Of all South American countries Peru offers the most diversity both in terms of its terrain which goes from bone-dry deserts to snow-peaked mountains over 6,000 meters high to lush jungles, and in terms of its archeological sites ranging from quite recent times such as the Inkas� and the Waris� back through time to other more distant cultures. Cultures such as the Nazca and Moche and even further back to Chavin 3,000 years ago and the most ancient of all, Caral which is considered by historians to be the third most ancient civilization in the world after Mesopotamia and Babylon/Chaldea at 5,000 years before the present.

          Recently I have begun guiding guests from abroad to some of Peru�s most sacred places. We approach these sites as pilgrims, not tourists and we enter deeply into the spirit of each sacred location by reverently ingesting the plant spirit medicine known as huachuma or San Pedro under the guidance of an experienced and trusted shaman or curandero. This powerful entheogen has been used for thousands of years in Peru to enter into profoundly expanded states of consciousness and to invite deep natural healing. Its effect when ingested at a sacred site is to amplify each participants� natural intuition and to allow him or her to gain deep insights into the essential nature of each particular revered place. The term entheo-archeology has been coined to describe this way of employing altered and amplified states of consciousness to delve into the deep mysteries embodied in each site, mysteries that conventional archeology will never uncover by digging in the dirt.

          Having become familiar with Rupert Sheldrake�s notion of �morphic resonance fields�, I would say that each sacred site still subtly vibrates with all the ceremonial activity that its original inhabitants performed over however many years the place was actively used and that by ceremonially going into non-ordinary, expanded states of consciousness us modern day pilgrims can discover what intentions lay behind the actions of the builders of the ceremonial places. I even feel we can communicate with these ancient ancestors and gain knowledge unique to their now vanished points of view concerning the nature of human life.

          Please contact me with any ideas you may have about places you would like to visit in Peru and together we can create a custom pilgrimage. Suggested sites include Machu Picchu, Huchuy Qosco near Lamay (involving climbing up to a usually deserted Inka site high above the Sacred Valley), Pisac, Caral, Bosque de Piedras near Huaraz (an 8000 year old shamanic site), Chavin, Toro Muerto rock art field near Arequipa and many more.

          As far as costs go I try to keep expenses low while still supporting myself and the educational and social work I and my wife Lourdes do in the Sacred Valley near Cusco. See http://www.estrelladelsur.pe.kz/ So far I have worked on a flat rate per day plus expenses basis which seems to be the fairest way to go for all concerned.