Some Traditional Festivals in Cusco and surrounding villages:

+ Señor de Choquekillca, in Ollantaytambo: held on the Sunday before Qoyllur R'iti and continuing over 4 days, celebrates the town's patron saint. The fiesta includes many traditional and allegorical costumes and dances, processions,church masses, fireworks, a cockfight and also a bullfight. May 22nd to 25th cuscoclub@gmail.com

+ Qoyllur Rit´i, near Ausangate: the name means 'Snow Star' in Quechua and is a festival with pre-Columbian origins, in which religious pilgrims climb a mountain glacier, pay tribute to the ´Apu´ (mountain spirit) and celebrate with traditional dances. Pilgrims begin in the small Andean pueblo of Mahuayani and walk for about 4 hours, they have to pass by 9 crosses and shrines to get to the sanctuary, located in Sinakhara, at about 4600 m. The main event is carried out by ukukus (masked ´tricksters´ , said to be offspring of a woman and a bear). They climb the glaciers to bring back crosses and blocks of ice which are said to be medicinal. Qoyllur Rit'i lasts a few days, from around Saturday May 29th to Tuesday June 1st, and is recommended only for those in good physical condition and acclimated to high altitudes. cuscoclub@gmail.com

+ Corpus Christi, an important Christian celebration with strong Incan traditions combined. Saints (their statues, that is) are brought in from all around the area, and carried in a day´s long procession around the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral. This year it falls on Thursday, June 3rd.

+ Q'eswachaka bridge ´reweaving´, in Canas province, on the second Sunday in June (the 13th). The bridge is located across the Apurimac river, at about 13,000 feet, and spans 120 feet. It is rebuilt every one or two years as communal effort by about 700 men and women from the local communities of Huinchiri and Ccollana who come to Q'eswachaka for the Festival of the Construction of the Bridge. The weaving and construction techniques have passed from generation to generation since the bridge was first built by the Incas hundreds of years ago.

+ Cusco Day parades – on June 23rd, the day prior to Inti Raymi (below); processions go on all day starting from Avenida del Sol to the Plaza de Armas. Very crowded so worth finding a good spot and/or a balcony seat.

+ Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, falls on June 24th each year; this year it falls on a Thursday. Processions start early in the morning from the Qoricancha and continue thru the Plaza de Armas. Then the main ceremony, a re-enactment pageant, is held in the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, above the city of Cusco. Tickets are required for seats to view this pageant, and can be purchased through the offices of EMUFEC, http://www.emufec.gob.pe/ and are a bit pricy; the morning processions can be seen for free but get crowded so worth staking out a spot early.

+ Festivals in August include ´Pago a la Tierra´ (payment to the Earth) Shamanic ceremonies; August is the first month of the agricultural calendar so these ceremonies are celebrated in the rural Andean villages. An example is on August 29th in Pisac, the ´WillkaRaymi´ ceremony. Also many religious festivals are held this month, including the feast of the Assumption of the Virgen (around Aug 15th), and the feast of Santa Rosa of Lima (generally a public holiday especially in Lima) on August 30th.

Ongoing Events in and around Cusco: