Aymara New Year & Winter Solstice in Tihuanaku

Aymara New Year & Winter Solstice in Tihuanaku


Come and celebrate de Winter Solstice and the New Year on the Aymara Calendar in Tihuanaku Bolivia. The event is celebrated with dances and Andean music, and it has its pinnacle with the ritual to receive the first light of day ("Wilkakuti" return of the sun in Aymara) this done annually in the ruins of Tihuanaku-Kalasasaya temple marking a new year on the Aymara calendar (year 5,516 this year).

Each June 21st, Bolivian and foreigners gather in Tiwanaku for this mystic celebration, witch is believed to fill spectators to this ritual, with the energy of the Wilkakuti. The event starts the previous night on the planes out side the Kalasasaya temple, in an eclectic atmosphere filled with Sicuri Music, native dances and the smell of bonfire, this last through the entire night.

The bonfires are necessary to weather the extreme cold of the southern hemisphere winter; with temperatures of less than 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) for sure you’ll need a warm coat to be there. If you are planning to attend this event you should take with you warm clothes, gloves, scarf and everything you consider necessary to stand the natures forces. There are some kiosk’s available but don’t expect nothing fancy or elaborate, so maybe it could be a good idea to take something to eat and drink.


At 6 am, the next day just before starts to rise, all is ready to receive the Aymara New Year, everyone is cheerful, Yatiris (Aymara shamans) begin to lay alcohol in the ground, shouting Jallalla (cheers to the mother earth) and invoking the Sun (Tata Inti) for a good harvest in the coming year. At that moment, just when the sun starts rising; people believe that by doing so, their bodies and minds have been revitalized and cleansed. This ritual puts end to the celebration, then everybody heads back to La Paz or their place of origin.

You can make arrangement to attend this magic ritual with almost any Travel Guide Agency in La Paz or in the Sagarnaga Street, since this is a largely known event in Bolivia.
La fiesta tuvo varias replicas en distintos lugares como: The celebration of the Winter Solstice and Aymara New Year is also celebrated in other places in Bolivia, like:

-La Paz is held in the so-called Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), located near Mallasa in the south of La Paz, the Apacheta of the Cumbre at 5,000 meters above seas level, in the Horca del Inca in the town of Copacabana in the Titicaca Lake.
-In the Samaipata fort, built by Incas, in eastern Bolivia in the Santa Cruz Department.
-Uyuni in the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Lake) in Potosi.
-In Oruro in the Pampa of Aullagas, which according to investigations of the British cartographer Jim Allen it’s the place where the Atlantis was located.

Read More about Tihuanaku by clicking here.
Use our search tool to find Travel Guide’s to attend this event by clicking here