Festival calendarWhat is on and when

A small, very local celebration in which practically the whole town takes part. The Navy marks it on November 21, the day in 1953 when it set up the naval post that gave rise to the town, while the Regional Government set the 23rd; it is best to confirm the activities each year. It falls as the trekking season begins and the first sailboats arrive at the Micalvi.

Founded in 1848, Punta Arenas celebrates with ceremonies and events in Plaza Muñoz Gamero. It falls during the longest days of the year: at that time of year it gets dark after eleven at night.

It takes place in Puerto Ibáñez, about 120 kilometers from Coyhaique, usually in mid-January. It is the region’s biggest gaucho festival, drawing people from both sides of the Andes. Dates are confirmed each season.

The municipality puts together a program that runs through January and culminates in a weekend of fair stalls, music and competitions in the Municipal Park. The exact dates are announced each year.

Livestock shows, regional crafts, country cooking and performances. It is where rural Aysén shows itself to the city, and where you can find the weavings and leatherwork that no shop carries.

Caleta Tortel has no streets, only boardwalks of Guaitecas cypress, and this festival celebrates the very craft that built them. Rafts take to the water, shingles are split by hand in front of the crowd, and food is cooked over the fire. It is usually held in the first half of February.

It falls in the middle of the southern autumn, when the town is empty of backpackers and full of locals. It is the best chance to see Puerto Natales as it is outside the season.

The municipality groups under this name the neighborhood song festival, the festival of light, the Chapuzón del Estrecho winter plunge and, at the heart of it all, the Carnaval de Invierno. It is the local answer to three months of seven-hour days. The full calendar is published each year around April.

Ceremonies, food and dancing in a town of six thousand people in the depths of the Fuegian winter. It coincides with the shortest days of the year, which at this latitude are truly short.

The water hovers around five degrees. The tradition is exactly that —go in, scream and get out— and it has become one of the most photographed moments of the Invernadas.

It is the biggest festival in Chile’s far south and has been held since the 1990s. Dance troupes, floats built by neighborhood associations and schools, and fireworks over the water, with temperatures near freezing and the whole city out in the streets. It is free. The exact dates are announced around April.

The national holiday is celebrated throughout Patagonia with fondas and ramadas (festive food and dance halls) and competitions. At these latitudes it falls on the eve of the equinox, when the day is nearly as long as the night and visibly lengthening, and you can feel it in the mood. Mind the logistics: it is a long holiday weekend, fares go up, and many tourism services close on those two days.

A parade, events in the pentagonal plaza and a cultural program throughout the week. It coincides with the start of spring and the opening of the fishing season.