7-Day Mystic Tour of the Cusco Region
Day 1: Southeast Cusco
The purpose of this day’s tour is to begin our hands-on experiential education of the Andean Cosmovision with the history of the Andean people. Our tour takes us right into the sites presenting 3 different periods of Andean life: the pre-Inca, the Inca and the Colonial period. As we walk through these carefully preserved sites, we will see first hand the constructions of the people of these three periods, how they express the Andean spiritual philosophy, and how this spiritual philosophy prevails even within the Catholic church of Peru today.
Part 1: Tipón, Inca Water Temple
After breakfast at your hotel we take you directly to this magnificent Inca site high on a hill just south of Cusco city and at the base of the Apu Pachatusan.: Tipón, the temple to the Water Deity, “Mama Qocha.” This testament to the advanced engineering of the Inca civilization has 9 levels, flanked on both sides with fountains still flowing today.
The central fountain is built to symbolize the mystery teachings of the Andean Cosmovision ~ the Creative Energy of the Living Cosmos. Here we will teach about the central concept of Andean spiritual philosophy of Kausaypacha ~ the “Pacha”, or SpaceTime, and the Living Energy called “Kausay” as it flows and animates the life force within us and in all things.
Above the main plaza is an adjoining site, an Inca adoratory honoring the Apu Pachatusan. Filled with altars and niches which were elaborately decorated in the Inca times to hold sacred ceremonies, this was a very important shrine for the Inca nobility. On this sacred ground we will offer a ceremony of gratitude with k’intus (3 coca leaves) and chicha (traditional fermented beverage.)
Here we experience directly the basic principles of this inspiring mystic cosmovision that has persisted through the centuries of the great Andean civilizations.
Part 2: Pre-Inca Site Pikillacta
The next stop is a delicious lunch in the scenic town of Lucre (which specializes in fresh trout or roast duck and other alternatives). Afterwards we will step into an even more ancient time at this archeological site, home to the Wari culture that thrived in the Cusco region for centuries before the Inca civilization.
As we walk along the corridors of this village, we will marvel at the architectural and engineering expertise of this ancient city that reflects a highly sophisticated and organized society. The streets that connect the carefully constructed 700 buildings are laid out in perfect alignment to the cardinal directions. This reveals an advanced understanding of astronomy and the importance of living in alignment with the Cosmos. The many plazas dedicated to ceremonies show the central role that their religion played in communal life. We will explore these and many more wonders of this highly developed civilization, which demonstrate how the basic concepts of the Andean Cosmovision originated long before the Inca civilization.
Part 3: Church of Andahualillas
After Pikillacta, we will take you to the Catholic Church of Andahualillas nearby. This is considered one of the 8 “Sistine Chapels” in the world, not only because it is dedicated to the Apostle Peter, like the famous Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, but also because it is lavishly decorated in baroque style, with exquisite murals on the walls and roof. An exuberant feast for the eyes, this church is famous for its stunning beauty.
Why do we want to take you here, if we are teaching the Andean cosmovision? Because this beautiful chapel is one of the many examples of the way the Andean spiritual beliefs and concepts still persist, even to this day, within the Catholic church, a phenomenon called “Andean Syncretism.”
As is the case in most of the Catholic churches in Peru, the Spanish trained and contracted native Peruvians to decorate and paint their chapels according to their Spanish tastes. However, you will see how the native artists secretly hid elements of their own faith in their work.
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