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29 March 2006  Star searching in Peru
 May is the month when the people of the Ocongate district (Quispicanchis) near Cusco, Peru head to the foot of Mount Ausengate, in the southern Andes, to worship the spirits of the mountains and search for the snow star.

Make the most of your backpacker travel insurance and make your way to the Qoyllur Rit'i or snow star festival in the first week of May for the three day festival pilgrimage which has roots dating back to before the Incas.

The Andean fiesta has links to both the ancient Indian worship of the mountains and their fertility and also the Catholic faith, as Jesus Christ is supposed to have appeared on the mountain in Sinacara in 1783.

The festivities traditionally involve around 10,000 Peruvians heading to the mountain, many dressed in costumes representing various mythical characters, along with a few hardy souls with travel insurance, to pay homage to the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i with song and dance.

A select number of indigenous Peruvians then set out for the mountain top in search of the snow star, bringing back with them blocks of ice with which to make holy water.


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