Calendar / Busojaras
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Witness / Attend in Mohacs
Busojaras
Feb 4–9, 2027ExpectedBusojaras 2027
No organizer, no ticket office. This is a living tradition, and the way in is simply to be there; guides get you inside it.
Dates & details verified against: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗
Why go
Busojaras is Hungary's great winter-scaring carnival, and there is nothing else like it in the country. Over six days in February the Danube town of Mohacs fills with busos, masked figures in carved wooden faces and shaggy sheepskin cloaks who parade with cowbells and noisemakers to drive out winter. It began with the town's Sokac Croatian community and has become a citywide rite recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2009. The signature moments are the crossing of more than five hundred busos over the Danube by rowboat on Carnival Sunday, the march through the streets with horse-drawn and homemade floats, and the burning of a coffin symbolising winter on a bonfire in the main square. There is no ticket office and no single organiser to book through. You come to the town, stand in the crowd on the squares and the riverbank, and let it happen around you.
When it runs
Six days ending on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday), so the dates shift yearly. Upcoming: 12 to 17 February 2026 (confirmed); around 4 to 9 February 2027 (expected, projected from the movable date).
- Feb 4–9, 2027ExpectedBusojaras 2027
- Ran Feb 12–17, 2026Busojaras 2026
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.
What to expect
A six-day carnival running Thursday to Shrove Tuesday in February, ending the day before Ash Wednesday, so the dates move each year with the church calendar. The busy days are the weekend and Carnival Sunday, when the Danube boat crossing and the main parade take place, followed by the bonfire on the Tuesday. February on the plain is cold, often below freezing, so dress for standing outdoors for hours.
Getting there & around
Mohacs is about three and a half to four hours south of Budapest by car or train, near Pecs and the Croatian border. The events are spread across the town's squares, the Sokacrev riverbank and the streets, all walkable. Accommodation in Mohacs itself is limited and books out for the carnival, so many visitors stay in Pecs and travel in for the day. No tickets are needed for the street events; the official programme is published each year by the town.
Where it happens
Mohacs, Hungary.
Want to go? The full Mohacs guide: conditions, logistics, providers →