“June Solstice at Machu Picchu!”
Tour Dates : June 14-22, 2017
PERU
With Solstice at Machu Picchu!
Program Followed By:
An Optional Week Tour to the Sacred Temples,
Sites of Cusco, Magical Lake Titicaca, plus the Inti Raymi Festival,
And an Extra Day at Machu Picchu!
June 22-29, 2011
Experts believe that Peru is one of the greatest of all Power Places® in the world. You’ll feel it and experience it in ways you’ll never forget. This is the fabled mystic land of the ancient Incas, the “Children of the Sun.”
By locating this gathering at a key power place of the planet, it will allow participants to open to the cosmic power and ancient wisdom here at this energy vortex. We intend to set the stage to:
- Provide participants experiences available only on-site with the lost wisdom and spiritually transformative power of ancient Peru. We will explore the ancient wisdom and the innermost meanings of this extraordinary land.
- Give all program attendees once-in-a-lifetime experiences in coming together with others of like mind from throughout the world.
- Offer knowledge, insights, and most importantly, experiences that can enhance your own growth processes and assist you in recovering your own lost wisdom within.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu, the Legendary
“Lost City of the Incas”
The program takes place at two spectacular sites, the Incan Sacred Valley of Urubamba and majestic Machu Picchu. The Urubamba Valley, where the program begins at a beautiful resort hotel, is nestled below the high Andean peaks and invites you into its tranquil and soothing surroundings. With the nourishing waters of the Urubamba River sweeping through on the way to mist-enshrouded Machu Picchu, it is no wonder that the ancient Incans made this valley their home.
In your free time, enjoy the walk into the local village for some wonderful breathtaking scenery and visiting with the friendly, shy and open hearted local villagers. There will also be time to hike up into the hills to see the Incan terraces still being used and the majestic mountains. Truly, the Apus continue to bless this place of peace and inner nourishment.
The program continues at the legendary golden city of Machu Picchu, ingeniously located on a narrow saddle of nearly inaccessible mountains in the heart of a semitropical forest. It is vertically invisible from the valley floor below and stayed hidden, a closely guarded secret for over four hundred years, until its discovery by Hiram Bingham in 1911. This ancient ceremonial center consists of more than two hundred buildings, including numerous temples and altars constructed in terraces and connected by stairways carved from solid rock set in a spectacular setting within a 360-degree ring of mountain peaks. The Spaniards never found this “Holy City” of the Incas and the energy at this sacred site remains very powerful even today.
There will be presentations, including talks by native Peruvian speakers, many of them experiential, all of them informative. A diverse range of topics will be explored, including topics that allow you to discover and understand the lost wisdom of Peru. Learn about the 16,000 year old religion of the Andes and about Incan prophecy. Discover how the ancient Incan cosmology and religion are still being practiced today. Experience the still potent energy emanating from the Incan “Sacred Symbology” and the still present “inner worlds” of the Inca. This program, combined with the incredible power places, will open you to spiritual discovery, understanding and growth.
Urubamba Valley
Morning flight to Cusco and then drive to the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with high peaks of the Andes surrounding it. The Incas’ belief was that the gods lived in these mountains. Take the rest of the day to relax, acclimate, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Later this afternoon there is an orientation and welcome meeting. Be joined by a native shaman, who will do an ancient Incan ceremony of welcome and initiation with the group. Today is the Full Moon, a propitious time for embarking on your journey, banishing unwanted influences in your life and a magical time of new beginnings.
Terraces at Ollantaytambo
Travel to the ancient Incan village of Chincero, where the terraced farmlands of the Incas are still visible. Chincero was the main population center for the entire Sacred Valley in Incan times. Later today travel to the ancient Incan town of Ollantaytambo, a terraced fortress-like town built by the Incas and also considered a protective gateway to Machu Picchu. This important site is situated at the north end of the Sacred Valley in the midst of spectacular mountains, and we will take a while to savor their inner power and majesty. Ollantaytambo is most famous for six enormous stones, so huge that some say only magical powers could have moved them here.
Pisac – Incan Fort
Morning drive to Pisac, to the ruins of a superb Incan center high on the mountainside. Pisac covers an entire mountain and is located in a spectacular surrealistic mountain setting with a variegated green carpet of intact Incan terraces flowing up to the peaks. The temples here blend perfectly with their environment. The most sacred temple contains the famous “Intihuatana” stone, or “Hitching Post of the Sun.” This is speculated to have been a solar clock and astronomical and astrological calendar as well as a prayer site.
Machu Picchu
Today board the first class tourist train for mystical Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. It was here that the Incas succeeded in combining the wonders of civilization with those of nature. The sheer beauty of what is considered by some the most dramatic place in the world overwhelms you as you are immediately drawn into its “still alive” mysteries. After an extensive guided tour with your metaphysically oriented guide, you have free time to explore and meditate.
Today is the Solstice! This morning visit Machu Picchu early for sunrise over the magnificent ruins on this very special day, the first day of the New Year, and the holiest day of the year for the Incans. This afternoon, if you would like to, you may go to the nearby local, rustic hot springs at Aguas Calientes or bathe in the wonderful Vileanota River, fed by pure mountain springs. Those not taking the extension week, travel back to the Sacred Valley in the late afternoon. (Those on the optional extension, spend an extra day in the Machu Picchu area. See extension itinerary.)
*Note: Itinerary subject to change.
*EXTRA DAY AT MACHU PICCHU *INTI RAYMI FESTIVAL
*CUSCO *LAKE TITICACA
JUNE 22-29, 2017
FOLLOWING THE “RECOVERING LOST WISDOM” PROGRAM
Sachsayhuaman Temple
On your way to Cusco, tour the immense stone ruins of Sachsayhuaman Temple. The cyclopean stones of this temple fit so closely together that one cannot wedge a knife between them. Also experience the very powerful purifying baths of Tambomachay, and the Temple of Kenko dedicated to the Earth Mother and the four elements.
Continue on to Cusco, elevation 11,400 feet, Holy City and center of the ancient Incan civilization. Cusco is the oldest inhabited city in the Western hemisphere. When the Spaniards arrived here the beauty of its edifices, surpassing all they had yet seen in the New World, astonished them. Gold in the form of intricate religious symbols and artifacts were seen everywhere. There is an infectious feeling of excitement throughout Cusco today as everyone prepares for the big festival tomorrow! Our stay in Cusco is centrally located, making it easy to enjoy this wonderful town where ancient, original Incan walls and cobblestone streets blend with colonial Spanish architecture.
Inti Raymi Festival
The ancient Incan Festival of the Sun — “Inti Raymi” — is celebrated today. Our guide will escort us to join the festivities that commence at the “Cathedral”. The parade of hundreds of Incan descendants dressed like their ancestors, chanting the prayers in Quechuan, is soul stirring. The parade ends at nearby Sachsayhuaman, a gigantic stone temple on a hill above the city, where the festival is celebrated. We will have seats in the stands built especially for this festival to be able to enjoy the rest of the celebration and re-enactment of the ancient ritual that calls back the Sun. There will be festivities in Cusco throughout this day — the most exciting time of the year to be in Peru!
Coricancha
Walking tour to the Coricancha, the “enclosure of gold.” Its perfect architecture and stonework reflect the fact that it was the most important, most sacred temple in the entire Incan realm, the sacred hub of the mystical Incan Empire. The essence and feeling of what was the heart of this land is not to be missed. Its Altar of the Sun, the holy of holies of the ancient Incas, still remains. Free time today to explore Cusco and enjoy the impromptu parades and festivities.
Lake Titicaca
Board a boat to cruise on spectacular Lake Titicaca. You will enjoy the exhilarating feeling that emanates from this sacred lake. Go to the floating reed islands of the Uros Indians, who created these man-made islands centuries ago to live on in order to escape the warfare throughout the area. A soothing and nurturing sense envelops people here, which is a wonderful way to end this part of your spiritual odyssey.
*Note: Itinerary subject to change.