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4.9/5 (926 reviews)
Pasto sits at 2,527 metres in the Atriz Valley, with the Galeras volcano keeping a watchful eye over the rooftops, and for most of the year it's a modest, unhurried Andean capital of colonial churches and Andean music drifting out of the cafés. Then January arrives, and everything changes. The Carnaval de Negros y Blancos, UNESCO-recognised and centuries old, takes over the streets from the 2nd to the 7th: Día de los Negros sees the whole city smeared in black cosmetic paint, followed the next day by a full-scale white powder and foam battle that leaves absolutely no one dry. Outside carnival week, the draw is the surrounding landscape. Laguna de la Cocha, Colombia's second-largest lake, is half an hour away by colectivo, its stilted cabañas serving fresh trout to anyone who fancies the trip. Further out, the Santuario de Las Lajas rises from a river canyon like something dreamed up rather than built.
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Painted faces, foam-covered strangers hugging you like old friends, and a genuine sense that an entire city is throwing its arms open. Carnival here isn't performed for visitors. You're simply invited in.
Skip the paid grandstands and stand along the Senda instead, where locals actually watch the parade (bring something to protect your camera from flying foam).
Time it wrong and Pasto is fairly quiet outside carnival week. Time it right and hotels sell out fast, so book Nariño accommodation well ahead of January.
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