Cusco & Inti Raymi, Peru

Pachacutec, the most faamous Inca as he started the expansion of the Inca empire from Columbia to Northern Argentinia
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Cusco is the land of parades.  Literally every day Jan and I were there, there was a parade. Not just a small affair either, but a full-blown spectacle with thousands of participants. One day all the local children danced through the streets wearing their traditional costumes and beating drums.  The next day there was a fantastic Carnival style parade that featured collosal paper mache floats (including the one you see of Lady Liberty clad in combat boots, stomping on the globe).

Tens of thousands people from all over South America people travel to Inti Raymi
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The day before Inti Raymi the girl at our hostel asked jan and I if we wanted to join in on the parade that day.  We asked her what time, and she said "ten."  We looked at our watches in surprise.  It was already 9:30.

"When are you going to leave?" we asked.

"About 8:00," she responded.

This had us completely confused.  "But you're too late!" we said.

Hundreds of people reinact this ancient Inca tradition high above the city of Cusco
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"No," she laughed. "Eight o' clock tonight. My group starts at about 10:00."

Jan and I couldn't believe our ears.  It turns out the pre-Inti Raymi parade is sort of the mother of parades.  It starts at 8:00 in the morning and goes until about midnight.  Literally every single person who lives in or near Cuzco must march in this parade. It's incredible.  But it makes sense really. The indigenous population is incredibly proud of its heritage, and also very skilled at crafts.  So the parades are an integral part of life.  Jan and I declined the invitation because we had just come back from the Inca trail and were utterly exhausted.

Inti Raymi or the winter solstice festival is the most important festival of the year
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The next day we attended the Inti Raymi festival, which celebrates the winter solstice.  As the photos show, it takes place at the top of Cuzco in the ruins of Sascahuayman.