Carnival of Icod de los Vinos: a wake on the square, a funeral procession towards the Centinela bridge and a wandering Sunday
At four o'clock on Saturday afternoon, the sardine arrives on the Plaza Luis de León Huerta, and the wake begins. At seven in the evening the procession sets off with it towards the Centinela bridge, and the day ends on the Plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres with the big dance of the widows and widowers. That's how Icod de los Vinos said goodbye to carnival, according to the 2025 programme.
The Icod carnival is one of the carnivals of Tenerife's north, and its calendar moves around more than its neighbours'. One thing to flag up front: there are fewer reliable sources on Icod than on the other Tenerife carnivals. The full 2026 programme, for example, was published not on the town's website but only on event listing sites, so here we only describe what an official source also backs up.
When it usually happens
The Icod carnival is in February or early March. The big parade, the Gran Coso Apoteosis, is on a Sunday, but not always the same Sunday:
In 2025, according to the official programme, the carnival ran from 15 February to 8 March. The Coso was set for 2 March, Carnival Sunday, three days before Ash Wednesday, and the burial of the sardine (Entierro de la Sardina) for Saturday 8 March, already after Ash Wednesday.
In 2026, according to the Canary Islands tourist board, the Coso was on 22 February, the Sunday after Ash Wednesday.
In 2024 the murga contest (certamen), for the carnival's satirical singing groups, was on Friday 16 February on the Magalona stage, two days after Ash Wednesday.
In other words, in recent years the carnival has run across Ash Wednesday, but the big parade has fallen sometimes before it and sometimes after. The exact programme is published by the town, and here especially it pays to wait for it. As soon as it's out, we add it to our agenda.
One sign for 2027: according to a press report, among its local holidays for 2027 Icod has marked 23 February as Carnival Tuesday. That's the same day Santa Cruz de Tenerife chose for its own carnival, moved two weeks later. This is a sign, not a programme.
What happens
Based on the official 2025 programme:
The Gran Coso Apoteosis goes from La Centinela to the Plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres, and a big dance starts on the square when it arrives. In 2025 it set off at five in the afternoon.
The schools' Coso (Coso Escolar) sets off at ten in the morning from the Barranco Preceptor to the same square, with the town's schools taking part.
The big gala (Gran Gala del Carnaval), where the Queen is chosen.
The contest of the local murgas (Certamen de murgas icodenses), towards the end of carnival.
The drag queen and transformismo gala, in 2025 already in its ninth edition.
The burial of the sardine: a wake on the Plaza Luis de León Huerta, the procession setting off towards the Centinela bridge at seven in the evening, and finally the widows' and widowers' dance on the Plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres.
In 2025 Icod hosted the murga contest of Tenerife's north (XXXI Concurso de Murgas del Norte) and its children's version as well. In the mayor's words: "It's a source of pride to be the home of carnival this year." Whether that's the case in other years too, we have no source.
A different theme every year
The Icod carnival also picks a theme every year. In 2024 the motto was "El Carnaval + Animado", and in 2025 it was "Un jardín secreto", a secret garden, with a poster by Nareme Melián.
Practical information
The main square is the Plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres: the parades arrive here, and the dances are held here.
The gala venue can change from year to year. In 2024 the galas were on the stage in Calle La Magalona, next to the old municipal market, and in 2025 on the big stage set up at the Antigua Bloquera Dorta (Carretera a Santa Bárbara 8).
Our advice: before you book travel or accommodation for a specific day, wait for that year's programme, and check the date against an official source.
If you'd like to see the town as well as the carnival: Drago Milenario of Icod de los Vinos: a complete guide to visiting, and for what lies beyond the dragon tree: Icod de los Vinos beyond the Drago: a guide to the old town. And you'll find the calendar of every Canary carnival here: Carnival in the Canary Islands: where, when, and which one to choose.
Cover photo: Icod de los Vinos with the Drago Milenario (not a carnival photo), 2010, Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources: Icod de los Vinos town hall, the 2025 carnival programme · Turismo de Canarias, the 2026 Gran Coso · Icod de los Vinos town hall, the 2024 murga contest · Diario de Avisos on the 2027 local holidays
