2017 Inti Raymi Festival Tour and Tickets Now Open for Reservations

Cusco, Peru, March 07, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Entrance tickets and tours to the “Inti Raymi” (The Festival of the Sun) are now available online at IntiRaymiPeru.com

Peru’s “Inti Raymi” or Festival of the Sun is one of the top tourist attractions of the world. It is celebrated every year on the 24th of June where thousands of people from around the world arrive in Cusco to witness the most beautiful re-enactment of the most important festival of the Inca Empire.

The “Inti Raymi” was a celebration of the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year in terms of the time between sunrise and sunset and also the Inca New Year. It lasted for nine days and was filled with colorful dances and processions, as well as animal sacrifices to thank Pachamama or Mother Earth and to ensure a good cropping season. The first Inti Raymi was celebrated in 1412.

This year's 2017 “Inti Raymi” will again be on June 24th, and it will take place in three historic and natural sceneries:

The first stage takes place at the “Qorikancha” or the temple of the Sun of the Incas; the most important temple in the Inca Empire. Crowds gather along the street to get their first glimpse of the hundreds of actors who will reenact the year’s Inti Raymi. Among them, the Inka and his female companion, the Qoya, greet the sun deity, Inti, and ask for a successful ceremony and prosperous year. The celebration begins at 9:00 a.m. and lasts 45 minutes.

Eventually, the entire coterie begins to make its way to the main square of Cusco, the "Plaza de Armas," for a modern addition to the festivities known as the Meeting of the Times. Women toss flowers, swing incense, and sweep the streets in front of the Inca, who is carried on a litter or wheelless vehicle. He’s accompanied by conch-horn "pututo" blowers, soldiers, Queens and Princesses "ñustas," and other actors representing key figures of the Inca court. The Inca also performs a coca leaf ceremony, and addresses the "Apus" or god mountain deities. Then, he gives a speech directed at Cusco’s current mayor, urging good governance as he speaks from a ceremonial platform known as an "ushnu." This part of the reenactments begins at 11:00 a.m. and ends one hour later.

The third and most important stage is at the fortress of “Saksaywaman” which is a citadel anon the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Groups representing the four Inca States, or "Suyos," perform their traditional dances and give their reports to the Inca King. There are rituals involving fermented corn beer (chicha), bonfires, and a llama sacrifice in order to foretell the future of the Inca Empire from its entrails. While the actual sacrificed llama is not a real animal, the reenactment seems real and it ends with an uproar of general exaltation. Here the ceremony begins at 13:30 p.m. and lasts for one and half hours.

There are only 3,500 tickets available, so on the day of the event about 100 thousand people gather in the surrounding mountains to catch what they can of the central ceremonies. To make advanced reservations and not miss this amazing festival, visit the IntiRaymiPeru.com website where you reserve The full Inti Raymi tour which includes all of the stages of the “Inti Raymi” with exclusive seating at the main event in Sacsayhuaman, a box lunch, guide and transportation. Since all of the spoken parts of the Inti Raymi celebration, are in "Quechua," the tour guides provide translation.

The weeks prior to and following Inti Raymi are full of open-air concerts and almost daily dance parades. This is because June is also considered Cusco’s anniversary, its Jubilee Month. If you’re planning on visiting Cusco in June, its recommended that you contact IntiRaymiPeru as they also can help you with all of your travel needs. IntiRaymiPeru.com uses the infrastructure and technology of MachuPicchu.Center, an online platform for all Machu Picchu travel such as flights, entrance tickets, train tickets, lodging and tours.