At Peru’s Inti Raymi, what Inca site hosts the main outdoor ceremony?

At Peru’s Inti Raymi, the main outdoor ceremony is held at Sacsayhuamán.

Inti Raymi is a modern public festival in Cusco that recreates the Inca Festival of the Sun. The principal staged ceremony takes place at the archaeological complex of Sacsayhuamán, on the hills above the city, after earlier portions occur at Qorikancha and Cusco’s Plaza de Armas.

The festival is held annually on June 24, close to the southern-hemisphere winter solstice. Performers portray the Sapa Inca, the coya, priests, nobles, and representatives of the four regions of the Inca world. The Sacsayhuamán setting provides the largest ceremonial space and the most dramatic backdrop.

Inti Raymi is not an uninterrupted surviving Inca ceremony in its present form. The modern public version was created in 1944, drawing on colonial descriptions and historical research. That distinction separates the contemporary festival from the original imperial ritual.