All activities / Witness / Attend / Montevideo
Witness / Attend in MontevideoUY
Uruguay's capital on the Rio de la Plata: home of candombe, the world's longest carnival, and a street culture of drums, murga, and mate all its own.
Organized by Intendencia de Montevideo, which publishes the official dates and program.
Dates & details verified against: Official city source ↗
Why here
Montevideo stages the longest carnival on earth, about forty consecutive nights from late January into early March, and it is nothing like Rio: the heart is murga, satirical choral theater contested nightly at the Teatro de Verano, and the Desfile de Llamadas, when three thousand drums and six thousand paraders move through the historic Afro-Uruguayan streets of Barrio Sur and Palermo. Candombe, the rhythm underneath it all, is UNESCO-inscribed intangible heritage. Grandstand seats cost a few dollars, the neighborhood tablado stages are walk-up, and the whole thing belongs to the city rather than to television.
Best months
The season opens with the Inaugural Parade in the third week of January and runs into early March; the Llamadas falls in the first week of February, February 6-7 in 2026. High-summer heat, open-air nights. Tickets sell through the city's channels.
Getting there & around
Fly to Montevideo Carrasco (MVD), 30 to 40 minutes from Ciudad Vieja and Barrio Sur. Book Llamadas grandstand seats and hotels one to three months ahead; the neighborhood tablados need no planning at all.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Intendencia de Montevideo
OrganizerThe municipal government of Montevideo, which stages the carnival parades, the Llamadas, and the official contest at the Teatro de Verano.
Museo del Carnaval
OrganizerMontevideo's carnival museum, which runs its own tablado stage in season and publishes Llamadas programming year-round.