Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims gather in Sinakara Valley, high in the Peruvian Andes, to celebrate Qoyllur Rit’i, or the Snow Star Festival. Dancers in multi-layered skirts and musicians with drums and flutes perform during the three-day festival, a celebration combining Catholic, Incan, and other indigenous beliefs. The centuries-old festival celebrates the stars, notes the reappearance of the Pleiades star cluster marking the start of the harvest season, honors Jesus Christ, and also honors the local glacier, which is held to be sacred. Ukukus (men dressed as mythical half-man, half-bear creatures) used to cut blocks of ice from the glacier to share with the community, believing the melted water had healing powers, but have now stopped, noting a decline in the size of the glaciers because of warming trends.
- A young boy descends the Qullqip'unqu mountain looking out at the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered to celebrate the three-day festival Qoyllur Rit’i, translated from the Quechua language as Snow Star, in the Andean Sinakara Valley, in Peru's Cusco region, on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Men dressed as mythical half-man, half-bear creatures called “Ukukus,” watch as their leader whips a pledge during an induction ceremony on the Qullqip'unqu mountain glacier as part of the festival Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
A musician lugs his drum home after breaking camp at the base of the Qullqip'unqu mountain, in the Sinakara Valley, Peru, on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Men dressed as mythical half-man, half-bear creatures, known as an “Ukukus,” descend the Qullqip'unqu mountain accompanied by a receiving party of women and children, on the last day of the three-day festival Qoyllur Rit’i on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
A pilgrim carrying his son on his back, plays a traditional Andean flute known as a quena, as he walks the five miles to the Sanctuary of the Lord of the Qoyllur Rit’i.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Men dressed as Ukukus descend the Qullqip'unqu mountain glacier on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Children mount a horse after breaking camp at the base of the Qullqip'unqu mountain on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
A Quechua woman waits for a religious procession to file past so she can cross the road, during the second day of Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 23, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
In this May 23, 2016 photo, backdropped by the Qullqip'unqu mountain, dancers perform during the second day of Qoyllur Rit’i.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Men dressed as mythical creatures called “Ukukus” descend the Qullqip'unqu mountain glacier carrying a cross on the last day of Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
In this May 24, 2016 photo, men dressed as Ukukus descend the Qullqip'unqu mountain glacier.Rodrigo Abd / AP
An ukuku pledge places his hands on the ice of the Qullqip'unqu mountain glacier, kneeling before a cross as he is whipped three times by an ukuku leader, in an induction ceremony, as part of Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 24, 2016. New recruits promise to make the pilgrimage three years in a row.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Ukukus light candles on the glacier of the Qullqip'unqu mountain, during Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 24, 2016. In recent years, the pilgrims have noted a decline in the size of the glaciers because of warming trends. In hopes of preventing additional ice melting, the ukukus no longer use the large candles that were once common in the ritual.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Pilgrims wait for the start of a procession to the Sanctuary of the Lord of the Qoyllur Rit’i, in Peru’s Sinakara Valley, on May 23, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Pilgrims gather at the sanctuary set up for the Qoyllur Rit’i festival in the Sinakara Valley, near the town Mahuayani, Peru, on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Pilgrims rest at the base of the Qullqip'unqu mountain during the Qoyllur Rit’i festival on May 23, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Pilgrims wait for the start of a procession to the Sanctuary of the Lord of the Qoyllur Rit’i, on May 23, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
Men dressed as ukukus huddle together to keep warm, as they take a break from their spiritual trek to the top of the Qullqip'unqu mountain, as part of Qoyllur Rit’i, in Peru’s Sinakara Valley on May 24, 2016.Rodrigo Abd / AP
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