Quick Summary: Inti Raymi is held on 24 June every year, so the 2027 festival falls on Thursday 24 June 2027. It is a staged re-enactment of an Inca sun ceremony in three parts: Qorikancha in the morning, the Plaza de Armas around midday and Sacsayhuamán in the afternoon. In 2026 only the Sacsayhuamán grandstands and one small Qorikancha stand needed a ticket, and the Plaza de Armas was free to anyone who arrived early. This guide is for travellers deciding whether to build a Peru trip around the festival. For everything else about the city, see our Cusco travel guide.
What Inti Raymi Is, and What It Is Not
Inti Raymi means "Festival of the Sun" in Quechua. The chroniclers Garcilaso de la Vega and Guamán Poma de Ayala say the Inca ruler Pachacútec instituted it in the 15th century to honour the sun god, and Garcilaso places it at the winter solstice, around 21 June (Andina, 2025). Spanish colonial rule banned it as a pagan rite, and the last one with an Inca emperor present was in 1535 (Wikipedia).
So what you watch today is a modern staging, not an unbroken tradition. A group from the Instituto Americano de Arte, led by historian Humberto Vidal Unda, proposed reviving it in 1943. The first modern performance took place at Sacsayhuamán on 24 June 1944, with a script by the Quechua scholar Faustino Espinoza Navarro, who also played Pachacútec (Andina).
Expect large-scale theatre: roughly 700 to 800 actors, dancers and musicians, depending on the source, performing in Quechua with Spanish narration. The llama sacrifice is symbolic (Libero, 2026). Treat it as a spectacle for crowds, not a living religious service.
The 2027 Date: Thursday 24 June
The date is fixed. Local authorities resolved on 8 January 1944 to celebrate 24 June as Cusco's day and revive the festival then (Andina). Unlike Easter, it never moves, so 24 June 2027 is a Thursday, which a calendar check and Office Holidays both confirm. It is not a national public holiday, and the full ceremony is staged only on that day.
The Three Venues and Rough Timings
The Inca and his court cross Cusco in one day. Published 2026 start times differ by up to 45 minutes between sources, so treat these as a rough guide.
| Stage | Rough start (2026 reports) | Access in 2026 | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qorikancha (Sun Temple) | About 8:30–9:00 am | One ticketed stand; nearby streets free | Opening greeting to the Sun |
| Plaza de Armas | About 10:30–11:00 am | Free | Coca leaf ceremony and the "Meeting of the Times" between the Inca and Cusco's mayor |
| Sacsayhuamán | From about 1:00–1:45 pm, finishing around 5:00 pm | Paid grandstands; free sectors on the slopes | Report from the four regions, chicha rite, sacred fire, symbolic llama sacrifice and omens, closing songs |
The start times come from TreXperience (quoting the organiser: 9:00, 10:30 and 13:45), PeruRail (9:00, 11:00 and 13:30) and the Infobae programme (about 8:30 at Qorikancha, 1:00 to 5:00 pm at Sacsayhuamán). Andina describes about six hours in all. Plan for a full day.
How Sacsayhuamán Grandstand Tickets Are Sold
The organiser is EMUFEC, the Empresa Municipal de Festejos y Promoción Turística del Cusco, and its tickets are sold through the Teleticket platform (2026 event page). In June 2025 EMUFEC said Teleticket was the only channel, with no sales through agencies or representatives, while prosecutors investigated fake sites and WhatsApp sellers of "VIP packages" costing more than US$300 per person (Infobae, June 2025).
The latest verified prices are from 2026, at about S/3.44 per US dollar in mid-October 2026:
- Sacsayhuamán seats: four categories, from S/490 to S/850 (about US$140–250) for adults: Illapa S/490, Chaska S/680, Killa VIP S/730, Inti Super VIP S/850. Price follows distance from the main stage.
- Qorikancha seat: one stand of 350 seats at S/235 (about US$70).
- Combined packages: S/690–1,030 (about US$200–300), limited to 100.
- Children: ages 5 to 12 pay about half; under 5 are free but get no seat.
- Sales window: opened 7 May 2026 and was sold out by 17 June, with 4,116 seats sold in total (Infobae).
No 2027 prices or sale dates had been published when this was written, so treat these as a guide only. The pattern is the useful part: only 76 Sacsayhuamán seats were left on 4 June 2025, and 2026 sold out completely. Set a reminder for April 2027 and never pay a reseller.
Watching for Free, and What You Actually See
- Qorikancha: free from the surrounding streets (Infobae). Libero's 2026 guide suggests arriving as early as 6:00 am.
- Plaza de Armas: free; Libero suggests being there from about 9:00 am. Some restaurants and cafés take balcony reservations.
- Sacsayhuamán slopes: Libero reports free access on the hillsides. In 2023 the Ministry of Culture opened sectors called Suchuna and Cruz del Papa and fenced off others (Andina, 2023). Climbing walls, lighting fires and littering are banned.
Be realistic about the view. No published source describes what the free slopes show, and the grandstands face the esplanade where the main ceremony happens, so expect distance. Everything is in Quechua, so you follow the spectacle, not the words. EMUFEC said it was improving the sound system for 2026 after problems in the previous edition. You can also watch at home: TVPerú carried it on channel 7.1 and TVPerú Play in 2026.
Crowds, Altitude and Safety
- Crowds: 2026 coverage expected more than 100,000 people.
- Getting there: roads near Sacsayhuamán close to private traffic for much of the day, and the esplanade is pedestrian only. Walking from the historic centre takes about 30–40 minutes. Shared transport goes as far as the Cristo Blanco statue, then you walk.
- Altitude: Sacsayhuamán sits at about 3,555 m (11,660 ft). See our altitude sickness guide before a long day on an exposed hillside.
- Clothing: Libero recommends layers, plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen.
- Belongings: bring only essentials. Teleticket's conditions say re-entry is not allowed.
What the Festival Does to Hotels, Trains and Machu Picchu Tickets
Cusco's chamber of commerce projected about 180,000 visitors for the June 2026 festival month, roughly 4% above 2025 but still below the pre-pandemic figure of about 208,000 (Canal N). No official source publishes festival-week hotel prices, so treat "rates double" claims as anecdotes. What is documented is pressure: in June 2023, a tourism guild leader said Machu Picchu spaces had run out and some hotels were full as the festival approached (La República). PeruRail's festival page calls June one of the most popular times in Cusco and advises planning several months ahead.
Machu Picchu's daily cap was 5,600 visitors from 19 June to 2 November 2026 and 4,500 on most other days (El Peruano), so the higher cap began five days before the festival. No 2027 dates were published yet.
Book in this order: rooms first (see where to stay in Cusco), then Machu Picchu entry and trains (see how far in advance to book Machu Picchu tickets), then the grandstand seat the day sales open. Keep 24 June itself free of Machu Picchu entries and early trains, because the ceremony fills Cusco until about 5:00 pm.
The Festival Month Around 24 June
Inti Raymi is the peak of a longer celebration, which runs from late May to early July (Infomercado). In 2026, per TreXperience's calendar:
- 1 June: a Pachamama (Earth Mother) offering at 8:00 am in the Plaza de Armas opens Cusco's jubilee month.
- Corpus Christi: saints and virgins from Cusco's churches are carried around the plaza, with the main day on Thursday 4 June. It falls 60 days after Easter (TreXperience). Easter 2027 is 28 March, so by that rule the main day should be Thursday 27 May 2027. Confirm locally.
- Parades: school folkloric parades through June, and an allegorical parade on 20 June.
- 21 June: Andean New Year and winter solstice events from 5:00 am at archaeological sites.
- Qoyllur Rit'i: the pilgrimage at Sinakara, above 4,600 m, ran from about 30 May to 4 June. Its dates shift each year.
For the city itself, see our Cusco guide. For weather and crowd patterns across the dry season, see the best time to visit Machu Picchu.
Who Should Plan Around It and Who Should Skip It
Plan your trip around Inti Raymi if you care about culture and photography, can lock in rooms months ahead and do not mind crowds. For most first-timers, the best value is the free Plaza de Armas stage plus an early spot near Qorikancha. That is a real taste of the festival for nothing.
Buy a Sacsayhuamán seat only if the main ceremony is the point. Aim for the cheapest category on the day sales open, and ignore resellers and packages that cost far more than the Teleticket prices above.
Skip it if your priority is a quiet Machu Picchu, cheap rooms or a gentle first few days at altitude. Pick another week of the dry season instead.
FAQ
When is Inti Raymi in 2027?
Thursday 24 June 2027. The date is fixed every year, and the full ceremony is staged only on that day.
How much are Inti Raymi tickets?
The 2027 prices have not been published. In 2026 Sacsayhuamán seats cost S/490–850 (about US$140–250) and the Qorikancha stand S/235 (about US$70), and everything sold out by 17 June. Check Teleticket for 2027.
Is Inti Raymi free to watch?
Partly. The Plaza de Armas stage is free, the Qorikancha stage can be watched from nearby streets, and Libero reports free access on the Sacsayhuamán hillsides. Grandstand seats at Sacsayhuamán need a ticket.
Can I watch Inti Raymi live online or on TV?
In 2026 TVPerú showed it on channel 7.1 and on TVPerú Play. The municipality and EMUFEC often share coverage on their own pages. Confirm the 2027 broadcast nearer the date.
Can children go to Inti Raymi?
Yes. In 2026 children aged 5 to 12 paid a discounted ticket and under-5s were free but had no seat and had to stay on an adult's lap. Staff may ask for ID. The long exposed day at 3,555 m is the real challenge.
Limitations
This guide is accurate as of October 2026. Prices, sale dates, start times, access rules and Machu Picchu caps for 2027 had not been announced, and the figures here come from the 2026 festival, so they will change. Work-around: check Teleticket and EMUFEC or the Municipalidad del Cusco for the 2027 programme, confirm Machu Picchu rules on tuboleto.cultura.pe, and recheck the timings a week before you travel.