Friday, August 1st:
Departure from home country for Cusco City via Lima.

Monday – Wednesday,
Aug 2nd – 4th:
Morning arrival in Cusco, ancient capital of the Inkan Empire. Your group will be met and transferred to your comfortable hotel off the Plaza de Armas to rest and acclimate to the 11,000ft altitude. Walk through the cobble-stoned streets of Cusco pointing out fascinating Inkan stonework along the way. Visit San Blas Artist's district, which is filled with artisan and art shops and lively restaurants. Afternoon bus to Tampumachay Inkan ritual baths where we will begin our program on Andean cosmology. Participate in an ancient shamanic water ceremony to balance and open your energy centers and allow your creative and healing forces to be activated. Evening meditation in an amazing and powerful cave site above the lights of Cusco.
 

Visit to the sacred sites at Saksaywaman, overlooking the city of Cusco. Magnificent and massive stonework and structures weighing hundreds of tons will leave you in awe.

Sunday afternoon, depart for Sacred Valley, to our home base, Willka Tika Guest House, for dinner and settling in. End the evening with meditation and discussion.

Wednesday - Saturday, August 4th – 7th:
Experience the Mindfulness program with Howard, Gloria, and Diana at Willka T'ika Garden Guest House in the Sacred Valley of the Inka, where you will be based over the next week.

Carol Cumes, the owner, built Willka T’ika especially for Magical Journey groups to enjoy the splendor of the Andes. She is the author of "Journey to Machu Picchu-Spiritual Wisdom from the Andes."

At Willka T'ika, the program will be conducted in the peace and tranquility of Nature surrounded by an abundance of Andean flowers and medicinal herbs, the perfect setting for mindfulness/meditation practitioners. Each morning meditation and yoga will be held in the beautiful hardwood yoga studio. This is followed by a buffet breakfast served in the sunroom. Vegetarian meals cater to the special health diets and requirements of our guests, and include high protein Andean grains and fruits. All meals at Willka T'ika are organic with large amounts of the food being grown in the sacred energy of onsite gardens. While at Willka T'ika there will be time to schedule a private massage/healing session in one of two two healing rooms, or enjoy a soak in hot outdoor Andean baths, filled with minerals from Pachamama and medicinal herbs and flowers from the gardens.

In addition to the programs conducted by Howard and Gloria, the group will be taken on an orientation tour of the seven sacred gardens at Willka T'ika. These magnificent flower and herbal gardens have been built with love and guidance from nature, and incorporate symbols of Andean cosmology, which bring wholeness to our being. The group will participate in an attunement and meditation to connect us with Pachamama and further enhance our connection to the energies of the Sacred Valley. To further experience the special healing energies of Willka T'ika's gardens, during each day, time is allowed for guests to choose a self-guided personal journey of healing. Our guests are encouraged to spend time and meditate in the splendors of nature during their stay at Willka T’ika and all visits to ancient sites.

A hike in the countryside to become familiar with the lives of the ordinary Quechua people will be offered while those who wish may use the time to rest, do bodywork, paint and write in their journals.

An authentic healer will invite the group to participate in a special Andean ceremony, which is an offering to Pachamama, Mother Earth, for the well being of the group. This healing ceremony is practiced by all local Quechua and guides us deeper into the traditions and spiritual world of the Quechua. To conclude the ceremony our group will gather with the healer for a fire ceremony, which we also use to prepare mind, body and spirit for our upcoming pilgrimage to Machu Picchu.

The group will hike the non-tourist trail to the spectacular ruins of P'isaq overlooking impressive Inkan terraces and to the Inkan Temple of the Sun, the place of the Condor. Meditation. Hike or bus down the mountain to the colorful market of P'isaq. This market is a wonderful opportunity to buy woven goods and beadwork and observe the colorful traditionally dressed campesinos coming to barter and sell their produce presenting marveloaus photographic opportunities. You will lunch in the town. The local ovens sell inexpensive fresh breads stuffed with vegetarian fillings and fresh squeezed orange juice with disposable cups. A variety of fruit is sold in the market. Your group may wish to sit outside the P'isaq Hotel and order a pizza while watching the lively activities of the market.

There will be a special day journey to the village of Patakancha. For twelve years Magical Journey has established contact with this isolated high mountain village with its dedicated school teachers and traditionally dressed pupils that few tourists are privileged to visit. On each visit to this community, which is very dear to our hearts, we see how they are progressing. Visitors always feel deeply moved by this cultural exchange. Over the years Willka T’ika Children’s Fund has built a four-roomed schoolhouse for teachers, brought many supplies and financed school activities and projects. The warmth and joy of the children when they see us, and their openness in bringing us into their daily lives, is an experience not easily forgotten. We will have a picnic lunch in the valley and later in the afternoon we will stop at the spectacular Ollantaytampu ruins with its magnificent sun temple.

Sunday - Monday, August 8th - 9th:
Morning train to Aguas Calientes, a lively village situated below the nearby Machu Picchu Ruins. Briefly check into our hotel and then ascend by bus to the sunlit terraces of the historical Inkan center of spiritual and political power. In the morning you enter Machu Picchu as tourists and follow a guided tour of the "Lost City of the Inka." Thereafter there is plenty of time to return in the afternoon as pilgrims for meditations and explorations in feminine and masculine energy sites. Take part in a special ancient healing ceremony to Pachamama inside of the Machu Picchu ruins hidden away from the tourists. Unique musical instruments are used, enabling our group to tune in deeply to the core essence of Machu Picchu.

On the second day you will have the full morning free to wander through the mysterious terraces and temples of Machu Picchu, Ancient City of Light. The energetic can climb to Waynapicchu, Young Mountain, for a spectacular view of Machu Picchu. We meet back at the hotel in the afternoon at the appointed time to catch our afternoon train back to Ollantaytampu with transfer to Willka T'ika in time for dinner.

Tuesday, August 10th:
The group will go by bus to the amazing circles of Moray where, at the base, there will be a special meditation in this most unusual place. We will go by bus to the Maras Inkan Salt Farms stopping en route for a picnic lunch. The views from there are unlike anything you have ever seen and you may participate in a brief salt purification ceremony before hiking down the valley.

Wednesday, August 11th :
A Day of mindfulness and integration at Willka T’ika. Walk through the community of Rumichaka accompanied by Willka T'ika staff, stopping at a neighbor's "chicharia" to see how the traditional drink is brewed. Chicha, made from sara (sacred corn) is an important component in ceremonies to the apukuna (mountain spirits). Our staff are all children of traditional Quechua campesinos and will invite you inside their nearby homes.

Friday, August 13th:
Arrival home.

Peru Photo Gallery

Notice: for the Sacred Valley Adventure

• Round trip International flights from your country to Cusco via Lima and interior flights back to Lima.
• Please allow between $4-$14 for the meals not included in the itinerary.
• Airport departure taxes: Each participant must keep aside a total of approximately US$44 (US$32 for one international and $6.00 each for two domestic departures).
• Optional Lima day tour and other Lima expenses.
• Individual airport transfers.
• Tipping to service providers (approx. $100).
• Guide tipping (group discretion).

We strongly suggest that all participants take out travel
and health insurance to protect their travel investment.