Events & festivals in March
15 curated experiences happening in March — festivals, natural phenomena, food seasons, sport. We highlight the off-the-beaten-path versions of famous events.
Festivals & Cultural
🇹🇼
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
Pingxi · 15th day of Lunar New Year (Lantern Festival)
Hundreds of paper lanterns released into a mountain valley after sunset.
Hidden gem
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Carnival of Binche
Binche · Sunday-Tuesday before Lent (Mardi Gras week)
UNESCO-listed Belgian carnival from the 1300s.
Hidden gem
🇧🇷
Carnival in Salvador
Salvador · Friday-Tuesday before Ash Wednesday
Largest street carnival in the world (yes, larger than Rio).
Rising
🇪🇸
Las Fallas
Valencia · March 15-19
Hundreds of giant satirical papier-mâché sculptures (some 3 stories tall) erected across Valencia, then ALL burned in one night (March 19, 'La Cremà').
Rising
🇮🇳
Holi — Festival of Colors
Vrindavan · Full moon of Phalguna (usually mid-March)
Most people know Holi as 'colored powder fights.
Mainstream
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St. Patrick's Day Festival
Dublin · March 17 (festival runs March 14-18)
The original.
Mainstream
Nature & Wildlife
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Cherry Blossom (Sakura)
Kyoto · Late March – early April (5-7 day peak)
Japan's national obsession.
Mainstream
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Cherry Blossom in Yangmingshan
Taipei · Late February – mid-March
Taipei's cherry blossom season is 4 weeks earlier than Japan's, in a national park 30 min from downtown.
Hidden gem
🇳🇱
Tulip Bloom at Keukenhof
Lisse · Late March – mid-May (peak: mid-April)
Seven million tulip bulbs across 32 hectares.
Mainstream
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Monarch Butterfly Migration
Sierra Chincua · Late October – mid-March (peak: January-February)
100 million monarch butterflies flying 4,500km from Canada to overwinter in 12 Mexican mountain forests.
Hidden gem
🇳🇴
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
Tromsø · Late September – early April (peak: November–February, dark hours)
Tromsø sits in the auroral oval — the band where Northern Lights are most likely.
Mainstream
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Whale Shark Migration
La Paz · October – mid-April (peak: November-March)
La Paz Bay, Baja Sur — juvenile whale sharks (12m long, gentle, plankton-eating) gather close enough to swim with from a boat tour.
Hidden gem
🇺🇸
Cherry Blossom Festival, DC
Washington DC · Late March – early April
1912 gift from Tokyo: 3,000 trees around the Tidal Basin.
Mainstream
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Iguazu Falls, peak flow
Foz do Iguaçu · November – March (rainy-season peak flow)
275 individual waterfalls, 80m drops, 1.
Mainstream