Inti Raymi

A festival dating back to ancient times, Inti Raymi was a ceremonial event taking place each Winter Solstice in Cuzco, Peru. Each year the locals gathered to ensure good crops by honouring the Sun God, perform ritual sacrifices and pay homage to Inca, the first son of the sun.

Taking place during the winter solstice – when the sun is farthest from the Earth – the celebrants pleaded with the Sun God to return, fasting for days before the event and presenting gifts to the Inca. A lavish feast would ensue, and llamas would be sacrificed to ensure fertile fields. Banned by the Spanish in the 16th Century, the celebrations went underground – later re-emerging as South America’s second-largest festival, with hundreds of thousands of people converging on Cuzco for a week-long celebration marking the beginning of a new year.