Ten carnivals across five countries, from the Sambadrome to an Andean devil dance and a summer of Saturdays by the Paraná, ranked on how far a visitor can join in.
South America holds more great carnivals than any other continent. We ranked these ten on the carnival itself: its scale, how deep its tradition runs, and how much a visitor can take part rather than watch. Most peak in the days before Lent; three run on summer weekends.
The benchmark: samba schools spend a year on one night in the Sambadrome, and anyone can buy a costume and parade with one. Skip the stands and the free street blocos fill every neighbourhood from dawn.
Six days of trios elétricos, trucks carrying live bands through a crowd of hundreds of thousands. An abadá buys you a place inside a bloco's rope; outside it, on the Barra-Ondina circuit, the party is free.
The Andes' great carnival, UNESCO-listed since 2001, is a pilgrimage danced to the shrine of the Virgin of the Socavón. Diablada devils in masks and armour lead the entrada, which runs into the night; book a stand seat.
UNESCO-listed since 2003, it puts Colombia's Caribbean folk dances, cumbia, congo and garabato, on the street for four days. The Batalla de Flores on the Vía 40 opens it, and its grandstand seats sell out first.
The most open carnival on the list: frevo bands and crowds climb the hills of a UNESCO-listed colonial centre, with no ropes and no stands. It opens at midnight with the Homem da Meia-Noite, a giant puppet first paraded in 1932.
Now Brazil's biggest by numbers: the city planned for 16.5 million revellers and more than 600 street blocos in 2026. Its samba schools parade at the Anhembi Sambadrome, but the free blocos are where a visitor joins in.
A summer-long show rather than a street party: rival comparsas parade feathers, floats and drums in the Corsódromo on Saturday nights from January. Buy a seat ahead and stay for the river beaches by day.
Peru's most joyful carnival, and no one stays dry: water, paint and coplas fill the streets around the arrival of Ño Carnavalón. The next day the barrio patrullas compete in costume; wear clothes you can lose.
Paraguay's carnival capital, with comparsas parading feathers and samba down a sambódromo by the Paraná. It runs on Saturday nights through January and February, and crowds cross the bridge from Posadas, in Argentina, to watch.
The beach carnival: samba schools parade on the Passarela Nego Quirido, and the long-running Pop Gay costume contest fills the centre. By day the blocos move to the island's beaches, which makes it the easiest week of the ten.
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