Procession returning from the snow star glacier during the Qoyllur Ritti Pilgrimage. Ocongate, Cuzco Department, Peru.

---

Quoyllur Rit’I or Snow Star Festival is the largest Indigenous festival in the Americas and takes place each year near a remote glacier in the mountains of Peru. Up to pilgrims, mainly Indigenous Quechua speaking people, gather in Sinakara Valley. It is a religious catholic festival but many aspects of it are linked to pre-Christian traditional beliefs. An important part of the festival is a procession to a nearby glacier where ceremonies and dancing takes place.

---

Size: 5190px × 3389px
Location: Sinakara, Ocongate, Cuzco Department, Peru.
Photo credit: © Bjorn Svensson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: altiplano, altitude, america, american, americas, andes, blue, boy, catholic, catholicism, celebrate, celebration, colorful, costume, cultural, culture, cusco, de, department, dress, ethnic, ethnicity, faith, festival, festivity, fiesta, glacier, high, ice, indian, indians, indigenous, latin, mountain, native, ocongate, people, peru, peruvian, pilgrim, pilgrimage, procession, qoyllur, qoyllurit, qoylluritti, qoyllurritti, quechua, quolloritty, religion, religious, rit, ritti, señ, sinakara, sky, snow, south, spirituality, star, tradition, traditional, traditions, walk, young