Experience live the most important sunrise of the year at Machu Picchu

We are incredibly excited to be able to offer a virtual tour of Machu Picchu on the winter solstice (June 21, 2021), the most important day of the year. Together we’ll witness what happens when the first light of the sunrise hits the Temple of the Sun on the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s an incredibly unique experience that has never before been offered, so we hope you’ll be able to join us! It’s completely free, and tip supported.

The winter solstice was the most important day of the year for the Incas

To the Incas, the winter solstice was considered the most important day of the year. According to Inca tradition, Pachatutec, the first Inca, created the Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) to celebrate this day that marked the start of the New Year in the Inca calendar, and to honor, give thanks and blessings to the Sun god whom they considered their Father. Typically they would light ceremonial fires, perform rituals, and have big celebrations. The winter solstice begins on June 21st but stays in the same place until the 24th when it finally rises.

At Machu Picchu, the Incas carefully constructed a lot of the buildings, including the Temple of the Sun, to be able to do very special celebrations (taking into account the position of the sun as it rises above the majestic mountains). To this day it makes for an incredibly beautiful show and atmosphere at Machu Picchu.

Many still follow Inca practices and consider this a most sacred celebration. A lot of the usual visitors to Machu Picchu on the winter solstice make this spiritual pilgrimage purposely to celebrate one of the most sacred days of the calendar, so they are not exactly tourists. They believe they are receiving very special and important energy - and you won’t have to use much imagination to feel that energy on the winter solstice at Machu Picchu yourself, it is a very special place.

A free virtual tour on June 21, 2021, to witness this momentous occasion

It’s possibly one of the most amazing once-in-a-lifetime trips you could plan, to visit Machu Picchu at the winter solstice. It takes a lot of planning. Not just plane tickets and hotels, but there are only a limited number of tickets being offered daily to enter Machu Picchu, they sell out fast and must be reserved on a specific day. Not only that, but current travel restrictions due to the pandemic make it even more complicated.

But to witness this special event doesn’t have to remain a dream for future travels or completely out of reach for those who might never physically be able to get to Machu Picchu. As we have been fortunate enough to offer virtual tours at Machu Picchu, we feel very privileged to bring this opportunity to you from the comfort of your couch! Considering that Machu Picchu is currently only operating at 40% capacity, it might be one of the most spectacular Winter Solstice events to be celebrated there in many years and not overrun by tourists.

Your professional guide Mike will make sure to find the perfect spot for viewing this event. While everywhere within Machu Picchu is sacred and special, there are a few areas that stand out to watch the sunrise on the winter solstice and he knows them all the best. In particular, it will be the Temple of the Sun where the Incas would have celebrated the main event - as when the sun peeks through the mountains as it rises, it will shine through one of the windows at the Temple of the Sun to hit a natural bedrock, the ceremonial stone inside. It’s mind-blowing how the Incas managed to design Machu Picchu with such precision and understanding of the position and movement of the sun.

If we have enough time, Mike will also try to show you two other spectacular events at Machu Picchu. The Intihuantana (enormous ceremonial stone) that casts no shadow on this particular day of the winter solstice only, and the Andean cross at the Temple of the Three Windows, perfectly completed by its shadow only on the winter solstice.