Here’s what one of our participants had to say about our most recent Peru journey which took place in September of 2021:
“The warm heart of Peru opened up to embrace me. In that space I found myself again.”
As we’re gearing up for our Peru journey in 2022, Heart of the Pachamama with Puma Quispe Singona, we’re feeling especially inspired to touch on why this unique way of seeing Peru can really bring us home to ourselves. Along with being transformational, it’s also enriching; we’ll be spending time in an area of tremendous cultural uniqueness and splendor: The Sacred Valley of the Inca.
The Sacred Valley in Peru hosts a wondrous, spiritual atmosphere and, as it turns out, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is a primary source of interest for many seekers who visit Peru—and yes, we’ll be going there on our pilgrimage. More on that later.
Machu Picchu, along with many other wonders contained within the Sacred Valley, has prompted us to compile this list of 5 reasons our Peru journey is a complete cultural and transformational extravaganza.
1. We travel with traditional Andean medicine man Puma Quispe Singona on our Peru journey
We’ve been working with Puma for many years, and we can accurately say that his leadership and traditional wisdom has led to some incredible Peru journeys.
Puma has been trained by his Grandfather since the age of 6 in the ways of the Andean medicine path. He’s a keeper of ancient wisdom who speaks to thousands globally about his tradition and its many rituals and practices.
Puma is known for his special gift to open people’s hearts, with that love then spreading to said people’s families as well as their communities.
Today Puma plays an active role in world affairs by sitting on several international and indigenous councils including the World Wisdom Council, whose honorary chair is Mikhail Gorbachyev.
We recently conducted an interview with Puma, where he shares a special ceremony with us as well as details pertaining to his tradition and the journey he’s leading. Check it out!
2. We meet Puma’s family in his home village of Chinchero
The majority of people living in Chinchero, like Puma, are indigenous and speak a native language known as Quechua. Many people living there speak Spanish as well.
Chinchero is renowned for its traditional weaving. While learning about Puma’s community, we will also learn all about Puma’s mother’s foundation, the Ayni Ayllu Weaving Cooperative.
We will hear stories, be welcomed by Puma’s family and friends, and enjoy this rare opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in the local community.
While here, we will also participate in a special despacho Ceremony and experience traditional teachings and energy work with Don Sebastian, a Q’ero Master, and Mama Irene, a powerful healer and medicine woman.
For many generations, high wisdom keepers of the Q’ero tradition have used despacho ceremonies for special occasions or to restore balance. Despacho is essentially a prayer bundle that holds symbolic power and becomes a living prayer through ceremony.
Having the opportunity to meet Puma’s family, embrace his mother’s weaving, as well as learn about and participate in a despacho ceremony are significant ways to experience the indigenous roots of The Sacred Valley. Anyone who is present for such transmissions should consider themselves extremely lucky.
3. We visit Machu Picchu
As previously mentioned, we’ll be visiting the legendary site of Machu Picchu on our journey in The Sacred Valley. This is a site that leaves tourists, hikers, archeologists, and spiritual seekers in awe just by the sight of it.
At Machu Picchu, you’ll spend time with Puma and also independently to truly enjoy the magnificence of this great testament to Incan civilization, and to experience the powerful energies here.
There’s plenty of speculation among archeologists pertaining to the purpose and uses of Machu Picchu. Whether it was built as a 15th-century citadel for an Incan king or other spiritual purposes (or both), the mighty site of the ruins instills a sense of wonder, imagination, and spiritual potency in its viewers.
The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because, according to UNESCO, it is “a masterpiece of art, urbanism, architecture and engineering of the Inca Civilization. The working of the mountain, at the foot of the Huaya Picchu, is the exceptional result of integration with its environment, the result from a gigantic effort as if it were an extension of nature.”
4. We have the opportunity to work with the San Pedro (Wachuma) cactus
During our adventure, we’ll have the opportunity to work with a mild form of the San Pedro cactus, known by indigenous communities as “Wachuma”.
Wachuma is a powerful plant medicine that, if used intentionally in ceremony, holds tremendous transformational potential.
When the Catholics arrived in the New World, they named Wachuma San Pedro because they viewed the cactus as a key to the gates of Heaven.
People who take sacred journeys with Wachuma report dealing with pressing emotional baggage that was weighing on them previous to their Wachuma journeys. They return from these journeys feeling lighter and better able to transcend the weight of their lingering afflictions.
It’s essential to work with Wachuma within a ceremonial context, and with the protection of the ancestral spirits. With the guidance of, in this case, Puma Quispe Singona, we can reconnect with the ancestral energy that heals our hearts and our lives.
5. We create lifelong friendships on our Peru journey
As with all of our journeys, on this adventure in Peru with Puma Quispe Singona we harness the power of community for the sake of meaningful connection and lasting transformation.
Traveling as a group is one of the merits, in general, of taking the types of journeys we offer. Making new friends and experiencing new things together is really a blissful way to make memories.
By the journey’s end, and as stated in the journey description, “Puma will lead us in a ceremony to honor our own personal growth and transformation and our own rebirth, crossing into our new lives as we return back home.”
What a journey to experience with Puma and the blessing of new friends!
~Jacob Lopez, staff writer
