Robert HardingThe Festival of Inti Raymi (which means festival of the sun) brings crowds onto the streets in the Andean villages of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador every year in late June. People show their gratitude towards the earth in a series of rituals including spiritual purification in local springs and rivers, and parades of musicians and dancers in elaborate costumes. We chose our favourite pictures of the celebrations in Northern Ecuador. Photos by Ivan Kashinsky (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding).
Boy in traditional costume in the Fiestas of Inti Raymi in northern Ecuador
Men on horses in the fiestas in northern Ecuador
Virgin or Mother Mary and indigenous women in the Inti Raymi festival
Water Ritual during the fiestas
A ritual bath in the Fiestas of Inti Raymi in northern Ecuador
Man puts on face paint in the Fiestas of Inti Raymi
A man paints his chest in the Inti Raymi festival in northern Ecuador
A man enters a room next to the church of San Juan, near Otavalo, Ecuador, during the fiestas
Dancers in the Fiestas of Inti Raymi
Ritual for Mother Earth during the fiestas in northern Ecuador.
See more photos of the Inti Raymi festival here