bands play loudly as the dancers parade through the city in a celebration that is also a pilgrimage. The result is powerful: Andean culture in epic fashion.

Photography: Instagram/carnavaldeoruro2026

Carnival of Montevideo

Montevideo, Uruguay hosts a long carnival, the kind that's best enjoyed at a leisurely pace over many consecutive nights. The candombe rhythms fill the air during Las Llamadas, and the murga blends humor, social commentary and song with a distinctly Uruguayan style. Between the stages and the comparsas, there's always something to do.

Photography: Instagram/h_u_g_o_

Mazatlán Carnival, Mexico

Mazatlán combines tradition, the sea and banda music in a carnival with a Pacific Coast flavor. Parades wind along the Malecón with floats, coronations and a family-friendly atmosphere. The Naval Battle adds fireworks and festive drama by the ocean.

Photography: Instagram/eldebate