Machu Picchu and Other
Sacred Sites of Enchanted Peru

Summer Solstice 2012

June 15 – 28, 2012

Suggested Reading:

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Andean Awakening
Jorge Luis Delgado (our tour guide!), Council Oak Books
It is an extraordinary time to be alive, as a long-foretold alignment of the Earth with the axis of the Milky Way galaxy announces a new dawn. In Peru, descendants of the Inca call this time the Pachakuti, ‘the return of the light’ after 500 years of darkness. Peru is said to be the “morning of the new sun” – the portal through which rays of the new light will begin to awaken humanity to a new consciousness.In this illustrated guidebook, Peru’s premiere spiritual tour guide, Jorge Delgado, takes the reader on a trip of discovery through the most powerful and mystical places on earth – Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Lake Titicaca and the magical Inca doorway of Aramu Muru. Jorge Delgado was born in a small Andean village in Peru. In his book, Jorge opens the door to his mystical homeland as he describes his own journey of awakening and packs his personal narrative with fascinating details about Peru, its history, culture, mythos and magic. Jorge is our personal guide and chacaruna – a bridge person who helps others to cross from one state of consciousness to another. Jorge bridges readers to the spiritual power of the Andes, of Peru and legend of the Inca – the return of the children of the light.

Dance of the Four Winds: Secrets of the Inca Medicine Wheel
Alberto Villoldo, Inner Traditions
Dance of the Four Winds recounts the adventures of the American psychologist Alberto Villoldo as he journeys to Peru to explore the visionary ceremonies of the native shamans. Here Quecha masters use the jungle plant ayahuasca to further their spiritual progress along the four paths of the Medicine Wheel. Entering a magical realm of enigmatic sorcerers and powerful animal totems, Villoldo confronts the hidden powers of his own mind as he unlocks the secrets of the human psyche.

Journey to Machu Picchu: Spiritual Wisdom of the Andes
Carol Cumes, Llewellyn Publications
Readers are invited to enter the shamanic world of Andean healers and herbalists and connect with Andean power animals as co-author Carol Cumes describes her personal spiritual journey into the mystic Andes mountains. 32 pages of color photos. Journey to Machu Picchu is a rich and finely woven tapestry that illuminates the ancient spiritual traditions of the Andes, traditions still practiced today. The stories of the Quechua people open a window to the timeless spiritual landscape that has brought so many sojourners to the Andes. Their profound love for Pachamama and all the elements of nature, ingrained in the sustaining energies of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, reminds us of our connections to each other and the Divine Source.

Island of the Sun: Mastering the Inca Medicine Wheel
Alberto Villoldo, Destiny Books
Island of the Sun recounts the American psychologist Alberto Villoldo’s return to Peru in search of the Quechua Indian shaman Don Jicaram. The authors’ earlier book, Dance of the Four Winds, described Villoldo’s first initiation, under Don Jicaram, into the secrets of the Inca Medicine Wheel and the spiritual journey of the Four Winds. Villoldo had begun that journey in the South, “where one goes to confront and shed the past.” With use of the powerful mind-altering plant ayahuasca, he had continued to the West, a direction also inhabited by fear and death. Now in Island of the Sun he prepares himself for the journey to the North, where lies the wisdom of the ancient Inca shamans. Traveling from Machu Picchu to the “Island of the Sun,” a sacred site in Bolivia, Villoldo uncovers a profound secret about the journey to the East–the journey home.

Chamalu: The Shamanic Way of the Heart
Luis Espompza, Inner Traditions International
Chamalu tells the story of a young woman’s initiation into Andean wisdom traditions under the guidance of Chamalu, a Quechua shaman.  The sacred way of the heart, he tells her, is a spiritual journey that must be undergone by anyone who aspires to be a Wanderer–a person who transcends illusion and embraces primal reality, unmediated by religious doctrine or intellectual constructs. The woman asks him to show her how to release herself from the emotional pain that paralyzes her, and gradually, over a series of meetings, Chamau reveals to her the secret of reconnecting with the spirits of the ancestors and of Pachamama, Mother Earth.

Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge: The Mystical World of the Q’ero Indians of Peru,
Joan Parisi Wilcox, Element
“…a mature and sensitive portrait of a mystical system as seen through the eyes of its practitioners.Written with heart and respect.a gateway for serious seekers to discover the world of living energy and.how to live in harmony with each other.”
Deepak Chopra.

Walk along the sacred path of ancient wisdom, and learn directly from the Andean shamans who guard and treasure their traditional ways. This groundbreaking and comprehensive look at Peruvian mysticism–written by a woman who immersed herself in the religion and became a high-level “priest”–will bring you to a rare world of living energy. In interviews, Q’ero mystics lay out their life-affirming, empowering cosmology and speak to our place in the great web of being. Their words are like a gift, designed to help us evolve spiritually–and simple exercises will help you begin this journey

Lonely Planet Peru
Lonely Planet Publications
Bike, hike and ride a scary cable car to Machu Picchu on one of five alternatives to the busy Inca Trail. Glide past manatees, dolphins, monkeys and macaws in the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria. Swill a scoopful of chicha – saliva-fermented corn beer – to earn the respect of the locals. Descend into the narrow, hallucinatory underground chambers of the millennia-old ruins at Chavin de Huantar. Three authors, 144 days of on-the-road research via planes, riverboats, and dozens of death-defying bus rides. Dedicated Peru Outdoors chapter, plus expanded activities coverage throughout. Get the inside story on the Inca world from notes explorer and author Hugh Thomson.