Inti Raymi: The Great Festival of Cusco

In Cusco, every year, in Peru, on June 24th (the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere), Cusco celebrates the Inca Festival of the Sun – Inti Raymi. Created by the Inca Pachacutec, Inti Raymi was a tribute to the revered Sun God Inti. Today, the festival attracts thousands of local and international visitors to the ancient Inca capital – Cusco – to celebrate one of the most important events of the calendar year.

History of the Inti Raymi

During Inca times, Cusco was the scene of four major festivals, the most important of them was the Inti Raymi. This festival had its first appearance with the Inca Pachacutec around 1430.

The Incas met every winter solstice in the imperial city to welcome the Sun God. On the night of June 23 to 24, the torches of the Tahuantinsuyo were extinguished to await the sunrise.

At this time, up to 50000 people arrived in Cusco from all points of the empire to be part of the celebrations that lasted about 15 days. During these two weeks, all the attendees, included the Inca and his family, priests, nobles and other personalities of the Tahuantinsuyo, met in the current Plaza de Armas. In this place, they danced, drank chicha, burned coca leaves and, according to historians, sacrificed around 200 llamas in honor of Inti.

All these celebrations were carried out to thank this god for the harvests of the year and for everything facilitated on earth. Thus, on June 24, the Inca arrived at the Plaza de Armas to await the sunrise and toast with a glass of chicha, from which his family also drank and whose remains were thrown to the ground. After this, they made a pilgrimage to the temple of Qoricancha, where they continued with the celebrations.

Due to the importance of this celebration, June 24 and the Inti Raymi party marked the beginning of a new year for the Incas.

The Inti Raymi Today in Cusco

The modern recreation of Inti Raymi still retains all its majestic glory, although without the procession of ancient mummies and the sacrifice of a single animal at the culmination of the day’s celebrations. The celebrations begin in the morning on the large open court at the front of the Inca Temple of the Sun – Korikancha.

With the arrival of the representatives of the four suyos of the Inca Empire (Qollasuyu, Kuntisuyu, Antisuyu and Chinchaysuyu), the Inca of Sapa opens the festivities with the invocation of the praise to the sun god – Inti. From Korokancha the royal entourage continues the short distance to the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. A ceremonial reading of the sacred coca leaf is held to foresee the fate of the Inca Empire for the coming year.

The ancient Inca archaeological site of Saqsayhuman is where the final part of the recreation takes place. Thousands of local spectators crowd into the surrounding hills to watch the ceremony, while the main arena of Saqsayhuman has front row seats. Dressed in full costume, the Inca pronounces his last words in Quechua before the ritual sacrifice of a llama. The festival ends when the air is filled with the sound of horns, panpipes and drums.

Watching The Festival of Sun in Cusco

On the day itself, everything begins at Q’oricancha. They then move on to the Plaza de Armas before continuing to Sacsayhuaman. In the Incan times, these were the most important places for ceremonies, which is why they are the main spots today.

Q’oricancha means Temple of the Sun and can be visited during your time in Cusco. From here the Incas worshipped the Sun God, ‘Inti’.

It’s said that when the Spanish first set foot in Cusco, this building was the most spectacular they had seen in all the Americas. Everything was plated in gold, the garden full of beautiful flora and fauna, also made from gold with a little silver.

Imagine seeing this magnificent site with golden life-sized corns and gold-fleeced alpacas on the lawn. It must have been incredible!

As well as all this, Q’oricancha was home to many Incan mummies. They were wrapped in divine clothes and set to rest on golden thrones forevermore.

Unfortunately, upon seeing this wonderful building, the Spaniards took all the gold they could find, leaving only the stone construction that was underneath. This is what we see today. If you want to see the start of Inti Raymi from here you need to get there very early in the morning.

In the Plaza de Armas the ‘Incas’ stop for a short while to perform a part of the ceremony. The best way to see this is to get to a balcony on one of the restaurants or cafes that surround it and watch it all from there.

They end up in Sacsayhuaman where the main part of the ceremony takes place. This tends to go on for around 3 hours and is full of Incan chants and music. The whole event takes place in the Quechua language and is an experience you really shouldn’t miss!

Plan Ahead and Enjoy This Spectacular Event

If you are visiting in June and will be here on the 24^th, make sure you get to see this event at any of the 3 locations. It’s well worth it and will be something you’ll remember always. It’s a wonderful way to see how traditions are being kept and to give you a greater insight into the Incas and how they celebrated special events. Enjoy!

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