The Lord of Qoyllority (Lord of the Star Snow or Lord of the Bright Snow) is the name the people of Cusco have given to an image of Christ etched on a rock. According to tradition, this image appeared in the late seventeenth century to a small shepherd boy, Marianito Mayta, in the Sinakara valley at the foot of Mount Qolkepunku, in the Ausangate range (SE of the city of Cusco, in the province of Quispicanchi).
Since then, on the Monday and Tuesday before Corpus Christi thousands of people make the pilgrimage to the sanctuary built on the site.This is a celebration that mixes Christian beliefs, with ancient Andean rituals to honor the snowcapped peak, or apu believed to be a deity.
Several features of this indigenous celebration make it a fascinating event: its majestic setting on the slopes of a snow-capped peak rising over 4 500 meters above sea level, the colorful dances performed by the different ethnic groups of the region in tribute to the Lord of the mountain, and the Pabluchas or ukukus, men dressed from head to foot in woolen costumes that represent mythical animals.
The ukukus hike up to the glaciar to cut out blocks of ice. which they will bring to the Cusco Cathedral as an offering and from them on to their villages, where each one will porm the sacred water on the fields in order toeusure their fertility. Also worth seeing is the procession on Tuesday night from the sanctuary, over the crest of the mountain, to Tayankani, a chapel near the town of Ocongate.
Machu picchu Full Day Tour is the main Tourist attraction in Cusco and Perú, but the feast of the Lord of Qoyllority is a religious event but it has an ancestral influence from the Inca and pre-Inca times, for this reason this festival is one of the largest and sacred in Cusco and southern Perú.
Few tourists attend this celebration, but those who do have the opportunity to see it will have a unique experience.
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