Peru Holiday Closures on 8 and 9 December 2026

PERU · HOLIDAYS

Peru stops work for two days in the second week of December. Here is what closes, what keeps running and what it means for a trip.

Peru holiday closures this December fall on two weekdays in a row. Tuesday, 8 December, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and Wednesday, 9 December, marks the Battle of Ayacucho.

Both are national holidays, so public offices shut and workers in the public and private sectors get a paid day off. The US Embassy in Lima will also be closed to the public on both days, according to its holiday list.

For a US visitor on a short trip, little of this gets in the way. The law sets holiday pay; it does not order shops, restaurants or tour firms to close.

Americans who live in Peru, run a business there or need consular help should plan around both dates.

Two National Holidays in a Row

The 8 December holiday is the Roman Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception. The 9 December holiday remembers the 1824 battle that sealed Peru’s independence from Spain.

The Ayacucho date is one of four holidays the previous single-chamber Congress added from 2021 to 2023, RPP radio reported. The others are 7 June, 23 July and 6 August, which took Peru from 12 to 16 national holidays.

Four national holidays remain in 2026 after the Angamos naval holiday on Thursday, 8 October, the government’s gob.pe calendar shows. They are Sunday, 1 November, Tuesday, 8 December, Wednesday, 9 December, and Friday, 25 December.

The government can also decree extra non-working days. For 2026 it chose Friday, 2 January, and Monday, 27 July, for the public sector, RPP reported in August.

A Holiday Is Not the Same as a Day Off

Peruvian law separates two kinds of break. A national holiday, or feriado, is set by law and gives paid rest to public and private workers alike.

A non-working day is decreed by the executive, mostly for the public sector, and lost hours must be made up, Andina explains. Private employers apply it only by agreement with their staff.

Under Legislative Decree 713, a private-sector employee who works on a holiday without a substitute day off is owed triple pay. That covers the holiday itself, the work done and a 100% surcharge, Andina and El Comercio report.

The two December dates are holidays, not decreed days off. The right to paid rest therefore covers private employees as well as civil servants.

What Closes and What Keeps Running

Public offices generally close on both days, since state employees get the holidays off. Expats with paperwork pending at Migraciones, the immigration service, should plan around the dates.

The Ombudsman’s Office, Peru’s human rights watchdog, has warned that halting public-sector work can delay health, education and justice services. It made the point in a report to the government and Congress on new holidays, RPP reported.

The US Embassy in Lima says it will be closed to the public on Tuesday, 8 December, and Wednesday, 9 December. Its list also shows closures on Monday, 12 October, for the Angamos holiday, and on Friday, 25 December.

In November, the embassy also shuts for two US holidays: Veterans Day on Wednesday, 11 November, and Thanksgiving on Thursday, 26 November. US citizens in the south can also reach the US Consular Agency in Cusco, at Avenida El Sol 449.

Private businesses decide for themselves. Restaurants, hotels and tour operators are free to open, provided they pay holiday staff as the law requires.

Travel Over the Break

Peru’s tourism trade says short breaks favour short trips. Before the one-day Angamos holiday, Carlos Loayza of Canatur, the national tourism chamber, expected families to choose nearby destinations and full-day excursions.

From Lima, he named the Caral ruins to the north, the Lunahuaná valley to the south and Chosica inland, Andina reported. No travel forecast for the December holidays has been published.

Machu Picchu tickets are sold by the Culture Ministry through its Tu Boleto website, tuboleto.cultura.pe. Book entry and train seats early for any date around the holidays.

This December also comes with an El Niño warning. On Monday, 28 September, the US Embassy issued a weather alert for US citizens in Peru.

Among the regions most likely to be affected, it lists the northern and central coast, from Tumbes to Lima and Callao. Heavy rain there could bring floods and mudslides, known as huaicos.

Landslides could also block the Carretera Central, the main highway east from Lima, the embassy said.

For Cusco and Puno, the alert flags drought and water shortages rather than floods. The embassy based it on Peruvian government and other non-US data, not on a US forecast.

Entry Rules and Safety for US Visitors

US citizens need no visa for tourist stays of less than 90 days, according to the State Department. Passports must be valid for six months from the date of entry, with one blank page for the stamp.

Border officers set the length of each stay on arrival, and overstays bring fines that must be paid before departure. Check that your entry is recorded, because travellers without an entry record can face an exit fine.

The State Department rates Peru Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, in an advisory issued on Friday, 4 September. It cites crime, unrest, kidnapping and terrorism, and says protests can shut roads and trains without warning.

Four cities are rated Level 4, Do Not Travel: Abancay, Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Huancayo. So are the river valleys known as the VRAEM and the Colombia border area in Loreto.

The Pampa de la Quinua battlefield lies outside the city of Ayacucho, but visitors usually travel there via the city. The advisory says the city of Cusco and the popular tourist sites nearby are outside the affected areas.

For taxis, the State Department advises private taxi companies or ride apps, not cabs hailed on the street. It calls road travel at night particularly hazardous and says bus crashes with multiple deaths are common.

The department lists US$30,000 as the cash limit for entry, and amounts above US$10,000 must be declared. For help on the road, iPerú, the tourist information service, answers on +51 944-492-314.

The US Embassy is at Avenida La Encalada, block 17, in Santiago de Surco, Lima, on +51-1-618-2000. From abroad, the State Department’s consular line is +1-202-501-4444.

The Debate Over Peru’s Holidays

Business groups say Peru has too many holidays. Felipe James, who heads the National Society of Industries, says each holiday cuts output by about S/500 million (about US$145 million).

The estimate comes from the industry group’s own research institute, RPP reported. Conversions use the Central Reserve Bank of Peru’s bank-system selling rate of 6 October, S/3.437 per US dollar.

Economy Minister Elmer Cuba proposed in August moving holidays that fall from Tuesday to Friday to the nearest Monday. He argued that Monday breaks are better for families and for business.

Luis Villanueva, president of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP), a union federation, also called 16 holidays excessive. He noted that the holidays were created by law, so Congress would have a say.

As of 8 October, the proposal had not changed the calendar. Andina’s list of the remaining 2026 holidays still shows 8 and 9 December.

What It Means for You

If you are visiting, the law does not close restaurants, hotels or tours, so a holiday trip is possible. Plan anything that needs a government office for Monday, 7 December, or Thursday, 10 December.

If you live in Peru, book Migraciones and other official appointments away from the two dates. For consular services, remember that the embassy is also closed on 11 and 26 November and on 25 December.

If you employ staff in Peru, pay triple for holiday work unless you grant a substitute rest day. If you travel on the coast or the Carretera Central, check El Niño alerts nearer the time.

What Is Not Known

It is not known whether the government will add Monday, 7 December, as a non-working day for the public sector. RPP’s August report listed only 2 January and 27 July as non-working days for 2026.

Banks’ branch hours for the two holidays are not yet known. It is also unclear whether Elmer Cuba’s plan to move midweek holidays to Mondays will become law, or when.

No forecast can yet say what the weather will be on 8 and 9 December.

What Comes Next

The next holiday is All Saints’ Day on Sunday, 1 November, which falls on a weekend this year. After the December pair comes Christmas on Friday, 25 December, which gives Peru a three-day weekend.

New Year’s Day, on Friday, 1 January 2027, creates another long weekend. None of these dates changes the entry rules or the State Department advisory.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the public holidays in Peru in December 2026?

Peru has three national holidays in December 2026: Tuesday, 8 December, Wednesday, 9 December, and Friday, 25 December. They mark the Immaculate Conception, the Battle of Ayacucho and Christmas.

Is the US Embassy in Lima open on 8 and 9 December?

The embassy says it will be closed to the public on both days. It also closes on 11 and 26 November and on 25 December.

Do US citizens need a visa to visit Peru in December?

No visa is needed for tourist stays of less than 90 days, according to the State Department. Your passport must be valid for six months from the date of entry.

Sources: Government of Peru, national holidays 2026 (gob.pe); US Embassy in Peru, holiday closures list (dates match the 2026 calendar); US Embassy in Peru, El Niño weather alert (28 September 2026); US Embassy in Peru, security alert with iPerú and embassy contacts (5 October 2026); US State Department, Peru travel advisory (4 September 2026); US State Department, Peru country information; Central Reserve Bank of Peru, exchange rate series; Culture Ministry, Tu Boleto; Andina, remaining 2026 holidays (8 October 2026); Andina, Canatur on holiday travel (8 October 2026); El Comercio, holiday pay (8 October 2026); RPP, the holiday debate (18 August 2026); RPP, October holiday (8 October 2026) (all accessed 8 October 2026).