Mt. Ausangate Expedition
with Alberto Villoldo
April 18-23, 2027
Open only to graduates or students who have a personal altar or mesa.
An expedition to the Holy Mountain of Ausangate. We will journey at altitudes ranging from 11,000 to 17,000 feet, in a once in a lifetime opportunity to feel breathless and ecstatically at one with the finest medicine people in the world. This will be a very rigorous and challenging journey, and we will be hiking and camping for four days.
After acclimating to altitude for a week in the Sacred Valley, visiting and working at pre-Inka citadels and ruins, we board our buses to the village of Ocongate, where we camp by natural hot springs at the foot of the Holy Mountain. The Q'ero elders meet us at the hot springs, and hike with us the following day to our base camp at Azul Cocha (the blue lagoon) at 14,000 feet. We are accompanied by our full kitchen crew, who prepare delicious meals for us.
The next four days we take part in ceremony, and the transmission of the rites of passage, the high Karpays. In the evenings we sit by the fire (or inside our large group tent), and listen to the Q'ero flutes. The final day of our journey to the Ausangate we visit don Mariano, who lives at 16,500 feet and who is 'the caretaker of the rainbow'.
The medicine women will come down from the mountain to work with us, and this will be one of the rare times that they share these rites with non-Indians. We will take part in the rites of Pachacuti and the Taripaypacha Tiempo. Very few non-indians have been part of such a gathering. The return of Pachacuti and the Taripaypacha Tiempo marks the beginning of a new time in the Earth, akin to the completion of the prophecies of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico, and of the emergence into the 5th world of the Hopi.
Our pilgrimage takes us through spectacular vistas of snow-covered Apus, to sacred sites where we bring our offerings and receive gifts of power from the mountain. We return to base camp, and after breakfast the following morning make our way back to Ocongate (stopping at the hot-springs along the way.) Early afternoon the following day we return to the Sacred Valley.
DAY BY DAY
Dates: April 18-23, 2027
Welcome to Peru and the lush, verdant Sacred Valley — cradle of the Inka and home to ancient wisdom keepers. We’ll be staying near the flowing Urubamba River at an altitude of 2,857 meters (9,373 ft) — so please allow yourself time to rest, hydrate, and gently acclimate to being this close to the heavens.
Important Tips:
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Stay well-hydrated (drink only bottled water)
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Pace yourself and rest as needed — your body is adjusting to high altitude
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Breakfast at the hotel is served from 5:00 AM in the restaurant daily.
Day 1. Arrive in Cusco
Transfer to our hotel in the Sacred Valley.
Day 2. Sacred Valley
Morning visit to the Inka city of Ollantaytambo and the Temple of the Winds, built by Inka Pachacutec, The Indian city still maintains its original Inka architecture and aqueducts that have flowed for centuries.
Day 3. Sacred Valley
Morning visit to the ancient capital of the Inca Empire in Cusco. The city combines Baroque, Spanish Colonial and Inca architecture in its more than 300 churches and monuments.
Day 4. Sacred Valley
Hike up to Pumamarka, an pre-Inka citadel on an ancient Inka Trail. Work out your legs!
Day 5. Sacred Valley.
Hike up Pisaq, the Temple of the Falcon, and break our legs in further on a thousand-step trail.
Day 6. Sacred Valley.
Hike to Mt. Pachatusan, and visit to the healing lagoons. Ceremony with the shaman keeper of the mountain.
Day 7. Mt. Ausangate.
We board our vehicles and travel to Ocongate, and then wind our way up to Pachanta Pampa, at the foot of the Holy Mountain. Camp by Hot Springs. Our camp is at nearly 13,000 feet, and we take this as an opportunity to further acclimate to altitude.
Day 8. Mt. Ausangate. This morning we meet our steeds, who will be as startled and perplexed as we will be. We ride or hike to Azulcocha, the 'blue lagoon' at 14,000 feet and set up base camp. After lunch we meet the Q'ero and join the opening of their cycle of ceremonies.
Day 9. Mt. Ausangate.
Alca Cocha. We ride to the 'Rainbow lagoon' at nearly 17,000, where we remain long enough to take part in a blessing ceremony with the keeper of the rites of the Holy Mountain. In the afternoon we return to base camp, stopping at the Red lagoon.
Day 10. Mt. Ausangate.
After breakfast we break camp and return to Pachanta Pampa. We soak in the hot springs and travel to the SACRED VALLEY. Evening Arrival.
Day 11. Mt. Ausangate.
Free Day. Rest and Shopping.
Day 12. Cusco
Morning visit the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, an ancient fortress temple built with colossal granite blocks precisely laid without the use of mortar. Amaru Machay, the Cave of the Serpents, and Tambo Machay, the Temple of the Waters, are ancient ceremonial sites still in use. Afternoon free for shopping and rest. Celebration meal at a native restaurant.
Day 13.
Return to Lima and connect to our flight back to the USA.
Medical & Safety
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An emergency med-evac vehicle will be available in the mountains at all times
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Oxygen and first aid will be on hand throughout the expedition
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In the rare event that you need to descend early due to altitude or health, a $300 emergency transport fee will apply
Logistics Note:
Please pack your suitcase and check out of your hotel room on the evening of April 18. Your luggage will be safely stored at the hotel until we return on April 21, when you will check back in for one final night.
Double Occupancy: $3,450
Single occupanct: $3,950
A non-refundable deposit of $1,000 is required to secure a spot
What’s included. We will provide tents, people must bring own camping gear including sleeping bag and air mat. Hotel accommodations in first-class hotels, hotel taxes and service charges, airport transfers and luggage handling, daily full buffet breakfast, picnic lunches at archeological site, all meals in the mountain.
This rugged expedition includes two nights of camping at an altitude of almost 13,000 feet, and extensive hiking at altitude. The expedition is open only to participants who have already acclimated to altitude. Participants must be in good physical shape.
Conditions
If you would like a roommate for the trip, please let us know, and we will make an effort to match you with one. In the event that we are unable to find a suitable roommate for you, you will be responsible for paying the single supplement cost.
Open only to graduates or students who have a personal altar or mesa
Please contact Claudia at assistant@albertovilloldo.net for questions and more information