Getting to Chavin

When I first went to Chavin 12 years back with don Howard Lawler on the 'Journey Through Time' pilgrimage the only way to get there was by bus to Huaraz then taxi or van to Chavin 3 hours away over a very bad road.  Now the road from Huaraz to Chavin has been greatly improved so that now it takes only two hours.

JL Peru airlines now flies from Lima to Huaraz 3 times per week.  This was the first time I had flown in to Huaraz and I appreciated not having to travel by bus.  Flying was far less wear and tear.

JL Peru prop plane.  It was about a 45 minute flight Lima - Huaraz.

The tunnel goes under a mountain in the Cordillera Blance range and leads to the river Mosna valley and Chavin.

The improved road from Huaraz to Chavin plus sheep.

Chavin vs Machu Picchu

If you want some world-class spectacular photos and don't mind enduring crowds and lines similar to those found at Disneyland, not to mention similar prices, then by all means head to Peru's southern highlands.  Machu Picchu is an amazing place with a well-deserved reputation as one of the must-see archeological sites on the planet. However performing any kind of spiritual ceremonies are frowned upon by the authorities these days. There is also the Machu Picchu trail which is wonderful but you have to make bookings a long time in advance and it is a fairly expensive trek to do.

My lovely wife Lourdes at Machu Picchu

On the other hand, if you are a contemplative and meditative person with an appreciation for peace and quiet and you don't like spending time in crowds or lines then spending time at the Chavin temple in the central highlands of Peru is the place to go.  It is also generally ok to do low-key ceremonies that do not attract attention right at the temple site such as traditional coca-leaf offerings and others. During my recent visit to Chavin it appeared to me that there were more 'mystical' tourists who likely had started the day with a huachuma ceremony than 'regular' tourists who had come in from the city of Huaraz by bus.  Right now I'm investigating doing the 3-day trek over the mountain pass from Huaraz to Chavin maybe later this year or next year and from what I have found out so far it will be a far less costly hike to do than the Machu Picchu trail with no Peruvian authorities monitoring anything.  Chavin overall is a much less costly place to go than Machu Picchu with entrance tickets, hotel rooms, food and transportation all at quite economical levels.

The Ceremonial Portal at Chavin

Also at Chavin you have my friend Martin Loarte who amongst other talents is a superlative stone, wood and bone carver.  Here is a a beautiful container he made from wood, deer antler and stone for the alkaline lime powder used to potentise the health-giving and mildly stimulating effects of chewing coca leaves which is traditionally done throughout the Andes mountain region.

Here is Martin Loarte who as well as being an excellent sculptor is also an impeccable hauchumero shaman.  In this photo he is performing a coca leaf offering in the center of the main ceremonial plaza at Chavin.  My esteemed compañero David Fields, the Brahmin cowboy from Portland, Oregon, USA sits behind.

Hiking and trekking in the central highlands

During the recent weeks I spent in and around Chavin de Huantar I got to go out hiking several times up some trails on the sides of the Mosna river valley which gave me some great views of the Chavin ancient temple, the modern town of Chavin de Huantar and the distant snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca.

The Cordillera Blanca.  The second highest mountain range in the world after the Himalayas.  In the forground is the mountain we would have to traverse on the hike from Huaraz.

Chavin temple complex seen during a solo hike I went on.

This is the cross you can see from the Chavin temple on top of the distinctive rock outcropping on the east side of the Mosna valley.  The diagonal path on the left lower side is the trail coming in from Huaraz which we hope to hike at some point.

The Chavin temple complex and behind it is the trail coming in from Huaraz showing where it ends right across from the temple entrance.

Multi-tasking in the Andes.  This woman is knitting as she easfully walks up a steep slope that has me panting and making frequent stops.  Mind you, the Andean people are born and bred for this type of activity and they have more red blood cells than us gringos.

The Church and Plaza de Armas of the town of Chavin de Huantar seen from a hike David and I went on up the west side of the Mosna river valley.

At the end of our stay David Fields and I went by taxi from the city of Huaraz to investigate the trail we had heard about that leads from Huaraz over a mountain pass and down to the temple of Chavin.  We have been told this is a 3-day hike for people in reasonably good physical condition.  David and I would like to do this hike possibly around August of 2017, or if we can't do it then, perhaps May or June of 2018.  If you would have an interest in joining us contact me at   martinstevens@juno.com

Here's David Fields and our taxi driver Isoldo on the beginning of the 3-day trail from Huaraz to Chavin..

The Chavin Huachuma Mesa

Huachuma (San Pedro) cactus growing on a hillside above Chavin de Huantar.

Maestro Martin Loarte blows mapacho tabacco smoke over the distinctive Chavin mesa.

This mesa or altar holds different sacred objects set up in the ancient manner of the shamans of antiquity.  In those far off days the color black was considered masculine and placed on the left whereas the feminine was viewed as white and placed on the right.  This older configuration is the opposite way round to the post-colonial San Pedro shamanism still practiced on the northern coast of Peru.
Don Howard Lawler first explained to me the Chavin mesa back in 2005 and said that the ancient configuaration of the mesa and of the black/white stairway derived from the way that the first shamans of Chavin viewed the world and the cosmos.

This photo shows a detail from the right side of the black/white stairway at Chavin.  The white rock was bought from a long distance away and was carefully worked into an L shape to make the bottom tread and riser, a technically difficult job for even today's stone masons with modern tools.
On the left side the treads and risers are just individual stones quarried nearby and much easier to make.  This seems to suggest that the builders at Chavin were putting much more effort into the feminine side of the stairs.  Perhaps a reflection of pre-patriarchal attitudes?

Hatun Machay

In the Quechua language Hatun Machay means 'Great Cave'.  Up in Ancash province in the central highlands of Peru it refers to a specific place located about an hour south of the city of Huaraz.  It is an enormous 'Forest of Rocks', a geological marvel of lithic forms created by an ancient volcano located way out in wide open country up at 14,000ft with views of much higher snow-capped mountains to the east.

On one side of this unusual geologic formation there is a painted and carved cave that has been used for millenia for shamanic ceremonies perhaps going back 10,000 years or more.

On June 10 2017 David Fields and I participated in a traditional shamanic ceremony facilitated by the impeccable Chavin huachumero Martin Loarte.  We had previously taken part in two huachuma sacred plant ceremonies back in Chavin a few days before so we were well primed to go deep into the energy field of sacred mystery that permeates this extraordinary place.

Here are some of the archaic painted and carved sacred images from inside the cave:

Here is the cave with the Chavin huachuma mesa set up on a natural rock altar

Here maestro Martin Loarte shamanically engages with the ancient spirits of this special place after using mapacho tobacco and agua de florida to purify the space.

Drinking huachuma

In the Forest of Rocks

This was our view looking east as we left Hatun Machay at sunset.  It is a part of the Cordillera Blanca.

Chavin revisited

Hello there,

My name is Martin Stevens, originally from the UK I lived 30 years in the USA before moving to Peru in 2006 where I still reside. I have an ongoing lifetime interest in all forms of genuine benificent spiritual practice especially experiential shamanism.

I can be reached via email at:  martinstevens@juno.com

I don't particpate in Facebook or any other social media.

I have another blogsite at:

 www.perucalling25.blogspot.com      which focuses on the social and educational work of Estrella de Sauce, a Waldorf educational outreach project based in the community of Sauce up in Peru's northern jungle which was established in 2011 by my wife Lourdes Jibaja.and I.

Thanks for visiting this blogsite dedicated to spiritual awakening inspired by shamanic ceremonies conducted at ancient sites, especially Chavin which remains my all-time favorite place in Peru. We may also get into looking at other places of power in Peru, South America and throughout the world.

I just got back from what I calculate is my 7th visit to the 3,800 year old temple at Chavin de Huantar up in the central highlands of Peru in the province of Ancash.

I had not been there for 3 years and was privileged to be accompanied by my friend David Fields from Oregon in the USA.

David Fields up at around 15,000 feet at a high mountain lake on our way to Chavin

David deep underground in one the subterranean galleries below the Chavin temple complex.

I first went up to Chavin in 2005 as a participant on don Howard Lawler's 'Journey through Time' pilgrimage which started with ayahuasca and huachuma (San Pedro cactus) shamanic ceremonies in the Amazon jungle followed by a journey that took our small group up to Cusco for further ceremonies at Chinchero and Machu Picchu then over to the coast for more ceremonies at the archeological sites of El Brujo and Túcame.  This was all in preparation for coming to Chavin where I had a deep spiritual experience of inner light, a feeling of oneness with everything and a tangible sense of everlasting life.  Those words are the best I can do, but really it was an experience beyond words and a life-changing event for me in that it inspired me to leave my life in the USA and move to Peru where I have lived ever since.

Me down in the galleries which were no doubt used for spiritual initiations and  to prepare special selected children to become seers much like the contemporary Kogi of  Colombia still do today.

Since that time I have returned to Chavin from time to time to recharge my batteries by enjoying the contemplative athmosphere that still pervades this ancient place.

As far as anyone knows El Lanzon has been standing here for about 4,000 years and possibly more.  The whole temple complex was built around where it stands underground.  I always get a spiritual charge from spending time in its presence.

This view shows a corner of the 'new' temple completed around 750 BC with the ceremonial plaza behind.

Originally there were about 200 of these tenoned heads all around the temple.  Now only this one remains.