Itinerary for Awaken in the Andes« Back to Trip Overview
Day 1 – March 31st: Peru!
Your Magical Journey program begins with a MORNING transfer from the Cusco airport to your lovely hotel conveniently situated off the historic Plaza de Armas. Take time to rest in your hotel room to acclimate to the altitude of 11,000 ft.
3.00 p.m. Meet Carol and your guide for a group orientation meeting in the hotel. At 4:30, the group will walk through the lively main square. Stroll along the cobblestone streets of San Blas, the art district, and see fascinating Incan stonework en route. At 7 pm, Magical Journey invites you to dinner at a highly – acclaimed restaurant near the main square. (D)
Day 2 – April 1st:
8.30 a.m. After a buffet breakfast, explore the Korikancha Temple, the holiest site during Incan times. Continue by bus to a powerful ceremonial site outside of Cusco. Connect with the Andean spiritual world through a Qero shamanic ceremony where our healer will call upon Pachamama, Apukuna (mountain spirits) and elements of nature on your behalf, asking permission for your presence on this transformational journey. You will be invited to set your personal intention for this journey through a K’intu, three coca leaves. Afterwards, continue on a guided tour to the astounding giant stones of Saksaywaman overlooking the city of Cusco where you may hike around the vast Incan site.
P.M. Late lunch in a café of your choice. Optional visit with your guide to the giant Cusco market filled with exotic foods, flowers and traditional goods. There is also time for shoppers to visit famous alpaca and silver shops in the main square. For dinner, choose to eat in one of the many renowned Cusco restaurants where reservations are essential. (B)
Day 3 – April 2nd:
8:30 a.m. Depart Cusco for the amazing Incan ritual fountains at Tipon. “Where there is water, there is life.” Participate in an ancient Qero ceremony to honor Yaku, the spirit of water. At this picturesque site, you have the opportunity to touch the holy water to open the body’s energy centers and activate and enhance your individual creative and healing forces. Then drive through beautiful agricultural valleys to the P’isaq temples. Overlooking impressive Incan terraces, the group is invited to hike to the Temple of the Sun, a doorway to the upper Andean world of the Condor, messenger of the Gods. Walk in a silent personal vision quest to invite deeper insight.
P.M. Depart for Willka T’ika Guesthouse in the Sacred Valley. Enjoy welcome garden herbal teas and an introduction to the Quechua Willka T’ika family, who will take care of your needs during your stay. Optional appointments can be made for spa treatments. (B.L.D)
A.M. This day is dedicated to Pachamama, the beloved Mother Earth who resides in the earth and within you. Morning all-level yoga is offered on most days before breakfast. Carol will invite you on a tour of Willka T’ika and the renowned Seven Chakra Gardens. Guests are encouraged to relax or meditate in the splendors of the Chakra Gardens.
1:00 p.m. Enjoy a wholesome organic vegetarian lunch. Sign up for an optional 15-minute coca-leaf reading with the pakko (Qero healer), visiting from the high Andes (suggested 25 soles donation directly to him). Or, choose to indulge in an Andean spa treatment. For the more active, an optional guided walk through the nearby Rumichaka farming neighborhood where Quechua campesinos live, is offered, as well as more challenging hikes along scenic routes into the valley.
After dinner, our pakko invites you to an authentic Andean offering and transformative fire ceremony to honor Pachamama, yourself and your loved ones. The ceremony also reminds you to focus on your intention for this journey and serves as a wonderful preparation of mind, body and spirit for your pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. (B.L.D)
Day 5 – April 4th:
An Ayni day. Start this heart-opening day with a drive through the Sacred Valley to a Quechua mountain school, one of four schools supported by the non-profit Willka T’ika Children’s Fund. For 20 years, Willka T’ika has maintained contact with dedicated schoolteachers in isolated high mountain communities where few tourists are privileged to visit. Donations have enabled the education in these schools to transform on all levels. In a reciprocal ayni exchange, the group is invited to offer an interactive activity the children can enjoy. The warmth and joy of the children and their openness in bringing guests into their daily lives are special moments not easily forgotten. Visitors are always humbled and deeply moved. Picnic lunch along the river.
P.M. Drive to the famous colorful P’isaq market filled with woven goods, jewelry, wall hangings and hand- painted beadwork. Shop or relax in a café in the market square where you can observe colorfully dressed campesinos wearing traditional clothing and vendors doing brisk tourist business in their bright stalls. P’isaq is a photographer’s dream. Return to Willka T’ika at 5pm. (B.L.D)
Day 6 – April 5th:
After yoga and breakfast, enjoy an optional visit to fabulous Ollantaytampu ruins. Walk through the ancient part of town. Lunch on your own at a recommended café that supports Andean projects. The rest of the afternoon is for you to relax and explore an inner journey in the Chakra Gardens. Enjoy personal healing work and spa treatments. Or, choose to hike one of the various trails through the nearby valleys. (B.D)
Day 7 – April 6th:
A.M. Early breakfast. Morning tourist train to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to the majestic terraces of Machu Picchu. Tea/coffee and snack on train. Experience the ancient “City of Light” and journey through the masculine energy temples of political and spiritual power, followed by a deep reconnection of feminine earth energies.
P.M. Open afternoon to hike or further explore Machu Picchu, meditate on a hidden terrace after the main tourist traffic leaves in the afternoon, or return by bus to your river lodge to rest. At 6:30 p.m. meet outside your hotel. Magical Journey invites you to a fabulous celebratory three-course dinner in one of the finest restaurants in Aguas Calientes. (B.D)
Day 8 – April 7th:
A.M. Open day in Machu Picchu with entrance ticket included. The energetic may take the 5:30 a.m. sunrise bus. Choose between a challenging hike to the Machu Picchu Peak or a gentler trail to the Incan Inti Punku, gateway to the City of Light, and a hike to the Incan Bridge. Or choose to meditate in a quiet place away from the tourists. Return by bus to Aguas Calientes town.
P.M. Afternoon train back to Ollantaytampu, transfer to Willka T’ika in time for a late dinner. (B.D)
Day 9 – April 8th:
7:00 a.m. Breakfast then morning visit to the fascinating Maras Incan Salt farms; return by 10:30am. For the rest of your last day, enjoy mindfulness and integration at Willka T’ika. Meditate and chant in the Chakra Gardens and allow yourself time to receive the ancestral crown chakra energies beneath the thousand-year-old Lucuma tree. As a sojourner, you were called to the Sacred Valley.
Today is dedicated to You, and offered to you as a gift. In silence, enjoy the pure, sacred energies of Pachamama in the Chakra Gardens. Feel her embrace and allow the Divine Goddess to whisper her guidance, wisdom and divine messages to your soul. Allow them to penetrate deeply into your heart and lovingly take them home with you. Guests may schedule an Andean Spa treatment or crystal light therapy session to heal and soothe the body. Farewell group dinner. (B.L.D)
Day 10 – April 9th: Time to leave…
10:30 a.m. Check-Out Time. Time for personal yoga or meditation before breakfast. One group bus transfer at 10:30 a.m. takes the group to the Cusco airport to connect to Lima and your flight home. Allow three hours and 25 minutes before your Cusco flight. Ideal flights to Lima that fit into this departure leave Cusco between 2p.m.-4p.m. Arrive in your home city the same or next day. You will feel blessed with the pure spiritual energy of your transformational Andean journey-of-a-lifetime. (B)