Inti Raymi, Quechua for 'Inti festival', was the most important ceremony of the Inca Empire, honouring Inti, the sun, the most venerated deity in Inca religion. It fell at the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and marked the Inca New Year, the point when daylight would start to lengthen again. Held on June 25 in Haukaypata, the main square of Cusco, it was the empire's central public ritual. Today it is the second-largest festival in South America and the biggest celebration of the year in Cusco, drawing thousands of visitors from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and beyond.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.