Peru

The tradition of the qinto is one of the most beautiful and enduring parts of life in the Andes mountains of Peru. While many people around the world see a simple leaf, the people of the high mountains see a direct connection to the earth and their ancestors. A qinto is not just a single leaf, but a small fan made of three perfect coca leaves held together. These leaves are used in a spiritual practice called a despacho , which is a way of giving thanks to the land and the mo

In the high Andes mountains of South America, the Quechua speaking people have a word that describes a beautiful way of looking at the world

In the tradition of the Q’ero shamans from the high mountains of Peru, the south is a place of deep transformation. It is the beginning of the journey on the medicine wheel. Just as the warm sun sits in the southern sky, this direction brings the heat we need to shed our past. At the Chacana Spiritual Center, we teach that the south is where we learn to walk with beauty and let go of the things that no longer serve us.

ancient traditions like Inti Raymi offer a bridge back to balance. Known as the Festival of the Sun

Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol are revered as the birthplace of the cosmos and the ancestral origin of the Inca dynasty. According to legend, the creator god Wirracocha emerged from the lake's depths to summon the sun, moon, and stars from the Sacred Rock on Isla del Sol, ending a period of primordial darkness. This island is also the site where Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, the first Inca rulers and children of the Sun God Inti, were said to have descended to Earth to bring ci

The Chacana Spiritual Center takes groups of people on spiritual retreats to Peru and the Sacred Valley. Join us each summer as we travel be