San Francisco de Yare travel guide
Red devils, painted masks and a Corpus Christi surrender at the church door
A Tuy Valley town in Miranda state, 70 km south of Caracas, whose dancing devils perform on Corpus Christi in late May or June. A day trip from Caracas is enough. UK advice is against all but essential travel to the area. Costs are hard to predict, and many nationalities get a tourist card on arrival.
San Francisco de Yare, called simply Yare, is the seat of Simón Bolívar Municipality in Miranda state. It lies in the Middle Tuy Valley, some 70 km south of Caracas. Outsiders come for one day a year: Corpus Christi, when the Diablos Danzantes de Yare, the town's dancing devils, fill the streets in red costumes and painted masks.
The brotherhood behind the dance is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the Americas, with roots traced to the 18th century. In 2012 UNESCO added Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi, Yare among them, to its list of intangible cultural heritage.
The ritual is a story of surrender. On the night before, a wake keeps vigil. On the Thursday the devils dance around the main square and through the streets with whips and devil-shaped maracas. At the church door they meet the Eucharist and fight a mock battle with its guardians. Then they kneel.
Outside the festival there is little laid on for visitors. Yare is a working valley town of around 38,000 people, and most travellers who come for Corpus Christi base themselves in Caracas and return the same evening.
Read the current UK advice before planning. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to this part of Venezuela, which matters for insurance.
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Yare is about one event: the Corpus Christi dancing devils, their masks and the ceremony at the church.
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The Thursday about nine weeks after Holy Thursday, with the wake the evening before; this is the reason to go.
The town returns to everyday life; the masks and costumes are not on public show outside the festival period.
Corpus Christi falls on a Thursday; arrive on the Wednesday evening if you want to see the wake that opens the festival.
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Getting there
Caracas airport, then the Tuy Valley road or the Cúa railway
Reaching Yare means flying into Simón Bolívar International Airport at Maiquetía, on the coast north of Caracas, then crossing the capital and heading south into the Tuy Valley. The quickest public option is the Ezequiel Zamora commuter railway to Cúa, followed by a short road trip to Yare. The Ezequiel Zamora commuter railway runs about 41 km from the Libertador Simón Bolívar terminal at La Rinconada in Caracas, linked to metro Line 3, via the two Charallave stations to Cúa in about 30 minutes; the last stretch to Yare is by road. Many visitors on festival day go with a local driver or an organised trip from Caracas instead, which is simpler and can be arranged to return before dark.
- Simón Bolívar International (CCS)
- Maiquetía, north of Caracas
- Ezequiel Zamora railway
- La Rinconada (Caracas) to Cúa, about 30 minutes
- By road
- About 70 km south of Caracas through the Tuy Valley
- Arrange airport transfers in advance with a known operator, and avoid unbooked rides at Maiquetía.
Staying safe
UK advice for Miranda state
Yare is in Miranda state, which UK advice places under all but essential travel only. As checked in October 2026, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to the areas of Venezuela outside its named no-go zones, and Miranda falls in that group. Travel insurance can be invalidated if you travel against official advice, so check the current page at gov.uk and your policy before booking.
- FCDO level
- Against all but essential travel (Venezuela outside listed areas)
- Insurance
- May not be valid against official advice
- Travel in daylight and keep valuables out of sight in festival crowds.
Where to stay
Caracas as base
Yare has very little visitor accommodation, and most people who come for the Dancing Devils sleep in Caracas and travel down to the Tuy Valley for the day. That makes the choice of a Caracas base, and an early start, more important than finding a room in Yare itself. If you stay in the valley, choose somewhere recommended by a trusted contact, since few places are listed by reliable sources. Book Caracas rooms early around the Corpus Christi holiday, and pick a district with easy road access south so the morning drive to the Tuy Valley is short.
- Caracas
- Widest range of hotels; about 70 km from Yare
- Tuy Valley towns
- Limited, basic options; ask a local contact
Getting around
On foot around the square, by car in the valley
Inside Yare, the festival is a walking event: the devils dance around the main square and the surrounding streets before gathering in front of the church, and visitors follow on foot. Getting there and between the Tuy Valley towns is another matter, best done by car with a driver you know. Public buses and shared vans link the Tuy towns, but schedules are informal and they are crowded on festival day.
- Festival route
- Main square, nearby streets, then the church entrance
- Valley travel
- Private driver or organised trip is the practical choice
- Agree your return time with your driver before the festival starts, as the crowds make meeting points hard to find.
Know before you go
What makes San Francisco de Yare worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The surrender at the church door, when the devils kneel before the Eucharist to the slower rhythm of the bamba.
- The masks, whose designs show each dancer's rank in the brotherhood.
- The night-before wake, a quieter side of the festival before the Thursday dance.
Good to know
- The date changes every year, following Easter; check the Corpus Christi Thursday before planning.
- There is little to see outside the festival, so a day trip fits most visitors.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in San Francisco de Yare, month by month
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Corpus Christi Thursday with the Diablos Danzantes
San Francisco de Yare's Dancing Devils perform on Corpus Christi, and the best plan covers Wednesday evening and Thursday. The festival opens on Wednesday night with a wake, the vigil before the dance; if you can stay nearby, it shows the devotional side of the brotherhood before the crowds arrive on Thursday morning.
Thursday morning. Leave Caracas early and be in Yare before the dancing starts. The devils gather in red shirts, trousers and stockings, with canvas sandals, crosses, scapulars and rosaries, a whip and a maraca shaped like a devil. Look closely at the masks: their form shows rank in the fraternity.
Late morning to afternoon. Follow the dancers around the main square and through the streets. The climax comes at the church, where the Eucharist is brought to the entrance. The devils charge, fight a mock battle with the guardians and then kneel, as the music changes to the more reverent bamba. Watch from the edge of the square and avoid pushing to the front.
Before dark. Head back to Caracas. The Dancing Devils of Yare page has more on the tradition itself.
Arepas and cachapas on festival day in the Tuy Valley
Food in Yare on Corpus Christi is street food and home cooking, the standards of central Venezuela. Look for arepas, griddled corn cakes split and filled with cheese, shredded beef or black beans, and for empanadas fried from corn dough, both sold around the festival streets from early in the day.
The cachapa, a thick sweet-corn pancake folded around soft white cheese, is the other everyday snack, and a full plate of pabellón criollo (shredded beef, black beans, rice and fried plantain) is the national lunch if you find a sit-down spot.
On festival day stalls set up near the square, but bring water and something to eat in case lines are long, and carry small cash. For a wider choice, eat in Caracas before you leave or when you return in the evening.
Yare's devils among Venezuela's eleven brotherhoods
Yare is the best known of Venezuela's eleven recognised Corpus Christi devil brotherhoods. The others include Chuao, Cata, Cuyagua, Ocumare de la Costa, Turiamo, Patanemo, Naiguatá, San Millán, Tinaquillo and San Rafael de Orituco, and Yare's red devils are only one of the styles you will see among them.
The traditions are said to go back to the colonial plantations of the 17th and 18th centuries, and UNESCO inscribed them together in 2012 as Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi. Each town has its own mask style and music. Yare's devils are red from head to foot.
Because Corpus Christi is fixed to Easter, it lands on a Thursday between late May and late June. Check the date for your year, and the current UK travel advice, before you commit.
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How we research our San Francisco de Yare travel guide
Yare's Dancing Devils are documented by UNESCO, so we check festival details against the UNESCO World Heritage Centre's Venezuela pages, the town's official website and Wikipedia, and safety against UK Foreign Office advice.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of San Francisco de YareUNESCO World Heritage CentreUK Foreign Office travel advice
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting San Francisco de Yare.
Timing & weather
On Corpus Christi, a Thursday about nine weeks after Holy Thursday, so between late May and late June. A wake is held the evening before.
In 2012, as part of Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi.
The best time to visit San Francisco de Yare is Corpus Christi (late May or June). The only time the devils dance; the date moves with Easter.
- Corpus Christi: Late May - June (The Thursday about nine weeks after Holy Thursday, with the wake the evening before; this is the reason to go)
- Rest of the year: July - April (The town returns to everyday life; the masks and costumes are not on public show outside the festival period)
Getting there
About 70 km south, in the Middle Tuy Valley of Miranda state.
The Ezequiel Zamora commuter line runs from La Rinconada in Caracas to Cúa in about 30 minutes; the rest of the trip is by road.
Simón Bolívar International at Maiquetía (CCS), north of Caracas.
Reaching Yare means flying into Simón Bolívar International Airport at Maiquetía, on the coast north of Caracas, then crossing the capital and heading south into the Tuy Valley. The quickest public option is the Ezequiel Zamora commuter railway to Cúa, followed by a short road trip to Yare. The Ezequiel Zamora commuter railway runs about 41 km from the Libertador Simón Bolívar terminal at La Rinconada in Caracas, linked to metro Line 3, via the two Charallave stations to Cúa in about 30 minutes; the last stretch to Yare is by road.
General
As of October 2026 the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Venezuela outside its named no-go areas, which includes Miranda. This can affect travel insurance.
Red shirts, trousers and stockings, canvas sandals and a painted devil mask, with crosses, rosaries and scapulars, a whip and a devil-shaped maraca.
The devils stage a mock fight with the guardians of the Eucharist, then kneel in surrender as the music slows to the bamba.
Most visitors sleep in Caracas, as the town has little accommodation. Stay only where a trusted local contact recommends.
Yes. Ten other brotherhoods dance on Corpus Christi, including Chuao, Naiguatá, Ocumare de la Costa and San Rafael de Orituco.
Inside Yare, the festival is a walking event: the devils dance around the main square and the surrounding streets before gathering in front of the church, and visitors follow on foot. Getting there and between the Tuy Valley towns is another matter, best done by car with a driver you know. Public buses and shared vans link the Tuy towns, but schedules are informal and they are crowded on festival day.
Visa & documents
Citizens of many countries arriving by air receive a tourist card for up to 90 days on arrival; others, and those arriving overland, may need a visa in advance.
Health & safety
Yare is in Miranda state, which UK advice places under all but essential travel only. As checked in October 2026, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to the areas of Venezuela outside its named no-go zones, and Miranda falls in that group. Travel insurance can be invalidated if you travel against official advice, so check the current page at gov.uk and your policy before booking.
