Peru Pilgrimage

Walk the Ancient Path

A 12-day sacred journey through Peru's ancient ceremonial sites guided by master Huachumero Don Martín

Pilgrimage in Images

A Pilgrimage of Remembrance

For thousands of years, Huachuma (San Pedro) has been used by Andean shamans as a sacred bridge between worlds, opening the heart, expanding vision, and reconnecting the soul with nature, spirit, and the cosmos.

This is more than a retreat. It is a pilgrimage of remembrance — across sacred landscapes, across time, and into the deepest parts of your being. Guided by Don Martín, a master Huachumero and direct apprentice of Don Howard, you'll ceremonially activate the wisdom of five powerful sites, each chosen for its spiritual, historical, and energetic significance.

Rooted in one of the oldest Huachuma traditions of the Andes, this pilgrimage is an invitation into ancestral healing, spiritual transformation, and embodied awakening. This journey is not for everyone. It's for those who feel the calling — to heal, to awaken, to remember.

Ceremony at Chavin

5 Huachuma Ceremonies

Guided by Don Martín at each of the five sacred sites across northern and central Peru

Sacred Site Visits

Batan Grande, El Brujo, Chavín de Huántar, Bosque de Rocas, and Heaven's Gate

Hotel Accommodation

Comfortable lodging throughout the entire pilgrimage route

Ground Transport

All bus and van transportation between sites is included

Site Entrance Fees

All entrance fees for sacred sites and museums along the route

Pre & Post Support

Individual preparation call, group calls, and post-retreat integration sessions

Meet Don Martín

Don Martín is a highly respected Huachumero and maestro of the sacred medicine path. He directly apprenticed under the late Don Howard, one of the most revered Huachumeros of our time, and carries forward his lineage with deep humility, integrity, and devotion.

Born and raised in Chavín de Huántar, the home of the oldest known Huachuma temple and the spiritual epicenter of Andean shamanism, Don Martín has spent decades walking this path. For 24 years, he lived within the ancient temple itself, where his sacred Huachuma plant, now 38 years old, continues to grow. He calls this plant El Guardián del Templo — the guardian of the temple.

He has led this exact pilgrimage many times, walking with pilgrims through the sacred sites of northern and central Peru. In each ceremony, he holds space with a rare blend of quiet strength, reverence, and compassion, supporting deep healing, insight, and reconnection for those who come with sincere intent.

Don Martín is not just a facilitator of ceremony. He is a true guardian of the ancient Huachuma tradition, and a bridge between the ancestral wisdom of the Andes and those seeking healing and transformation today.

Don Martín

Five Sacred Portals

This pilgrimage takes you through sacred sites that span thousands of years — beginning with the ceremonial centers of the Sicán and Moche cultures along the northern coast, moving back to Chavín de Huántar, the oldest known Huachuma temple in the Andes, and culminating at the timeless heights of Bosque de Rocas and Heaven's Gate.

Ceremony Site 01

Batan Grande

Batan Grande

Batan Grande is an ancient ceremonial site on the northern coast of Peru, deeply tied to the Sicán culture (750–1375 CE), known for its powerful ancestral rituals and reverence for divine forces. Nestled in the Bosque de Pomác, it is home to sacred pyramids that once held the remains of Sicán elites. This site offers a profound space for grounding into the Earth, connecting with Pachamama, and opening to the deeper wisdom of the land. It is an ideal place to begin the pilgrimage, to shed the weight of the past and root yourself for the journey ahead.

Batan Grande is the Mesada of Pachamama. It is the energetic threshold of the pilgrimage and a place of release, remembrance, and initiation. Here, you'll work with the elements of Earth and Fire. Earth offers grounding, stability, and ancestral connection. Fire brings purification, courage, and transformation. The Millennium Tree, believed to be over 1,000 years old, stands as a living symbol of resilience and ancient memory. Nearby, the Huaca de las Ventanas still echoes with the spirit of the Sicán ancestors. In ceremony, this land helps you root into the present, honor where you've come from, and set the foundation for what's to come.

Batan Grande was the spiritual and ceremonial heart of the Sicán culture. The pyramids and surrounding dry forest formed a sacred landscape used for elaborate burial rituals and ancestral worship. Archaeologists have uncovered tombs of Sicán elites beneath these structures, offering insight into their spiritual cosmology and reverence for the afterlife. The Bosque de Pomác, one of the last remaining dry forests in Peru, still holds the remnants of this civilization, revealing how the Sicán aligned their spiritual practices with the rhythms of nature and the cosmos.

Ceremony Site 02

El Brujo

El Brujo

El Brujo is an ancient ceremonial site on the northern coast of Peru, connected to the Moche civilization that flourished from roughly 100 to 800 AD. Known for its grand pyramids and ritual practices, it was a powerful place of ceremony, sacrifice, and communication with divine forces. The site is home to the Huaca Cao and Huaca Cortada pyramids, central to Moche efforts to influence natural cycles, particularly the El Niño climate phenomenon. In this landscape shaped by ocean winds and shifting tides, we encounter the elemental power of nature, death, and rebirth.

El Brujo is the Mesada of Power. It carries the raw energy of creation and destruction. Here, the sea speaks of force and unpredictability, and the wind carries the whispers of ancestral spirits. The Moche performed elaborate rituals, including human sacrifice, to maintain cosmic balance and survive the fierce rhythms of nature. In ceremony, we meet these forces not to dominate them, but to honor them. This site invites deep reflection on our relationship with power — how we hold it, how we fear it, and how we surrender to something greater than ourselves.

El Brujo is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Moche world. The discovery of the Lady of Cao, a high-ranking female spiritual and political leader, revealed new insights into the role of women in Moche society and the depth of ceremonial life at the site. The Moche practiced human sacrifice as a response to El Niño's devastating effects, believing these offerings would restore harmony between humanity and the divine. The pyramids, murals, and tombs at El Brujo offer a striking window into a culture that lived in direct relationship with the spiritual and elemental forces of the world.

Ceremony Site 03

Chavín de Huántar

Chavín de Huántar

Chavín de Huántar is an ancient ceremonial site in the Andean highlands of Peru, considered the cradle of Andean civilization and the Great Temple of Universal Consciousness. Dating back over 3,500 years, it was the heart of the Chavín culture, a civilization built on the practice of high shamanism focused on healing and higher consciousness. The Chavín temple, with its iconic Lanzón deity, symbolizes the union of Heaven and Earth, representing the convergence of divine wisdom and earthly experience. The word Chavín comes from "Chaupin," which means center of centers, pointing to its place as the spiritual and ceremonial heart of ancient Andean civilization. Widely regarded as the Axis Mundi of the Andes, Chavín is the most sacred huaca of Peruvian antiquity. It stands as the climactic site of the pilgrimage as a place of harmony, balance, cleansing, and new beginnings.

Chavín is the Mesada of Transformation. The ceremony at Chavín connects participants with the powerful energies of the site, where spiritual transformation is anchored in the union of earth, air, fire, and water… and the fifth element, consciousness. Here, participants are invited into deep spiritual work, supported by the wisdom embedded in the temple walls. This ceremony is particularly potent as it coincides with the Fall Equinox, a moment of perfect balance that mirrors the inner alignment sought on the path. For those called to personal rebirth and transformation, Chavín offers a potent space for cleansing and reconnection with the universal.

Chavín de Huántar shaped the spiritual and cultural foundation of the Andes for over a thousand years. Pilgrims traveled from across the coast, jungle, and mountains to engage in visionary rituals and seek healing through the power of the sacred cactus. The Chavín culture sparked a flourishing of high culture, visionary art, and sophisticated ceremonial practice that shaped the spiritual foundation of the Andes. It was a pioneer of shamanic technologies that influenced generations to come, and the temple itself is considered the original model for the mesa tradition used by San Pedro maestros of the northern coast and central Andes. As the oldest known Huachuma temple, it stands as one of the greatest living tributes to sacred shamanic tradition in the ancient world — a profound symbol of ancestral wisdom, spiritual initiation, and the enduring legacy of Andean consciousness.

Ceremony Site 04

Bosque de Rocas

Bosque de Rocas

Bosque de Rocas, also known as the "Rock Forest," is an ancient sacred site located in the Andean highlands. It is home to towering stone formations, believed to be the natural guardians of wisdom. These formations, along with the petroglyphs carved into the rocks, are thought to contain the stories and knowledge of the first Andean peoples. The petroglyphs are believed to date back over 10,000 years. The site serves as a bridge between the physical and spiritual realms, offering an opportunity to connect with deep layers of Andean wisdom and open the doors to visionary states.

Bosque de Rocas is a place of ancient memory and expanded vision. In ceremony, the stone formations are worked with as natural altars, carrying the energetic imprints of those who came before. The petroglyphs etched into the rocks are believed to represent symbols of initiation, dream-travel, and communication with other realms. This site invites a deepened connection with the unseen world, where participants may access guidance, insight, and ancestral presence. The forest itself seems to hold a quiet intelligence, a stillness that opens the heart and sharpens inner perception. Here, the land does not just speak. It listens.

Bosque de Rocas is one of the oldest known ceremonial sites in the Andes, with petroglyphs believed to date back at least 10,000 years. These markings suggest a long-standing tradition of shamanic ritual, vision-seeking, and earth-based spirituality. Some researchers believe the site may have also been used for astronomical observation or seasonal ceremonies, guided by the cycles of the stars. The presence of ceremonial caves throughout the area points to its use as a retreat site for initiates and spiritual practitioners. Bosque de Rocas remains a powerful expression of the ancient Andean relationship to land, spirit, and cosmic intelligence. It is a living testament to the continuity of sacred practice through time.

Ceremony Site 05

Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate, located in the heart of the Cordillera Blanca, is a sacred site where the energies of the earth and cosmos converge. For generations, it has been regarded as a mystical doorway between Heaven and Earth. Surrounded by high-altitude lakes and towering mountain spirits, this place has long been honored as a threshold between realms. It lies along a fault line between Mount Huandoy (feminine) and Mount Huascarán (masculine), two of the highest and most prominent peaks in Peru and the tropical world. The site symbolizes the union of dual forces — masculine and feminine, earth and sky, stillness and creation. In ceremony, we honor the dynamic and infinite creativity of nature and cosmos and seal the pilgrimage with a despacho offering to Pachamama, bringing the journey to completion.

Heaven's Gate serves as the Mesada of Creativity and Eternal Life, marking the culmination of the pilgrimage where the arc of transformation reaches its spiritual fulfillment. Here, participants reflect on their journey and embrace the vastness of the cosmos. The harmonious energies of Mount Huandoy and Mount Huascarán represent the sacred union of dual forces and the living intelligence of the natural world. The despacho ceremony offers a moment of gratitude, integration, and closure, honoring all that has been shed, remembered, and reclaimed. Aligned with the Upper World, Heaven's Gate is a place of spiritual ascension, divine connection, and realization of our oneness with all creation.

Heaven's Gate has long held spiritual significance for the Quechua people. Sites like this, high in the mountains and near glacial lakes, were often used for celestial alignments, offerings, and seasonal rites that connected the human world with the movements of the heavens. Traditional Andean priests continue to honor its sacred energy today. For millennia, people have journeyed to these heights to commune with the divine, celebrate life, and engage in ceremonies of renewal. Heaven's Gate remains a living symbol of Andean cosmology and the enduring relationship between humanity, nature, and the sacred.

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Frequently Asked Questions

This is more than a retreat. It is a pilgrimage of remembrance across sacred landscapes, across time, and into the deepest parts of your being. A pilgrimage is a journey with spiritual intention — one that takes you out of your ordinary life and into direct contact with the sacred. On this journey, the land itself becomes the teacher. The ancient sites, the ceremonies, the people you travel with, and the medicine you sit with all work together to create a container for profound transformation. You are not just visiting places. You are walking a path that has been walked by seekers for thousands of years.

Huachuma (also known as San Pedro) is one of the oldest and most revered sacred plant medicines in the world. For over 3,000 years it has been used by Andean cultures for healing, vision, and communion with the natural and spiritual realms. Known to open the heart, clear emotional burdens, and reconnect us with the living intelligence of nature, Huachuma is considered one of Peru's two master teacher plants, alongside Ayahuasca. While Ayahuasca is known for its feminine mother spirit and inward visionary journeys, Huachuma is typically described as a masculine or grandfather spirit — bringing a grounded sense of clarity and a more outward-facing connection to the natural world. Its legacy runs deep: the earliest known depictions of Huachuma ceremonies are found at Chavín de Huántar, an ancient temple dating back to at least 1500 BCE.

Yes. Huachuma (San Pedro cactus) is legal in Peru and has been used ceremonially for thousands of years. It is not classified as a controlled substance in Peru, and its use in traditional and ceremonial contexts is protected as part of Peru's indigenous cultural heritage. Working with Huachuma in ceremony with a licensed and respected Huachumero is a lawful and culturally recognized practice.

No prior experience is required. Huachuma often meets people where they are. Unlike some other plant medicines that can be overwhelming or disorienting for first-timers, Huachuma tends to be grounding and heart-opening, and it allows you to remain fully conscious and embodied throughout the experience. When approached with sincerity, humility, and proper preparation, it can offer profound insight without requiring prior psychedelic experience. That said, it's important to come in with respect, clear intention, and a willingness to be with whatever the journey brings. Support with preparation and integration is key — especially for those new to this path.

This pilgrimage does involve physical activity, but it's not designed to be extreme or inaccessible. Expect a mix of travel, intentional walking, time in nature, and high-altitude environments. Some ceremony sites require short hikes or extended periods outdoors, potentially in the sun, wind, or varying terrain. That said, this is not a backpacking or endurance trek. You don't need to be an athlete, but you should be in generally good health and comfortable with movement, uneven ground, and being outside for extended periods. We do our best to pace the journey mindfully, with rest and integration built in. If you have specific health considerations, we recommend speaking with us in advance to ensure this experience is a good fit.

Accommodations throughout the pilgrimage are simple and comfortable. In most regions we stay in locally run hotels or guesthouses that offer clean rooms, hot water, and a supportive place to rest and recharge. Some locations, such as Chavín, may feel more traditional due to limited infrastructure, but all lodging is suitable for the nature of the journey. This is not a luxury retreat, but it is not roughing it either. The accommodations are there to support the deeper purpose of the journey, not distract from it.

Participants are responsible for booking their own domestic flight from Lima to Chiclayo. Once you arrive in Chiclayo, all ground transportation for the pilgrimage is included and arranged. We'll travel together in a private bus with our trusted driver, who has supported this pilgrimage for over a decade. From city to city and site to site, transportation is handled so you can stay focused on the experience, not the logistics. The pilgrimage concludes in Lima, where all participants will be dropped off for their outbound flights.

We eat at a variety of local restaurants along the pilgrimage route. Seafood is prevalent on the coast, and traditional Andean meals often include meat and potatoes. Vegetarian options are available throughout the journey, with especially good vegetarian restaurants in Huanchaco and Huaraz. Participants are responsible for their own food costs, which typically average around $15–30 USD per day. For most participants, total food costs fall well under $400–500 USD across the full trip. We also stop at grocery stores and markets along the way to pick up fruit, snacks, and water for travel days and ceremony time.

The pilgrimage is guided by Don Martín, a master Huachumero with over 24 years of experience. You will also be supported by experienced facilitators providing emotional, logistical, and energetic support throughout the journey. Before the pilgrimage, you will receive detailed guidance, group preparation calls, and a one-on-one session. After the pilgrimage, you will have group integration calls and a dedicated one-on-one session to help ground the experience and carry it forward into your life.

This is not a trip you simply show up for. The more intentional your preparation, the deeper and more meaningful the experience will be. As part of your preparation, you'll want to set a clear intention for the journey. In the weeks and months leading up to the pilgrimage, you'll receive detailed information, group sessions, and a one-on-one preparation session to help you get oriented. All necessary details will be shared well in advance to support you in preparing logistically, mentally, physically, and spiritually. You'll also be given specific dietary guidance to support the ceremonies.

Feel Called to Join Us?

This is an exclusive, invitation-only pilgrimage, designed for those ready to embrace a transformative journey. Spaces are extremely limited. If you feel called, reach out to begin a conversation.

Set Up An Information Call