Are you feeling the travel bug? No wonder! Most festivals have been cancelled for the remainder of the year, leaving us festival lovers with not much to do right now!

However, we have still compiled (and updated) our list with the best psytrance festivals in the world. All of the gatherings below have been included for one reason or another – every festival is special and worth adding to your travel bucket list.

Don’t forget to also check out our Psytrance Festival Calendar – which is a more comprehensive list of upcoming parties – besides the top 33 psytrance festivals we have listed below.

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Universo Paralello Festival – Brazil

Universo Paralello is one of the best experiences you can have in South America. The popular beach festival has been a part of the Brazilian electronic scene for 2 decades.

Every edition of Universo Paralello seems to grow, making it a hot bucket list item for anyone psytrance traveller. And if you’re not sold yet…

While it used to take place in Chapada dos Veadeiros, Universo Paralello’s current location is Praia da Pratigi, a paradise beach location in north-eastern Brazil. It’s hot, humid and a beautiful place for a week.

Universo Paralello features a wide variety of electronic music. There are over 1000 artists over the eight days. More than 20 000 attendees rock up from all around the world, however, you’re bound to bump into a bunch of Brazilian locals. Obrigado!

Boom Festival – Portugal

If you’ve ever been to a psytrance festival or listen to psytrance music, you’ve probably come across Boom Festival – arguably one of the largest psytrance gatherings in the world.

Typically Boom Festival takes place every two years and was set to take place in July 2020, but due to the pandemic, there will be a Boom Festival 2021 next year!

Why does every psytrance fan take the pilgrimage to Portugal for Boom Festival at least once in their lifetime?

Over a week, you’ll get to experience some of the most popular artists at the moment across several stages (the Boom 2021 lineup is confirmed), performing arts, multimedia paintings, bio construction, theatre, cinema, conferences, workshops, installations and more. It’s a vast festival playground!

It’s incredibly hot during the summer in Portugal, which makes the Idanha-a-Nova dam a luxury for relaxing in during the day. It’s a melting point for psytrance travellers from around the world, and you’re bound to have the best experience.

The land of Boom Festival is truly one of the most beautiful landscapes in Portugal, which offers a nearby visit of the historic village of Monsanto and is integrated within Geoparque Naturtejo – a zone which has been classified by UNESCO, due to its geological riches and valuable natural, historical and cultural heritage.

You can also read our review of Boom Festival from a previous edition.

Ozora Festival – Hungary

Did you know Ozora Festival takes its name from the village of Ozora in Tolna County, Hungary? While the small village has a population of 2000 people, around 60 000 attendees transcend to the region to party during the summer!

Besides for the mainstage, Ozora Festival hosts a beautiful Pum Pui Stage and Chill Dome – which plays a variety of techno, deep house, chill-out, and more. We’re super stoked for Ozora Festival 2021 next year, which takes place just a few weeks before Boom Festival.

Modem Festival – Croatia

If you’re a fan of harder sub-genres of psytrance music (like hi-tech, forest, etc), Momento Demento or Modem Festival should be on your bucket list. Counteracting the darker styles of music, you’re presented with one of the most beautiful venues in Croatia.

While Modem Festival 2021 is already sold out, you might be lucky enough to purchase a ticket that has been refunded. It takes place just after Ozora Festival too. Good luck!

Rainbow Serpent – Australia

Sadly, Rainbow Serpent was cancelled earlier this year due to a massive bush-fire that took place at the venue, however hopefully Rainbow Serpent 2021 will be back next year. It looks like festivals in Australia are hopefully kicking off again – which is great news.

Rainbow Serpent was founded in 1997 and has been a staple on Australia’s bush doof calendar for two decades. The 4-night, 5-day festival attracts a large crowd from around the world, who are spread across five different stages.

The middle of January is hot in Australia, so that is something to take note of. Don’t forget to pack appropriately and drink enough water! Victoria has beautiful mountains, national parks, wineries and surfing beaches.

Origin Festival – South Africa

This beautiful psytrance festival which takes place in Cape Town, South Africa is essentially a showcase for the Nano Records label. Even though it takes place on the tip of Africa, it’s still one of the largest festivals in Africa, and often attracts international travellers.

Origin Festival boasts two dance floors, with the primary focusing on psychedelic and progressive music, whilst the latter forest stage focuses on techno, house and ambient music. There’s always a ton of visionary arts and popups prominent around the festival grounds, which makes the beautiful Helderstroom region even more beautiful.

Read our interview with Origin Festival founder – Regan, for more insight on the festival’s beginnings.

Hill Top Festival

Most people are aware Goa has attracted hippies for decades. Dancing the transcending music on the beach to psychedelics attracted many rebellious Westerners. The scene is still alive and kicking and Hill Top Festival is something to check out.

As the name suggests, the open-air venue sits atop the hill in Vagato. The décor is extremely well put together and the music absolute bangs. They always manage to attract an awesome line-up. Even after pressure from the local authorities, the venue hasn’t had too many issues yet.

Festival Ometeotl – Mexico

The Mexican transformational festival Ometeotl refers to the Aztec God, or highest power there is. Ancient practices and ceremonies are integrated into the festival, which makes it a unique cultural experience.

The festival grounds are tranquil, with a small lake that separates the two stages from the camping area. The market, visionary art gallery and food court are also all nearby.

Vortex Parallel Universe – South Africa

Vortex Parallel Universe is the production team that hosts what is commonly known as Easter Vortex, a 3-day festival experience that takes place over Easter weekend.

It’s kind of a religious celebration of its own I spent many Easters here over the years! The crew are friendly and the music is always fantastic. Cape Town during this time is much cooler, which makes dancing for long durations more pleasurable. Hopefully South African festivals open up again soon.

Noisily Festival of Music & Arts – UK

Set deep in the rolling hills of Leicestershire at the heart of rural England, Noisily has quickly risen to the tops and become a popular festival psytrance fans across the UK. Last year the festival sold out quickly, so we urge you to grab tickets if you are interested.

VooV Experience – Germany

The VooV team have been throwing parties in Germany for decades and are one of the oldest promoters in the country. Their earlier festivals gathered upwards of 20 000 attendees. After a slight hiatus, VooV returned in 2014 and has been growing ever since. The German festival currently takes place in Putlitz, between Hamburg and Berlin.

Hadra Trance Festival – France

Hadra was started in 2001 by a small group of electronic music lovers. After a few hiccups with authorities, Hadra Trance Festival will return to close this summer season for the fourth time at the Plan d’eau de Vieure in the Allier. The French festival draws a crowd from throughout Europe and attendance numbers top over 10 000 people.

FLOW Experience – Austria

Despite having to reschedule to the coronavirus pandemic, FLOW Experience will return to their home in Tritolstraße, Austria for yet another edition of the festival. The intimate Austrian gathering features two dance floors focused on psychedelic and progressive music.

Mundo de Oz – Brazil

Mundo de Oz is yet another popular Brazilian festival in Aldeia Outro Mundo, Lagoinha. Now heading towards its 11th edition, the festival has been growing in numbers. Due to the coronavirus, Mundo de Oz was rescheduled to the end of October.

Mushroom Valley Festival – Australia

Over the past six years, Australian Mushroom Valley has evolved into something more than a music festival. It has become a community of bush doofers. Situated in a magical landscape between the Whitsundays and Mackay in Central Queensland, the sub-tropical setting is the perfect complement to the eclectic electronic music the festival has to offer.

Organik – South Africa

Coming from humble beginnings, Organik has quietly grown into one of Cape Town’s most respected festivals. Their annual events, Gain Dream and Love Project, provide two opportunities to connect with the outdoors.

Vortex Open Source – South Africa

The Vortex Trance Adventures crew have been a staple in the South African psytrance scene for more than two decades. They currently host a full 4-night, 5-day festival experience just a few hours outside of Cape Town.

Their annual summer festival – Open Source, has sadly been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, we’re hoping to see them return soon.

The Experience Festival – Thailand

experience festival thailand

How does a psychedelic festival on a tropical beach in sound? That’s exactly what The Experience Festival is! Better yet, it takes place over New Year’s Eve – definitely a bucket list experience.

The Experience Festival takes place on the small island of Koh Tao. A few years ago, things got a bit crazy with the weather – however, that’s expected with tropical paradise. The festival has been around for more than a decade, and we hope to see the next edition soon!

Being a tourist island, there are a ton of other activities to do including relaxing on the beautiful beaches, snorkelling, rock climbing, restaurants and more.

Earth Frequency Festival – Australia

Frequency Festival is a music, arts, lifestyle and environmental festival based in South-East Queensland, Australia, with a strong focus on arts, education, healing and community spirit. Some might refer to them as bush doofs.

From its origins as a small party in 2005, Earth Frequency has now become one of Australia’s foremost transformational gatherings. At Earth Frequency, you can always expect an amazing mixture of live and electronic music, performance, visionary art, workshops and lectures, a family and kids space, fantastic food and markets area, and of course a positive community vibe.

The beautiful outdoor venue features top-notch facilities, comfortable campgrounds, and it is conveniently located under an hour from Brisbane and just 20 minutes from Ipswich.

Psychedelic Experience Festival – Germany

Psychedelic Experience Festival takes place in Northern Germany, in a town called Lübz. You’ll experience delicious German cuisine and cool psychedelic side-activities will be present at this spectacular event with a main stage hosting a variety of psychedelic music.

Alien Safari – South Africa

The team behind Alien Safari have been throwing parties for almost two decades – and they’ve constantly been turning out some of the most high-quality parties in South Africa. No matter if their party takes place on the beach or in a forest, you’re bound to get a great experience at an Alien Safari party. They’re often praised for old school roots.

Mandallah Festival – Brazil

The South American day party has been taking place for over a decade, more recently in Andradas. The festival has grown over the years and will celebrate its 15th edition in 2020. Although some might argue the festival has become too commercial, it is one of the biggest festivals in Brazil today.

Antaris Project – Germany

Celebrating their 25th anniversary, Antaris Projekt (Against War! For Friendship, Peace and Freedom) is one of the earlier psytrance festivals in the [German] season and is known to be a welcoming environment for the whole family and foreign visitors. Did you know, Germany is Europe’s second-largest beer-drinking country!

Burning Mountain Festival – Switzerland

burningmountain

The unique location lies in the Engadin Valley of the Swiss Alps, one of the highest inhabited valleys of Europe, home to 1000 people. Following the end of the ice age, an 80-kilometre long valley opened up in the modern Swiss canton of Graubünden, at a height of 1,800 metres above sea level. It’s a perfect location for a psytrance festival!

Shankra Festival – Switzerland

At Shankra Festival you’ll get to dance, laugh and be blessed between the gigantic mountains in Lostallo (Graubunden). This Swiss psytrance festival has a valley which invites you to deepen your level of consciousness by offering you the ideal wonderful space to fully express yourself.

S.U.N Festival – Hungary

The S.U.N (Solar United Natives) Festival includes members from the original Ozora Festival team and has been hosting festivals since 2013. The Hungarian festival did not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic but will return in July 2021.

Eclipse Festival – Canada

While North America isn’t particularly known for psytrance parties, Eclipse Festival have been around for more than 15 years and are worthy of adding to your bucket list.

The five-day Canadian festival takes place in an enchanted site of Bonnet Rouge Rafting in Sainte-Thérèse-de-la-Gatineau during a solar eclipse. It didn’t go as planned this year due to the pandemic, however Eclipse Festival 2021 is already on the cards!-

Free Earth Festival – Greece

Although Free Earth Festival took a hiatus in 2015, the Greek festival has continued to grow in recent years. The festival takes place on the picturesque Azapiko Beach in Sithonia’s wild west. Free Earth Festival features several stages and a beautiful crystal-clear beach to relax on.

Psy-Fi Festival – Netherlands

Psy-Fi Festival has only been around a few years, however they’ve quickly become one of the most popular festivals in Europe. In fact, only 20% of festival attendees are locals – so clearly it’s a big one on the psytrance travelers bucket list!

While Psy-Fi was expected to take place in 2020, it was postponed due to the pandemic, but Psy-Fi Festival 2021 has already been confirmed. Not a bad reason to visit the Netherlands!

Indian Spirit Festival – Germany

Indian Spirit started out as a small psychedelic party in 2007. While they took a small hiatus during a period, expect Indian Spirit 2021 to return next year.

The festival is held at the end of August or early September, much earlier than the other German psytrance festivals. The music caters towards a more mainstream crowd.

ZNA Gathering – Portugal

ZNA Gathering is another popular festival in Portugal taking place on Montargirl Lake. The concept is to bring feelings and sounds from the recent past back to life in a very friendly atmosphere through a special outdoor gathering.

The primary music includes goa trance and psytrance from the early periods. A unique location, under the shade of trees, in the middle of nature, built with love by dancers for dancers – definitely a bucket list experience!

Insomnia Festival – Portugal

Insomnia Festival takes place in rural northern Portugal, about 3km from the town of São Gião. It has been around for over a decade and has become a popular favourite for locals.

The four-day experience takes places in the beautiful forest right on the river of Alva. The pandemic stopped their plans this year, however expect Insomnia Festival 2021 next year!

Freedom Festival – Portugal

In the late ’90s, a group of friends began throwing intimate events to showcase psychedelic and Goa music. From that same group, the DMTeam and Crystal Matrix teams were born. Freedom Festival takes place in Portugal, however it’s been a while since their last edition.

Respect Festival – Brazil

Respect Festival was founded more than a decade ago. Over that time the crew hosted over 20 events in order to raise awareness of nature, mutual respect and bringing everyone together. It’s definitely a festival you should check out if you’re in Brazil.