Traditional
Shamanism in the Andes
Peter Gorman, noted writer, adventurer and medicinal plant collector,
will lead several tours in and around Cuzco, Peru during 2007.
The trips
will focus on the anthropology, archaeology and shamanism of the region,
and include visits to Sacsayhuaman, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu,
along with two opportunities to participate in San Pedro ceremonies.
The San Pedro cactus is one of the seven Master Plant Teachers and the
traditional healing medicine of the Andes.
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BASIC
TRIP ITENERARY
In
addition to the below, I'll try to have a interesting
surprise or two up my sleeve: I've got some
interesting curandero friends, a couple of
restaurants I think are pretty special and
maybe an out-of-the-way shop or two that are
worth visiting.
 Dates: Six
trips are planned for 2007: each begins on
Saturday. Third Saturday of February, April,
June, August, October, December
 Costs: $1,800
per person. Additionally, participants
will need a couple of hundred dollars walking-around-money.
 Needed
to bring: You can find nearly anything you might need or want near the
central Plaza, so pack lightly, with a camera, a notebook,
clothes - including long and short pants, long
and short sleeve shirts, plenty of underwear and sox
- two pair of sneakers or comfortable walking shoes and
not much else.
 It
can get cold in Cuzco, but many people
find that rather than bringing
a warm jacket it's
more fun to shop for an inexpensive wool sweater ($7-$12)
or coat ($10-$15) that they can use on the trip and give away as a give
when they return.
 Medical
supplies: For those with specific needs,
bring your own medicine. For general problems, the house
has a great medical kit.
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Day
1
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Cuzco.
Arrive in Cuzco, the spectacular city at the heart of the Incan
civilization. On arrival after the one-hour flight deep into
the Andes mountains, we will transfer to the lovely Hotel Niler
where we will be treated to a traditional Andean shamanic coca
tea ceremony by a local healer to help us acclimate to the 9,000+foot
altitude and to begin to understand the importance this plant
has played—both physically and spiritually—in the
lives of those peoples who have lived in the region. After our
ceremony we'll rest to acclimate, but by late afternoon guests
will be free to explore the nearby Plaza de Armas and the lovely
gift shops there.
Cuzco is the chachka capital
of the world, a shopper's dream. Locals work with
wool, alpaca, vicuna, as well as with silver and gold.
Quality ranges from mediocre to world-class.
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Day
2
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Cuzco—We'll
meet after breakfast for a private bus tour to several important
archaeological sites located in the area around Cuzco. Among
them:
Q'ENQO |
The
name means labyrinth. Dedicated to Pachamama, Mother Earth,
this temple is a unique center of worship and ceremony. One
of its features is a semi-natural underground chamber with
a large limestone rock covered with symbolic carvings. It
is also the place where two small stones are placed in such
a position that their relation to sun and shadow defines
Incan geometry, the days and months of the year, and Incan
astrology. |
TEMPLE
OF THE MOON |
A
stone outcropping that represented the womb of Pachamama,
Mother Earch. Its energy is strong and female, and it will
be the site of one of our San Pedro Ceremonies. |
TAMBOMACHAY |
Another
definitely female power point, this water temple is known
as the Baths of the Inca. Those who drink the water there
are said to forever have extraordinary recouperative physical
powers. It is also said that those who drink the waters will
have a new baby within a year. |
There
are several other fantastic nearby sites should we have time
and energy, including the Barrio de San Blas, which houses the
workshops of some of Cuzco's most important artisans.
After the tour we return to Cuzco for a couple of free hours before we taxi up
to perhaps the most spectacular archaeological site in all of Peru just in time
for sunset: Sacsayhuaman.
Afternoon visit to: Sacsayhuamán, the immense religious center/fortress
just outside Cuzco, where interlocking stones weighing hundreds of tons create
huge zigzag walls. It is perhaps the most amazing of all known Incan ruins, though
I'm personally skeptical that the Inca, during their short (300 year) reign,
are actually responsible for it.
After the sun sets, those who wish may partake in a sacred ceremony from the
Amazon, one that can heighten the truly amazing vibrations of this ancient place.
After the ceremony we will descend into the lights of Cuzco, a beautiful, spectacular,
and hilarious time down a narrow, stepped street which will lead us to visit
the Monastario hotel where there is a tiny church filled with extraordinary paintings
and gold-leaf woodwork, then on into the city for a free evening of dinner or
traditional Andean folk dances.
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Day
3
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Sacred
Valley—After breakfast at the hotel we'll take a private
bus to the Sacred Valley to visit Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. While
Pisaq is one of the best markets places for teriffic handicrafts,
Ollantaytambo is one of the Inca's more lavish stone ruins--an
amazing place to climb on an over and around.
In the late afternoon we'll head back to Cuzco for a quiet hour or two before
we taxi to the Temple of the Moon for our first San Pedro ceremony. The ceremony,
which will begin with an offering to Pachamama, will last through most of the
night. San Pedro, one of the Seven Master Plant Teachers, is a vibrational teacher,
the spirit of the cactus capable of teaching one to speed up or slow down the
perception of vibrations in all things. Hence, it is a shape-shifting teacher,
as well as a healing tool, and the curanderos, who will work with us, either
Victor or Hector, are both extraordinary and traditional healers.
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Day
4
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Cuzco—A
free day to absorb and begin to understand the significance of
the ritual we shared the previous night.
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Day
5
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Cuzco/Aguas
Calientes—An early morning trip to the train station, just
100 meters from our hotel, for the 3-hour train ride from Cuzco
to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu. The
ride is one of the most spectacular in the world, first climbing
out of Cuzco Valley, then decending into farmland before entering
the Sacred Valley and travelling along the Vilcabamba river,
one of the few known headwaters of the Amazon river itself.
On arrival in Aguas Calientes we will settle into our hotel, then lunch and take
a trip to the hot water baths from which the town gets its name.
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Day
6
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Machu
Picchu—We will head out early to catch the bus up the mountain
to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Inca. Built at nearly 7,500
feet from stone either found on the mountain or quarried several
miles away, the hidden city is the single most visited archaeological
site in South America. It is truly breathtaking and for many
represents one of the places they have wanted to visit for a
lifetime.
In the evening, we will head up to the hot baths—which will be ours alone—for
our second San Pedro ceremony.
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Day
7
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Machu
Picchu— We will head up to Machu Picchu again in the morning
where some will spend the day in meditation while others will
choose to climb the sister peak of Winya Picchu (a feat!) or
hike a mile or so up the Inca Trail to the Portal of the Sun,
the first point along the fabled trail from which Machu Picchu
can be seen.
We will catch an afternoon train back to Cuzco, arriving in time for a late dinner.
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Day
8
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Cuzco—A
free day to explore Cuzco, return to any of the nearby ruins,
go horseback riding or just shop. In the evening we will have
a goodbye dinner to celebrate the trip, followed by a beer at
the CrossKeys pub for those who want.
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Day
9
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Lima
and Home—Morning flights back to Lima for the flights home.
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© by
Peter Gorman, 1983-2007
Photographs Copyright information
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