Liz and Marianna invite you to join them on a pilgrimage to the Sacred Valley and Lake Titicaca in Peru. This is an opportunity for those seeking spiritual exploration and transformation. This is no standard tour. We will build a small Ayllu (group/community), for a fifteen-day life-changing expedition into the heart of the Andes with Gogi’s founder, a renowned spiritual guide, and two revered local Paqos (Shamans/healers).
We will follow an itinerary choreographed to embrace ancient wisdom and a new way of being. We will explore the culture and spirituality of the sacred Apus/Andes mountains, and reclaim the path to becoming more whole as we travel to the most profound regions of Peru. We will enjoy some of the finest lodging and food from Cusco to Machu Picchu, and from Puno to the islands of Lake Titicaca.
In the transformational Sacred Valley, we will work with local Paqos (shamans) to release extraneous energies from our bodies and spirits, reclaiming our light and honoring our energetic interconnectedness. This trip is designed for those who wish to be immersed in local communities and contribute globally within a paradigm of love, integrity, and balance. Our journey will be at high altitude and there will be optional daily yoga and hikes.
Important spiritual ceremonies will be held at powerful sacred sites in the Andes with local shamans. Each has specific energies, geometry, and elements to enhance our awareness. It is important to understand that the places we visit are not just ancient and beautiful, but alive and healing. These mountains and lakes hold tremendous energies to help guide our way. Vilma, Francisco, and Marianna will guide us and teach us about the Andean cosmology and belief system at each location. We will be learning about the Q’ero and their healing traditions through different ceremonies. We will not ingest any medicinal herbs, but embrace "Ayni", the practice of sacred reciprocity and ultimate balance… a beautiful state of love and being. (Private Healing sessions will also be available for an extra fee).
Not only will you explore the culture and spirituality of the sacred Apus/Andes mountains, but you’ll reclaim parts of yourself on the path to becoming more whole, as you travel physically from untracked Lake Titicaca to the most profound region of Peru. There is only one Sacred Valley; in this transformational place, you’ll work with local shamans to release extraneous energies from your body and spirit, returning with a new relationship to yourself, your life and the world around you.
This trip is designed for those who wish to serve their local communities and the global community within a paradigm of love, integrity, and balance; who seek improved health and well-being; and who crave transformation of body, mind, spirit, heart, and soul. This journey is for those who want a cultural and spiritual experience and to connect with like-minded souls. Who enjoy meditation and ceremonies as well as being open to a new culture. This is not a typical tourist trip.
This trip will allow you to:
Work closely with Paqos (Shamans/healers) for powerful transformations within yourself.
Discover the wondrous Andes and learn about healing herbs and the Sacred Mountains and of the Apus.
Discover the wonders of Lake Titicaca and the Islands.
Join a small “Ayllu”, (group/community) with similar interests and share a journey together.
Create Despachos (Haywarikuy) Ceremonies. Including the Ayni despacho, one of the most important types of Peruvian Offerings to bring balance.
Learn to transcend the physical realm naturally.
Discover the healing power of an ancient culture.
Reclaim yourself by releasing limiting beliefs, and old patterns and issues of the past.
Release culturally defined power structures that limit you and your life.
Visit with the artisans of Peru, including the weavers.
Enjoy the unique foods of Peru.
Walk in the Andes and learn about healing herbs and the Sacred Mountains of Los Apus.
Get new insight into the Spanish language and South American cultures.
Only TWELVE spots are available for this adventure, so we expect it to sell out quickly.
What’s Included:
● All accommodations in Peru. We will be staying at a combination of three- to five-star hotels. Each participant will share a lovely room and a bathroom. The Willka T'ika hotel is luxurious and located in a spectacular location. Here is where we will stay in the Sacred Valley: https://willkatika.com/
● We provide meals and there are a few dinners and lunches that you are responsible for during the trip. This gives you the choice to take time for yourself or with the group to eat lunch or dinner. In the itinerary below you will find the meals you are responsible for paying for.
● You will be picked up at the airport and taken to your hotel. All ground transportation in Peru will be via van, taxi, train, and boat
● Guided tours of Cusco, Machu Picchu & Lake Titicaca
● All ceremonies with Shamans and guided yoga and meditation
● Entry to several archaeological sites
● Entrance to Machu Picchu
● A train ride to Machu Picchu
● Gogi guides to help translate and support you throughout the trip
● A shamanic ceremony in which you’ll absorb the teachings of the Sacred Valley
● Daily Yoga
What’s not Included:
● Airfare to/from Peru ($800-$1,200); excess baggage charges; airport taxes; all airport costs, including meals and drinks
● All alcoholic beverages and water
● Travel insurance of any kind (emergency medical and evacuation insurance is mandatory for this trip and can be purchased for $75-$150 through Travel Guard or World Nomads; details will be provided with the confirmation of your deposit)
● You are responsible for 1 lunch and 4 dinners throughout the trip. It should be around $100 (total) depending on where you wish to eat. This gives you time to explore on your own or join the group at a restaurant as well.
● Willka T'ika Hotel offers a range of therapeutic spa treatments, and solar baths to restore the body and these are optional to guests and not included in the price.
● Tips for the hotel staff at Willka T’ika
● Admission to the hot springs in Aguas Calientes (optional)
● Tips for guides/shamans
● Healing session with Marianna https://www.lightnstone.com/
MEET OUR LEADERS:
Marianna Jacobs, healer/guide
As a Paqo, (Shaman/healer), with knowledge of the Sacred Valley and the Q’ero People and their culture, Marianna will be coordinating with Francisco and Vilma to hold ceremonies and share insights into the culture, land, and its people. She will be also offering daily Yoga and will be available for private Transformative Energy Sessions.
For over four decades Marianna has explored the world of indigenous healing beliefs. She has collaborated with healers in many cultures learning their ancient techniques. Marianna followed her calling to Peru and Chile to become a certified Shamanic Energy Practitioner and a graduate of the Light Body School of the Four Winds Society. In her own practice, she combines her knowledge from the Pacquos/Shamans of the Q’ero lineage of Peru with indigenous techniques she has learned during extensive time in Bali and India. She also draws from her studies of Yoga, Reiki and Pranic healing, to create her own unique and evolving healing practice.
SESSION with MARIANNA: This is the perfect time to have energy work done before and during the trip as well. https://www.lightnstone.com/about-1
Marianna acts as a conduit to clear energy that no longer serves us. Throughout our lives, we all have experiences and various forms of trauma that can become wounds that dim the radiance of our essential selves. We are also born with genetic and ancestral information and energy that may restrict or interfere with our well-being. Marianna works with us to distinguish which issues to address, intuitively helping us shift and transform to a healthier state of integrated physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance. Marianna has had great success working remotely by telephone, Skype, FaceTime or WhatsApp anywhere in the world. She also offers a “Dreamtime Session”, shared remotely when you are sleeping in the comfort of your own home. This works especially well with young children. She is also available for private, couple, or group sessions at her hilltop office in Putney Vermont and at the "Open Door" Health Clinic in White River Junction, Vermont. Her Putney Office sits on the side of Putney Mountain, and after a session, there are nature paths to walk and a beautiful view to enjoy while processing the experience. When needed, Marianna will travel to see clients. Marianna’s deep affinity and connection with animals has made her practice effective for animals as well and can be quite helpful with pet owners and their relationships with their furry loved ones.
Franciso Victoria, cultural guide
With his fluent language skills; English, Spanish, and Quechua, deep cultural scholarship, close friendship with Vilma, and expertise in Lake Titicaca, Francisco will be a perfect local guide for our Allyu!
Born in Argentina and living in Peru for almost a decade, Francisco has devoted himself to studying and practicing the local cultural and spiritual Andean Traditions. Having a major in International Relations gave him the tools to approach and understand different cultures and perspectives. But his calling went beyond books and theories: he wanted to connect with a deeper sense of being and creating. And so in the Andean communitarian rituals and beliefs, he found a way of connecting to the subtle realms of Nature Beings, thus healing, and understanding his place in this world.
Alongside his Peruvian wife Yandy, Francisco founded the organization Karpay, creating hundreds of workshops, retreats, trips, and programs, and working with thousands of Spanish and English speakers that approach this path to grow, heal, rest, to remember how to love themselves and others. Every day he learns from his relationships with his partner, his son, his masters, and students, but also from the spirits of the mountains, the lakes, and the lands that welcome him.
In this Journey he will be accompanying and guiding us through the sacred sites and rituals, sharing from his heart the gold nuggets of wisdom that the Andeans have so generously gifted him.
Vilma, Hampeq (Shaman/Healer)
As a direct descendent of the most revered Paqo’s in Peru, VILMA is one of Peru’s foremost Paqo healers, sharing her knowledge from the heart. She is one of the rare Shamans of her level to communicate in English.
Since she was very young, Vilma has been entrusted with the teachings of her abuelos and abuelas (grandparents), the elders of her community. The subtle way in which she handles the coca leaves, lights up the incense, performs her prayers, and touches the cotton used in the rituals, shows her love and respect for this legacy of connection with the spirits of her land. Walking with her and learning patiently from her craft, and witnessing how she speaks with the other realms, we will recognize that her knowledge cannot be found in a textbook. Her teachings are about awareness and action.
For Vilma and her Elders "to heal" means to be aware of the energy around you and within you. To be a "healer" a hampeq or a shaman means to be connected to the sources of life and death, to the delicate balance that allows our presence in this world, and to open the gift of sharing this presence as medicine to our communities and others that seek our help.
Because in the end, the art of healing is truly effective once we allow ourselves to become the teachings and tools we receive along the way. Through the warmth in your hands and breath, you become the leaves that bring life; through the gratitude in your prayers you become the incense you offer to the spirits; through the cotton you gently caress, you become the wound you help yourself and others heal.
Liz Jackson, Director and Founder of Gogi Abroad
As the Founder of Gogi Abroad, Liz will bring her expertise as a group travel coordinator to provide safe and smooth transitions throughout this journey. She has been working with communities in Peru for around ten years now. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Gogi Abroad was founded by Liz Jackson, a passionate educator, and traveler who has been teaching and leading international trips for over 18 years. Liz’s passions are working with indigenous communities and she feels like one of her main purposes on earth is to be a weaver of cultures and communities. Liz has traveled extensively to Peru and worked with indigenous communities and shamans for several years now. Liz has attended workshops with the Q’ero, deep breath work, and many retreats that work with spirit and meditation. She loves to bring westerners to a new land where she has deep connections and provides an authentic experience abroad. These experiences show us more about who we are inwardly and give us the opportunity to grow and transform on many levels. She is looking forward to this adult trip to Peru as we will connect with the Peruvians, and learn about the land, history, and healing practices of the ancient cultures.
