Festivals of Tulum

Do you want to visit the city of Tulum and still don’t know what to do? Then here we will tell you some of the parties and festivities that you could find and of course, schedule your vacation for these dates of the vacations in Tulum.

Festivals of Tulum

Tulum will always be one of the cities in the Riviera Maya where its traditions, festivals and culture is for everyone and now we will tell you about it in this post.

Carnaval of Tulum

Carnival (spelled Carnaval in Spanish) is a widely celebrated Catholic holiday, known for its Caribbean celebrations and wild colors. Comparable to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it generally takes place a week before Ash Wednesday in the Catholic calendar. The holiday exists to celebrate fun before the strictness of Lent.

There are Carnaval celebrations all over the Riviera Maya, and Tulum is no exception. It is an explosion of lights, and colour, with bands playing music, parades with floats, elaborate and often feathered costumes, dancing, singing in the streets, fireworks, and food! Each town around the area holds their celebration at a different time, so there is time to visit each, and often Tulum in the final party.

Alborada Maya

This is festival unique to Tulum, which takes place in March and has been going for decades. It happens at the Mayan Ceremonial Center in Tulum, where Mayan priests perform ceremonies to give thanks for good harvest.

Citizens honor the saints through pilgrimages, prayer, bullfighting, offerings, Mayan music, ceremony, and more. Many from nearby communities visit the decorated Church of Tulum in this unique meld of Maya and Catholic tradition.

Festival of the Speaking Cross

In July is the Festival of the Talking Cross (Cruz Parlante) another interesting combination of Catholic and pagan culture. The origin of this unique religious sect stems from the Caste War in the early 1800’s. This was the start of the oppressed Maya rising up. When rebel leader Jose Maria Barrera discovered a strange object in a nearby cenote, it helped the Maya to join together under one cultural identity.

This wooden object that looked somewhat like a Christian cross, and partly like the Maya tree of life symbol, the object literally spoke to its followers.

Subsequently, this “Talking Cross” became the crux of an entirely new religion. It uniquely combines loose Catholic traditions with Maya words and gods, and is now a festival here in Tulum.

Festival of the Sea Turtle

This festival takes place in various places during October along the coast of Quintana Roo. There are lots of cultural and environmental activities, with the aim of helping tourists and locals understand how to better care for these beautiful creatures that share the sea with us.

There is plenty of fun, too, with a kite-flying contest, sand-castle competition, and Mayan music and cultural activities! Aimed toward children and adults, this festival has been going annually since 2003 and it completely free. Come visit Tulum during one of these unique festivals.

Tulum Equinox

Another of the traditional festivities in Tulum that is little known, but just as wonderful is the Tulum equinox. Just like Chichen Itza, Tulum keeps a mystical moment in the castle of its archaeological site.

Conclusion

These are some of the festivities and traditions of Tulum and remember: If you still don’t know how to get here, we can help you with an excellent transfer service to Tulum.