WHY TAKE ANY TOUR AT ALL?

Why not just go on your own, and save money? Great idea for some, poor idea for others. The major value in the added expense of taking a tour is #1 hopefully the tour will take you to places you wouldn't have gotten to on your own, either because you didn't know about them, or it just wasn't worth the hassle for you to get there on your own. #2 Travel in a foreign country can be exhausting, and especially so travelling in a third world country. (Its not called the third world for nothing).

So going with a tour saves you the hassles of travel arrangements: ascertaining schedules, searching for hotels, negotiations, bookings, and in general leaves you hassle free to enjoy/experience whatever you journeyed there for in the first place. In addition, you have an experienced guide with you at all times, to hopefully answer questions and handle glitches if they occur. If you have limited time, a tour can be invaluable in freeing up your time and energies to really be there. If you have plenty of time, and enjoy going somewhere and winging it, making all your own arrangements, then a tour may not be your cup of tea.

A tour also offers companionship. This of course can be wonderful or terrible depending on your tour companions. So a question you might want to ask is: how carefully, if at all, does a tour company or leader screen their clients? What sort of people will you be travelling with?

ABOUT TOURS TO PERU IN GENERAL

An insiders tip about tours: I know of no tour leader from outside of Peru who actually makes the local arrangements. No matter how famous, highly attained, or well traveled your leader may be, to my knowledge they all contract with a Peruvian travel co. Most tour leaders, hopefully, set the itinerary, (although first timers and even some seasoned tour leaders, leave even the itinerary to the local co.), and then the local co provides all services, including local guide/translator. If you are metaphysically orientated, the level this local co thinks from is of critical importance to your receiving what you desire from your journey.

For example, the majority of guides at Machu Picchu haven't a clue about what the place was really used for, and will inundate the gullible tourist with stories of "here is where the 'Inca's virgins' lived", and "here is where the Inca kept their prisoners". It happens to be hogwash, but sufficient for conventional tourists. You might be seeking a deeper experience. Some tours spend your money on the fanciest of hotels. You may love the luxury, or you may wish they had conserved your money and provided less sumptuous rooms you spend so little time in anyway.

Some tours include 3-4 days trekking the famous Inca trail. It is a wonderful adventure. But it is strenuous, and you will be spending 3-4 days out of your precious time in Peru doing essentially what you could do on your own in any mountain range in the world. Is that the best allocation of your time and energy?

I suggest you obtain a detailed itinerary from any tour you consider joining, and then have someone knowledgable with Peru, of the level you wish to expereience, look over the itinerary and critique it. Does it seem to offer the experience you wish to have? . No matter how a tour presents itself in words, if the leader relies on the local companies itineraries, they may be taking you on a tour actually designed for the majority of tourists who just want to visit famous places, shoot a few pictures, and cross it off their lists. Some tours are specifically tailored to satisfy shoppers, others geared toward appreciation of local arts or crafts, still others outdoor adventuring. Some concentrate on visiting local shamans, who specialize in performing local rituals.

I do not mean to pass judgement on any tours to Peru. All have their place and value. But tours in Peru differ greatly, and you may care about the focus and level of the experience offered to you. I've spoken with many serious pilgrims while in Peru, whom I felt had been misled by their tour leaders. Not through malice, but through a sort of spiritual arrogance. The attitude seemed to be: "I'm spiritually attained so of course I can lead a tour to anywhere, including Peru". Sorry, but judging by the itinerary offered, I must disagree. Had you known Peru more deeply, you could have offered your people so much more.

Peru is a very special place, offering the possibilities of very special experiences. You may want to be guided by people who understand and experience the subtleties available there.

WHY IS MY TOUR DIFFERENT?

1. -For starters, although I have traveled and lived in many parts of the world, and visited many places of power, Peru is the only area I have been called upon to lead tours to. I have a special relationship with the power places of the Andes, and I am called upon to share its magic with special people.
   
   
2. Many tours are headlined by already famous people. They may have great attainments, large followings, wonderful teachings. They may be somewhat famous in their area of expertise, either in their home countries or internationally.. But you must ask, how well do they know Peru or the ancient mysteries of the Andes? How qualified are they to guide you to these very special sites, or have they only lent their name, fame, and presence to a tour actually conducted by others? Quite often, once actually in Peru, they will be exactly as experienced as you are, and no more.
   
   
3. I carefully choose the Peruvians I work with. We work with local guides who are sensitive, helpful, and yet unobtrusive. They are there to facilitate your experience, not give you theirs.
   
   
4. Our tours concentrate upon you actually experiencing the ancient natural energies that accumulate and intensify at these still alive power sites. With few exceptions, if the site is famous, but not still alive, we don't go there.
   
   
5. I do not believe we get maximum personal growth and benefit from immersing ourselves in another culture, nor by slavishly following their rituals and religious practices. So rather than take you to a series of local shamans, no matter how great their spiritual powers or attainments, I lead you directly to these still powerful sites, where we cleanse ourselves and the sites, to then invite our own experiences directly with the spirits of the sites. Our goal is to contact our own inner shaman and create our own cosmology. This method is perfect for some, and for others, working with local shamans is more appropriate. You must ask your own internal guidance which is best for you.
   
   
6. To help keep tour costs reasonable, we do not stay in 5 star fancy hotels, which tend to be the same world wide. Instead we chose more simple hotels, ones that still provide cleanliness, good beds, and quiet location. While visiting islands in Lake Titicaca that have no hotels or restaurants, we stay with local families.
   
   
7. Peru does offer a wonderful mountainous 4 day hike on the justifiably famous Inca trail. To include this arduous trek on our tour would, in my mind, simply take up four of your precious days. Days that we could more profitably spend visiting absolutely unique sites. The actual trekking would be similar to trekking in any mountain area. Why travel all the way to Peru to do what you could do on your own elsewhere? So I leave that for you to do on your own, after our tour, if you are so motivated.
   
   
8. Peru offers fabulous shopping for alpaca, cotton, and woolen clothing, as well as colorful native artifacts. We will visit several native markets, and you will have time on your own, in which you can visit others. However we will not focus on shopping. We will instead focus on intuiting and recreating the magic of the ancients.
   
   
9. A tip in helping you evaluate and compare tours: Machu Picchu is situated deep in a river gorge in the middle of the Andes. There is no road leading there nor conventional airport. Unless your tour helicopters in, the journey to and from Machu Picchu requires 1/2 day by train each way. So if a tour advertises "3 days in Machu Picchu" they are really offering you maximum 2 half days and one full day at the ruins, and possibly even less. If they advertise "2 days", you are getting an afternoon there, with maybe a return visit the next morning. If your only interest in this incredible site is to look around, snap some pictures, and move on, then 1 or 2 days is sufficient. But if you hope to really experience this absolutely unique and powerful site, you really need more time here. Our tour will spend 5 days in and around Machu Picchu, as my experience has shown that to be the minimum time we need to truly experience this most powerful and special place.
   
   
10. If your proposed tour spends time in the Sacred Valley, ask what town you stay in and what you will be doing there. The Sacred Valley is lovely, is very convenient to include on a tour, and has many sites of some interest, but these are not the most powerful nor important sites in the Andes. We spend one nite in the most interesting town in the valley, then next day visit the sites I consider of greatest interest, and then move on. I feel your time is better spent elsewhere.
    
    
11. Many mystics now claim that the Lake Titicaca area has become the new center of power in the Peruvian Andes. If a proposed tour ignores or passes briefly through this important area and its sites, it may not fulfill your desires. We will spend 10 days in and around the lake, spending 3 nights on 3 islands. Its not the easiest area to travel in, but I feel it is the most rewarding. If you do not spend time at the Power Places of Lake Titicaca, I feel you have missed much the Andes has to offer.
    
    
12. Again, much depends on what level of experience you are prepared for and seeking. You are spending your valuable time and money to journey a great distance. Are you seeking an interesting vacation or a maximum experience?.

What some call progress is coming to Peru.
Don't wait too long to visit