4 Best Performing Arts Venues in Peru

Peru's two-day Fiestas Patrias (July 28–29), which celebrate the country's independence from Spain in 1821, are marked by a military parade in Lima.

Cusco's spectacular Inti Raymi (June 24) celebrates the winter solstice a few days late for historic reasons. The fortress ruins of Sacsayhuamán form the stage for a reenactment of an Inca ritual that beseeches the sun to return, with a proverbial cast of thousands.

Thousands of indigenous Peruvians flock to the Ausangate Glacier for Qoyllur Rit'i (June 9), a religious festival that mixes Inca and Christian rites in Sinakara, a Cusco department.