The Puntarenas Carnival in Costa Rica is celebrated every year in the middle of February and is also known as the Pearl of the Pacific Festival, better known like the carnivals of Puntarenas.

During the two weeks that the celebrations last, the city becomes a public stage where you can enjoy concerts, parades dancing groups, games, fireworks and many other cultural activities.

In Puntarenas Carnival in Costa Rica one of the most typical activities of these celebrations is El Tope, a parade of horsemen from all over the country, where they exhibit the beauty of their horses, as well as the ability of the rider and his mount to make dances, all during a journey of almost three kilometers that ends in front of the sea at sunset.

The Puntarenas Carnival groups parades that make their way through the Paseo de los Turistas in Puntarenas downtown, the parades also include motorcyclists, men on stilts and gangs premises.

In these parades, visitors will have the opportunity to see pictorial representations, such as the comparsas (groups of dancers) and masquerades (smiling giants with painted heads).

These parades also include motorcyclists, men on stilts and local bands. The main march usually takes place last Saturday of the Carnival, leaving the Municipal Spa before heading towards Paseo de los Turistas (Tourist Walk).

The Puntarenas Carnival receives thousands of visitors from all over to dance all night long, enjoy a fire show and participate in a number of recreational activities.

During this festive season, which takes place before Lent, between February and March that region of Costa Rica is full of color and joy.