Andean Shamanic Journey & Wachuma Ceremony: Q'eros Community Immersion in Peru

Days 1 and 2 are in Cusco, giving you time to acclimatise before heading higher. You'll be picked up from the airport and stay in a 3-star hotel — solo travellers get a single room, everyone else shares a twin or matrimonial, and private rooms for groups can be arranged for an extra cost. On one of these days you meet a Q'eros Maestro at the Moon Temple (Qenko), learn what the site means in Andean cosmology, take part in a traditional blessing, and set your intentions for the week.

On day 3 you leave Cusco by private transport for the Q'eros community in Paucartambo province, a drive that takes you well away from the usual tourist circuit. You stay two nights with local families in very basic rooms: a simple mattress, an outdoor toilet, and no hot water or hot showers. Larger groups are set up in tents with mattresses and sleeping bags instead. During the stay you join ceremonies led by Q'eros Maestros — a coca leaf reading, an energetic cleansing, a flowering, and a gratitude offering to Pachamama. There's also a hike through the high mountain landscape and, weather permitting, a walk to a quiet spot by a river for a traditional cleansing ceremony.

Day 5 moves you down to Urubamba in the Sacred Valley, where you spend two nights at a retreat centre with private bathrooms, hot water and Wi-Fi. After time to rest and eat, the Wachuma ceremony takes place in a natural setting among the Sacred Mountains, guided by an experienced shamanic practitioner with a translator present. Meals around the ceremony are adjusted — lighter, simpler food beforehand and no heavy meals the day before.

The itinerary is deliberately flexible in Q'eros, since local circumstances, weather and the needs of the group shape how the days unfold. The journey ends in Urubamba on day 7 with a transfer to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco. It's worth being clear about what this is: a culturally grounded, physically simple trip centred on ceremony and community life rather than sport or training. The main physical demands are the altitude (Cusco sits around 3,400 m) and the hiking in the Q'eros mountains.

Maestro Adrián leads the Q'eros portion. He grew up in Chua Chua within the community, has practised these ancestral traditions for more than nine years, and specialises in coca leaf reading and offerings to Pachamama. The trip is organised by Nature Trips Peru, co-founded by Ruty Salas, who coordinates the logistics and works with local guides, communities and Maestros across the Cusco region. Between them you get a team that lives in the area rather than a company parachuting in.

What's included

- Airport pickup and transfers in Cusco - Private transportation throughout the itinerary - 2 nights in a 3-star hotel in Cusco - 2 nights of basic accommodation in the Q'eros community (or camping for larger groups) - 2 nights at a retreat centre in Urubamba - All meals throughout the journey, adapted around the Wachuma ceremony - Professional cooking team, with meals adapted to dietary needs - Q'eros community visit and cultural experience - Guidance from a Q'eros Maestro - Ancestral ceremonies performed by an Andean Maestro - Hike in the Q'eros mountains - Professional guide and translator

What's not included

- Flights - Activities not mentioned in the itinerary - Extra services - Travel insurance