Burning Man 2017: Surreal photos take you inside the madness

Participants dance as approximately 70,000 people from all over the world gathered for the annual Burning Man arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, U.S. August 29, 2017.ReutersOver the last 31 years, Burning Man has evolved from a bonfire among friends in San Francisco to an international mega-event attended by modern-day hippies and tech moguls alike.

Nearly 70,000 so-called burners descended on the “playa” in a Nevada desert last week for the annual counterculture gathering. The festival is offering its standard fare of surreal art installations, over 130 musical acts, celebrity sightings, and out-of-this-world fashion.

This year’s Burning Man kicked off on August 26th.

Some say you have to experience the world of Burning Man to understand its magic. In the meantime, these photos of Burning Man 2017 offer a glimpse of what it’s like to attend.