Immerse yourself in a vibrant ecological tapestry woven by the reciprocal relations of distinct flora and fauna, stunning geography, and traditional cultures whose roots reach far into the past drawing essential nutrients from their ancient traditions.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn the basics of the dynamic science of ethnobotany, conservation based plant and seed collecting, traditional agriculture, indigenous Andean spirituality and cross cultural shamanism. Examine some of the most alluring archaeological sites in the world, and consider how the triumphs and faults of past cultures reflect our modern dilemma of how to live on this wondrous planet we all call home.

Day 3 - Travel through the verdant Urubamaba Valley with our personal bus and driver, stopping at various sites along the way as we approach the archaeological site of Moray at 12,000'; a stunning set of coliseum like terraces carved into huge natural depressions. Believed to have been an agricultural research center due to the fact that an amazing degree of temperature variation and ecological zones are present at each level of the site. From here we’ll descend a short way to Salinas; an impressive multitude of man made salt pans that are still in use after thousands of years, yielding some of the finest salt in the world.
We will end our day at the Incan/colonial town of Ollantaytambo.

Day 4–5- Ollantaytambo lies at 9,250' in the Urubamba Valley. The ruins with their massive terraces are said to be laid out against the moutainside in the profile of a llama. Once the royal estate of the Inca Pachacutec, this was the last place of Incan resistance to the Spanish in the rebellion of 1536, before their flight to their final stronghold of Vilcabamba. Just a 5 minute walk from the main ruins, we’ll stay in the village of Ollantaytambo which retains its original Incan layout of narrow cobblestone streets with their intact irrigation systems still nourishing the town.

We’ll spend our time here exploring the ruins, observing the surrounding agriculture and seeing how the living descendents of the Incan people subsist today. We'll visit a weaving co-op at the nearby village of Patacancha at 13,000', then make the spectacular 3 hour hike downhill back to Ollantaytambo, visiting the seldom seen ruins of Pumamarca and spectacular Incan terraces overflowing with wildflowers and regrowth of native forest.
On the night of the 5th day we’ll catch the train down to highland jungle town of Aguas Caliente, below Machu Picchu.

Day 6 - We’ll arise early and catch the bus up the winding road to the celebrated ruins of Machu Picchu, the spiritual mecca of South America. The ruins exceed the hype and we’ll have a full day to engage in the wondrous beauty of the site and surrounding highland jungle, with the option for several spectacular hikes.
Return train to the city of Cusco in the evening.

Day 7 - After breakfast in Cusco, we’ll take a 45 minute bus ride through the painted agricultural hills to the Incan/colonial town of Chinchero at 12,400', said to be the birthplace of K’uychi; the rainbow. We’ll have the better part of the day with Quechua master weaver Grimalda Quispe and family, learning about their dye plants, weaving techniques, and medicinal plant knowledge. We hope to have a demonstration of the use of Hawaq’ollay; a San Pedro cactus relative native to the region that is used as a common medicine and shampoo. In the afternoon we’ll examine the nearby Incan ruins including some enchanting carved caves and natural rock gardens.
Return to Cuzco in the evening.

Day 8 - 45 minute AM bus ride south of Cusco to the archaeological site of Tipon known for its masterful series of expansive terraces and ingenious stone irrigation systems demonstrating the Incas deep rapport with water. The sublime multileveled fountain here is expressive of the Andean origin myths. In the early afternoon we will take our bus back towards Cusco and spend the rest of the day attending Sacsaywaman and surrounding archaeological sites. The Incan city of Cusco was laid out like a Puma, the fantastic ruins of Sacsaywaman above the city were the head. Once an elaborate ceremonial center, it was destroyed by the Spanish after an Incan revolt in 1536. Up until the 1930s it served as a pre-cut rock quarry for the city, so now all that remains is the unbelievably massive stones, still masterfully fit together. The surrounding hills house many other Incan sites - Q’enqo, a massive intricately carved rock and ceremonial cave, Puca Pucara; a tambo with superb views of Cuzco valley, and Tambomachay; an elegant water shrine with cascading fountains channeled through fine stone work.
Return to Cuzco in the evening.

Day 9 - 1 hr mid morning bus travel to Killarumiyoq, one of the relatively unknown pre-Columbian ruins of the region, nestled in a lush watershed fed by snowmelt. We will be joined by one of the living descendents of the Inca royalty, don Augustine, a master Q’ero ritualist, who will perform an elaborate and beautiful ceremony on our behalf. This ceremony, known as a despacho, or consecrated Earth offering, serves as both a gift to the Earth for all she provides, as well as a blessing for our group. Each person will play a role in co-creating this sacred offering, and will receive a personal blessing from don Augustine. This will help solidify our experience of the Andean concept known as Ayni; sacred reciprocity, and offer further insight into important cosmological concepts of the Inca and pre-Inca peoples of Peru.
Return to Cuzco in the evening.

Day 10 - We end our time together in the heart of Tawantinsuyu (the Inca Empire) - Cuzco city. We’ll have the day to walk the streets and see underlying Inca foundations of the city. We’ll visit the ceremonial center of the Incan world, the masterfully built Qoricancha, believed to be destroyed during the conquest until a massive earthquake in the 1950s revealed it to be hidden within a Dominican monastery. This temple and astronomical observatory once housed life sized gold and silver sculptures of exquisite gardens replete with fauna down to small insects and peopled with radiant men, women and children. Tragically, such delicate wonders now only exist in our collective dreams, all was melted down at the caustic time of the Spanish conquest. The Qoricancha was also the hub of the Incan ceque system, similar to ley line theory, from which numerous lines, or ceques, radiated out, mirrored in the physical landscape by Incan roads and shrines. We will have the chance here to learn traditional techniques to work with the geomagnetic energy of the land.
We’ll share a celebratory farewell dinner together.

The following are areas of our collective knowledge, interests and expertise. During our time together, and to be determined by the interest levels of the group, we can have ongoing discussions and presentations on the following topics:

Andean cultures through time with an eye towards how the triumphs and faults of past cultures reflect our modern dilemma of how to live on this wondrous planet we all call home.

An introduction to ethnobotany including history and it’s potential for conserving and revitalizing biocultural diversity. Basic plant & seed collecting and cleaning, identification, documentation and mapping, and the politics of collecting. The myriad conservation issues we face during this time of habitat loss, climatic change, and mass extinction.

Traditional agriculture systems of the Andes, both ancient and current. How the pre-Columbian diet was forged by the Andean environment and yet came to change that very environment through increasing agricultural diversification. Identification, history, and cultivation of the many "lost crops of the Inca’s" which we’ll encounter during our travels. Integrating traditional agriculture knowledge into your own sustainable gardening and farming methods.

Medicinal plants of the Andes, including what we know of pre-Columbian medicine and how that changed through the cultural collision with the Spanish and modern medicine today. The increasing interest and adoption of Andean medicinal plants by Western Herbalism today.

The medicinal, cultural and spiritual importance of coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca). This is by far the most important plant of ancient and contemporary Andean people, yet it is largely misunderstood and maligned by the rest of the world. Coca provides important nutritional needs, acclimatization to altitude, and is integral to the cycles of reciprocity in the Andean worldview, it’s immense spiritual and cosmological import within the religious systems of the Andean peoples can not be understated. We’ll have the opportunity to sample different varieties of leaves and llipta- the vegetable and mineral ash that is chewed with the leaves to activate the medicine and nutrition of the plant. Through both didactic and experiential formats, we will learn the beauty of of the daily rituals of reciprocity and explore the use of coca in a magico-religious sense first by demystifying the cultural and linguistic barriers, and diving into the heart of coca culture; coca as a ritual offering, coca as a carrier of shamanic teachings through apprenticeship, and its use as a conduit for divinatory guidance through a process known as Qatipay (in Quechua) or Rastreo (in Spanish). Contemporary issues surrounding the cultivation and the perplexing politics of this marvelous plant will also be offered.

Indigenous Andean spirituality and cross cultural shamanism and how this weaves and informs all of the various topics together. Traditional methodologies for connecting and working with the sacred landscape of the Andes. The influence of Spanish Catholicism on the pre-Columbian cosmology and its contemporary expression through the ritual arts. There will be the opportunity to begin to actively learn the Andean cosmology and the use of the mesa (curandero’s altar) in personal and ceremonial practice, and participate as a group in brief ceremony that shows how this information and the tools of the mesa can be used in ritual with direct application to our modern lives.