Discover shamanism in the Peruvian Amazon. Learn about the amazing healing power of medicinal plants and be part of the magic rituals performed by the Master Shaman. Also, a private 5-day trek to Machu Picchu with a local guide-shaman who performs ancient rituals (Offering to the Earth, Coca leaves ritual, etc.).

ITINERARY

DAY 1: INTERNATIONAL ARRIVAL IN LIMA

Assistance at your arrival to Lima International Airport and transfer to your hotel. There you will receive a briefing on your tour; receive vouchers covering all the services included in your tour and additional information on the organization of your Peru trip.

Meals Included: None

DAY 2: IQUITOS / AMAZONAS SINCHICUY LODGE

Meet and greet at the Iquitos Airport from where you will be transferred to the city (you will briefly sightsee the tourist highlights of Iquitos along the way). Transfer in the morning from your hotel to the river wharf. Speed boat trip on the Amazon, the world’s largest river. During the trip, you will see the magnificence of the Amazon, the exuberance of the jungle and the picturesque villages appearing on the shores with their particular color and joy. Arrival and accommodation in the Amazonas Sinchicuy Lodge located 45 minutes from Iquitos. The native-style lodge built with natural materials is upon high ground, surrounded by trees, plants and flowers, where birds and butterflies roam. Refreshing “welcome drink” made with regional fruit (cocona, camu camu, copoazu, other) and brief instructions about the sustained conservation standards that must be observed in the lodge and its surroundings in order to make your tour best enjoyable.

Eco-Cultural Circuit (The Sinchicuy Watershed Ecosystem)

Short walk or canoe ride in the afternoon –depending on the season- to “Nuevo Peru” where a Yagua community has established. You will get acquainted with their customs, see their unique apparel made of palm fibers and even try their “pucuna” or blowgun. Lunch at the Amazonas Sinchicuy. Gastronomy in the lodge is based upon the ample use of natural and fresh products from the river and the local farmlands. Guided ethnobotanic walk in the afternoon. You will be able to identify species of the Amazon plant kingdom (Cat’s Claw, Sour Cane, Copaiba, Aguaje and even Ayahuasca, the hallucinogen vine). Tour the Santa María del Ojeal farmlands where you will visit the sugar cane squeeze, the fruit orchard, the fish culture pond; see the Amazon breed cattle and artisanal dugout canoe fishing performed on the river by locals. Visit a typical village on the shores of the Amazon, see the homes, schools, churches, shops and interact with its people. Private interview with the Master Shaman at his “tambo” where ancestral sessions and rituals are held. Comments about Hallucinogen plants and their effect on the magic circle. Participants’ physical condition evaluation. Light dinner at the lodge and overnight.

Meals included : Lunch and dinner

DAY 3: AMAZONAS SINCHICUY LODGE / TAMBO YANAYACU LODGE / AMAZONAS SINCHICUY LODGE

Watch the Ayahuasca “take” being prepared early in the morning. You can see the Master Shaman cooking the magic vine or “dead man’s rope” pieces accompanied by chants, spells and prayers to the gods or semi-gods. Breakfast at the Amazonas Sinchicuy.

Flora and Fauna Circuit (The Yanayacu Watershed Ecosystem)

After breakfast you will motorboat to the opposite side of the Amazon River. During the trip you will probably spot river dolphins, main characters of fantastic tales and legends of the Amazon Myths. See typical riverside landscape plantations. Walk on tropical rainforest trail and boat or canoe on the Yanayacu River to the Tambo Yanayacu Lodge located in the “Kingdom of the Giant Trees”. Watch the rich avian fauna of the area. See the diverse medicinal plants, epiphyte plants (bromeliads) growing high on the trees, and giant flora like the “lupuna” or ceiba tree species over 150-feet high. Search for primates and sloths that mimetize with the forest canopy. Light lunch at the Tambo Yanayacu (38 Miles NE of Iquitos). Native-style fishing on the river for piranhas and other species. Return by boat to the Amazonas Sinchicuy Lodge. Optional psycotherapeutical session before dinner in order to prepare the participants before the Ayahuasca rite. Dinner at the Amazonas Sichicuy (optional since you are suggested to fase or eat very Light before the rite). Overnight at the lodge.

The Ayahuasca Rite

Participants gather at Master Shaman’s tambo to prepare the magic circle. A number of fragrances and esoteric utensils are used, among them: the “shakapa” or sweeper, the “mapacho” or cigar and the “carmalonga” or protective potion also known as “arkana”. Master Sahaman calls upon divine powers through chants, prayers and “ícaros” (cigar smoke puffs). Ayahuasca potion prepared by Master Shaman is passed to participants. The effects of the “take” will be noticed 10 minutes approximately after drinking it. Purging is one of the purposes of the ceremony and that is why nausea is common. This way, both body and spirit are cleansed and so harm and evil are expelled giving room to a better health. The rite ends around midnight, and then participants will return to the lodge to rest.

Those who participate of ayahuasca will be assisted by the shaman’s aides when the effects of the take manifest. Master Shaman suggests that those who have taken ayahuasca must refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages or having sexual contact at least for 4 days.

It is not necessary that all participants take ayahuasca. If they wish they can receive a flourishing bath or cleansing or just simply witness.

Meals included : Breakfast, lunch and dinner

DAY 4: AMAZONAS SINCHICUY LODGE

The Magical Cleansing Early in the morning the Master Shaman prepares the “cleansing bath” using fragant plants to bring perfect harmony to the participants. The cleansing takes place in an appointed place on the Sinchicuy River before breakfast time. Breakfast at the Amazonas Sinchicuy. Dugout canoe ride and hike to see the development of sustained economy projects in the Nuevo Peru Community. If you prefer you can stay in the lodge and rest. Lunch. Esoteric session in the afternoon in which the Master Shaman will reveal the meaning of previous evening hallucinations. Suggestions by the shaman to focus your life according to the manifested revelations through the Ayahuasca “take”. Dinner and overnight.

Meals included : Breakfast, lunch and dinner

DAY 5: AMAZONAS SINCHICUY LODGE / IQUITOS

Breakfast at the lodge. Return by boat to Iquitos and transferred back to your hotel or to the airport at a convenient time to board your flight to Cusco. Reception upon arrival and transfer to your hotel. Rest and adapt to altitude.

Meals included : Breakfast and lunch

DAY 6: CUSCO CITY TOUR

A 4.5-hour guided sightseeing tour of the City of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. The Incas considered the city to be the “Navel of the World”. Visit to the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Korikancha, also called Temple of the Sun. Then, we drive out of the City to visit the Inca sites of Kenko, Tambomachay, Puca Pucara and the impressive Fortress of Sacsayhuaman, strategically built on a hill overlooking Cusco. The site is famous for its enormous carved stones, some of them standing over 9m (30 ft) high and weighing over 350 tons.

DAY 7-10: SPIRITUAL TREK TO MACHU PICCHU

You cross a pass at 4510m and then it’s a relaxing walking down. You pass some remote villages, have fabulous views of for example Veronica, Salkantay, other snow peaks, green valleys and the river Urubamba, maybe you can see condors and surely you’ll meet very friendly people. Hikers must be good trekkers as we walk 7 hours per day.

DAY 7: TRANSFER BY BUS CUSCO – MOLLEPATA (4 HOURS)

Start of the hike outside the village of Mollepata at 2850m. You walk through a nice valley slowly going up until you reach the campsite in Soraypampa at 3850m. On your way, if the weather is clear, you can see parts of the mountains Humantay and Salkantay. (10Km / 6.25miles)

Meals included : Lunch and dinner

DAY 8: SORAYPAMPA - SARAMPATA

From Soraypampa within 1 hour you are starting the climb to the first pass of Salkantay which takes about 4 hours to reach about 4500m. Then all walking down to the possible camp in Sarampata at 3360m, or a little further down where you find already tropical vegetation. (16km / 10miles)

Meals included : Breakfast lunch and dinner

DAY 9: SARAMPATA - LLUSCAMAYU

From the camp down to the village of Colpapampa will be about 2 hours, depending on where is the campsite. This is a small village where most people only work in growing potatoes. A little further down there is a hot spring, but now you cannot take a bath. Your campsite is still lower, in Lluscamayu. Total walk 6 – 7 hours. (15km / 9.3 miles)

Meals included : Breakfast, lunch and dinner

DAY 10: LLUSCAMAYU – AGUAS CALIENTES

Transport down, greener and greener the vegetation, you reach Santa Teresa at 1500m, 3 hours walking, a village which was almost destroyed in a mudslide in ´98. Through the valley you continue the hike to hot spring town of AGUAS CALIENTES. Overnight at Puente Ruinas’ campsite. (12Km / 7.5miles)

Meals included : Breakfast, lunch and dinner

DAY 11: MACHU PICCHU

You can take the first bus at 6 am or hike (1 hour) to visit Machu Picchu. Guided tour. In the afternoon return to Cusco by train.

Meals included : Breakfast

DAY 12: RETURN FLIGHT TO LIMA

Morning or afternoon flight to Lima and connect flight back home.

Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel