L to R: Shopping in the San Blas neighborhood, Meditation at a sacred power spot in the city, Folklore Dancers

After an early breakfast we check out of the hotel and transfer to the local bus station where we depart Cusco via First Class tourist bus south along the sacred Urubamba River, through the Altiplano, or high plains, the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. Lake Titicaca is its best known geographical feature. The Altiplano is dominated by massive active volcanoes. At various times during the Pleistocene epoch, both the southern and northern Altiplano were covered by the vast pluvial lakes. Lake Titicaca, straddling the Peru & Bolivia border, is a remnant of one of these.

Stops at the colonial town of Andahuaylillas, the Temple of Wiracocha and museum in Pukara. At Andahuaylillas you'll have the opportunity to visit the colonial cathedral and the local museum that houses artifacts from the colonial era, plus a mummifiled skeleton that was found in the nearby hills that some researchers believe might not be all human.

We stop at Raqchi at the Temple of Wiracocha. The most prominent structure is the Temple of Wiracocha, an enormous rectangular two-story roofed structure that measures 302 ft by 84 ft. This structure consists of a central adobe wall with an andesite base. Windows and doors allow passage. It is flanked on each side by a row of eleven columns. The foundations measure 13 ft for both the wall and the columns are classic high Inca stonework with the remaining height built of adobe. Prior to its destruction by the Spaniards, the temple had what is believed to be the largest single roof in the Incan Empire, having its peak at the central wall, then stretching over the columns and some 82 ft beyond on each side. The huge proportions of the temple, and its prominence on the site explain why the whole complex is also sometimes referred to as the Temple of Wiracocha.

According to Inca mythology, the creator god Wiracocha came to the region the Inka called Cacha but the local people there did not recognize him and tried to attack him. When he met them, he made fire fall from the sky and burn the hills around the Indians. The Cacha pleaded for forgiveness and he put the fires out and explained to them who he was. They then built a huaca (shrine) where Wiracocha had stood and gave him many offerings. When the Inka Huayna Capac came to the province of Cacha he saw the huaca shrine of Viracocha in the midst of the plain and asked why it was there. The people of the province told him of the miracle that Viracocha had performed. He decided that the remembrance of this event should be greater and ordered the erection of the temple.

Buffet lunch provided to the group at a stop along the way.

Day 12. Thursday, June 15. Aramu Muru’s Doorway; Free Time (B/L/D)

           
L to R: Aramu Muru's Doorway, Meditation at Aramu Muru's Doorway, Aramu Muru & Arama Mara, the Solar Disc Disc

After breakfast depart south along the Pan-American highway to visit Aramu Muru's Doorway, one of the most rarely-visited mysterious destinations in the world! Ancient legend says that it was here that the Lemurian sage Aramu Muru, who brought the ancient teachings from the island homeland to the Andes, left the third dimension as he walked through the Doorway, never to return in physical body. His consort Arama Mara, carved in stone over the Doorway, lies forever guarding this sacred site and inviting seekers to come and experience the palpable energies.

Who Built the Doorway? This approximately 22 ft. "gate" is literally carved into the solid rock, cutting through peculiar diagonal lines. The sheer size of it is mind-boggling for most researchers, as is the origins of its construction. Who built it? And for what purpose? That's the mystery! The construction is older than what is found from the Inca civilization; it could have been constructed by a pre-Inca civilization which is very ancient and of uncertain origin. The Incas themselves were evidently aware of the carving, but they didn't claim that they built it.

The local Aymara descendants of Incas have stories and myths about this enigmatic portal. Many of them refuse to come close to it, claiming that it's a portal for the Ancient Ones. Some even say that they've seen people disappear and reappear through the solid rock! Others tell tales of strange, tall men accompanied by glowing balls of lights, walking through the doorway. They also claim that the gate only opens to certain people and only at some times, that one must possess a certain wisdom in order to be able to pass through it.

For those who choose to do so, we'll have a time for meditation. First stand in the "tubes" on either side of the Doorway, energy vortexes with one spinning clockwise and the other counterclockwise, to balance your male and female energies. Then enter the main portal where there is a a small, round indentation resembling a key hole, where you can place your forehead / Third Eye to absorb the psychic energies that are very palpable here. Perhaps this could have been the place where Aramu Muru placed the Solar Disc to “open” the door, allowing him to pass through?

A Few Words from Andrea Mikana-Pinkham, Director of Sacred Sites Journeys: "The first time that I meditated here at the Doorway I easily "passed through it" into the state of Unconditional Love, an experience so intense that I didn't want to return to my normal waking world. After what seemed like hours of basking in these beautiful energies, I realized that Beings of Light were with me, lovingly encouraging me to return, reminding me that even though I was one of the original builders of this stargate, that it's my contract in this lifetime to bring others here so that they will to be able to experience these high frequencies, and thus uplift their consciousness. I very strongly felt the great honor in being able to do so. Which caused my consciousness to more easily come back into my physical body. I was so overcome with tremendous emotion that I could only sob quietly for several minutes afterward, still feeling the memory throughout all parts of myself of having been Home!"

Who were Aramu Muru and Arama Mara? Mark Amaru Pinkham in his book The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom states that they were sages from ancient Lemuria who brought the teachings of civilization and spiritual development to the Andes over 12,000 years ago when their island homeland was sinking beneath the Pacific Ocean. They established the Monastery of the Seven Rays, located somewhere near the shores of Lake Titicaca. They formed the Brotherhood of the Seven Rays to foster unity, service and spiritual growth. In the historical records Aramu Muru and Arama Mara become known as Manco Kapac and Mama Ocllo, the founders of the Inca Empire. When the Spanish entered Cusco and the priests and priestess removed the great golden Solar Disc from the Coricancha in order to save it from being melted down by the conquistadors, one legend says that it was taken south to Lake Titicaca.

Return to the hotel for lunch. This afternoon you have free time to rest, relax, integrate the powerful energies you've engaged, and to pack for your trip home tomorrow.

In the later afternoon we'll gather for a short Group Meeting with those who will be continuing on to Bolivia. Andrea and Shua will share information to help prepare you for this awesome part of our Ancient Mysteries journey.

Dinner at the hotel. Overnight Puno/Lake Titicaca. Hotel Jose Antonio.