June in Cusco is sure a festive time!

Cusco, Peru is situated over 11,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes. Cusco was once the Inca Capital of the world. The 4 different ‘types’ of Inca’s were said to branch out from the Plaza de Armas, which is in the center plaza in Cusco.

Unbeknownst to me, June is a celebration holiday in Peru, especially in Cusco. I landed in there on June 14th, 2017 and was informed by my taxi driver I would need to be dropped off two blocks away from my hostel because of Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday on June 15th, 2017. I expected the celebrations near my hostel to only last through the end of the following day for Corpus Christi.

I witnessed a huge outdoor Catholic mass which really impressed me.

The celebrations included a ton of processions. My favorite was the one pictured below because the priests were surrounded by all these policemen holding a rope. They seemed to be pushing very hard to get it to move and no one seemed to be trying to get inside.

I was extremely wrong about the festivities lasting only a couple of days. June 21st is the Inca New Year. This meant that every day during my stay (through June 23rd) the streets of Cusco near the Plaza de Armas was full of people attending the celebration. Every hour of every day was an exciting time to be in Cusco.

More processions:

An Inca ceremony (my favorite):

A free outdoor concert on Saturday at the Plaza del Armas:

Lots of Inca Rainbow Flag decorations:

Some fireworks!

It was a festive time to be in Cusco. I didn’t mind all the chaos and people. I was truly surprised to see the celebrations still going upon my return from Machu Picchu on June 22nd. It was fun to be in the Inca Capital of the world around the Inca New Year. Just a heads up if you find yourself in Cusco at the end of June!