These are magical times, prophesized by the ancient Mayas! Today, Mayan elders and shamans are dedicated to leading us into a new era of compassion and transformation. “Touching the Jaguar” to Mayan and Amazonian Indigenous cultures means confronting your fears and transforming them into action to change ourselves and the world. It is also the title of John’s book, Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Your Life and the World.
Soar into the power and mystery of the ancient prophecies. Join John Perkins, NY Times bestselling author and leading expert on indigenous cultures and shamanism, Daniel Koupermann, expedition guide and environmentalist, and local Mayan shamans (“Nanas” for women and “Tatas” for me), teachers, and Day-keepers (Calendar readers) on this life-changing adventure to the mountains and rain forests of Central America. Apply “shapeshifting” approaches; elevate yourself to higher states of consciousness; touch your jaguar; receive personal healings, calendar readings and divinations of your future from Mayan shamans; transform yourself and the world around you.
December 21, 2012 was identified by Mayan astrologers more than a millennium ago, as the Great Turning – the beginning of a time of amazing opportunity to “shapeshift” human societies away from exploitation, brutality, and materialism into cooperation, compassion, love, and spirituality. The prophecies proclaimed that the process would begin several decades earlier and continue for many to come.
We have now entered this magical, shapeshifting portal!
Now, with upheaval all around our planet, many of us are wondering what all this means for the future of the world and for us personally. Be part of this select group of travelers who will explore, study, and dialogue about this turbulent time on our planet.
You are invited to join John, Daniel, and our Mayan friends on this journey to the heart of the Mayan culture and sacred sites in the magical lands of Guatemala.
Itinerary
Day 1: March 31st, Arrive in Guatemala City
After arriving at the Guatemala City international airport, you will be met by a driver and transferred to a beautiful and very special colonial hotel in Antigua. If you arrive by late afternoon, you may join other members of our group for an informal dinner.
Day 2: April 1st, Antigua
After breakfast, we will meet for more formal introductions. John and Daniel will welcome everyone and create the context for the journey. Then you will participate in an introductory shapeshifting event facilitated by John at a site near our hotel where we will be surrounded by amazing plants. Each of us will have the opportunity to set our intentions and connect with the energies and spirits of the land and each other, and to learn the basics of the sacred fire ceremony in preparation for the ones we will perform once we arrive in Tikal.
We will also learn that Mayan history is a microcosm of today’s world. In building their magnificent pyramids and cities, the ancient Maya drained the swamps and cut the forests. By about 900 A.D. (in our calendar) they had changed their climate and could no longer sustain themselves. Cities went to war over scarce resources. The people abandoned the cities and went into the mountains where they continued their sacred traditions – but lived simple lives without building pyramids and grandiose temples. Now their Nanas and Tatas have committed to teaching us the lessons of their mistakes.
During lunch we will meet Tata Julio Tot, the Mayan guide who will be with us for the rest of the trip. Julio is a Mayan shaman and friend of John and Daniel’s for many years and an authority on the Mayan calendar, culture and traditions. He speaks English, as well as Spanish and Mayan. He grew up in and around Tikal, raised by a father who was the assistant to the head of the Mayan excavation team that worked with the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 60s. He has amazing stories and will also do healings and private calendar readings for each participant during the trip.
After lunch we will take a walking tour of Antigua, visiting the most relevant sites of this colonial treasure of Guatemala.
We will have dinner at a superb local restaurant.
Day 3: April 2nd, Sacred Mayan Fire Ceremony– Flores – Tikal National Park
After breakfast we will leave the hotel for a ceremonial site near Antigua. Julio Tot will teach us the mysteries and intricacies of creating a Mayan fire. Together, we will build the fire and particiapte in an initiation fire ceremony.
In the late afternoon we will fly to Flores – Petén. We will drive through primary jungle that is inhabited by jaguars, monkeys, coatis, and many other animals (with luck seeing a jaguar at the side of the road) and spend the night at the Tikal Jungle Lodge located inside the Tikal National Park (declared a World Heritage Site in 1979).
We will meet two other Mayan shamans, Tata Domingo and his wife Nana Asuncion – who have worked with John, Daniel, and Julio for many years and will stay with us during the rest of our trip. In the past, Tata Domingo and Nana Asuncion have been assisted by their young daughter (a shaman in training) and we expect she too will be with us during our travels. Tata Domingo is an expert on Mayan seed readings – powerful divination tools that are incredibly accurate at defining a person’s character and future paths. He will offer individual readings for each participant and also will lead us through fire ceremonies that release blockages and empower our journeys along our future paths.
Dinner will be at the hotel.
Day 4: April 3rd, Tikal
After breakfast we will begin our first exploration of Tikal, one of the most important cities in the ancient Mayan World. At the entrance of the park, we will stop at a giant guardian Ceiba (Kapok) tree where we will join John and Mayan shamans in asking permission from the spirits of the trees, the land, animals, plants and elements for all of us to be there for the next three days. We will continue our walk in silence, deeply mindful of all our senses and all our surroundings, including the monkeys, coatis, jaguars, and different bird and plant species, to the Grand Plaza. Here we can explore the magnificent palaces and structures with Julio Tot and Tata Domingo. In the Grand Plaza, surrounded by pyramids and temples, we will have the opportunity to take shamanic journeys, meditate, and connect with this magical place.
We will continue our walk through the forest to Temple IV, the highest of the Tikal pyramids. From the top, we can witness a magnificent view of the entire area. Near here we will make an offering on our behalf to the Mayan Wisdom Keepers honoring the transition to the new cosmic cycle and the beginning of the new era (which officially opened in December 2012 and continues to unfold). We will learn about the Long Count calendar (26,000 years), the Short Count calendars (5,200 years) and the optimistic prophecies of the new calendars that have just begun.
As we walk back to the hotel area, we will pass through several ceremonial sites and we will gain preparation for tonight’s special ceremony. After that, we can spend time exploring on our own or learning from our shaman guides the significance of the area.
We will then continue back to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon we can rest, enjoy the lodge’s swimming pool, or explore individually places that touch our hearts and souls.
After dinner we will participate in a very special ceremony that only people who have received preparation from Mayan shamans (as we will have done, during the previous days) are invited to join. This will be led by and include personal healings from Tata Julio and Tata Domingo.
Day 5: April 4th, Tikal
After breakfast, we will return to the Grand Plaza and then to the “Lost World Complex” (the oldest area in Tikal), where we will do a Shapeshifting Ceremony and workshop and continue our process of rising to higher consciousness, realizing our greater purpose, completing our missions, materializing our “dreams,” ridding ourselves of blockages, and “touching the jaguar” (confronting our fears and hesitations and using their energy to empower us).
Lunch will be in the park.
The early afternoon is for individual explorations of Tikal – inner/outer journeys in this magical place of the prophecies, with an emphasis on your personal role in your life, the planet, and the universe.
This will be followed by a late afternoon-early evening special fire ceremony inside Tikal, at the altar of an ancient Ceremonial Pyramid.
Reiterating: During the days while we are in Tikal, Yaxha and Lake Peten Itza, Tata Domingo and Julio will offer special individual “seed readings” and personal calendar interpretations (Mayan traditions) for each of the participants.
Day 6: April 5th, Tikal – Peten Itza Lake – Hotel Camino Real
Part of the morning is devoted to calendar and seed readings, contemplation, journaling, and conversations with the trip leaders and shamans. Then we will travel to the Tikal Camino Real Hotel, located on the shore of Lake Peten Itza. This gorgeous and sacred lake is set within the Maya Forest which constitutes the largest continuous expanse of tropical forest remaining in Central America. Lake Peten Itza is about 48km long and covers an area of 98 km2. The lake is likely to have held water during arid glacial periods.
We will have time to explore this beautiful and elegant hotel (laundry opportunity), swim in the lake, take a boat ride, enjoy lunch, the great views, and luxurious facilities.
Day 7: April 6th, Peten Itza Lake – Purification Ceremony
In the morning John, Daniel, Tata Julio and Tata Domingo will be available for personal consultations.
In the afternoon we will gather on the beach of the lake to participate in a Ritual Bath and Purification Ceremony. (John and the Tatas ask everyone to bring and wear white clothing for this ceremony – a bathing suit can be worn under the clothing if desired). While in the lake we will submerge ourselves 13 times with an offering that will be prepared for each of us, and then participate in a fire ceremony on the beach.
Our farewell dinner will be at the hotel.
Day 8: April 7th, Peten Itza Lake – Guatemala City
After breakfast we will transfer to the airport for our flight to Guatemala City, arriving mid-morning for our connections home or to other destinations.
“Having lived, studied, worked and conducted ceremonies with Mayan shamans since the 1970s, I’ve learned that they and the history of their culture have such important lessons to teach us during these times.” — John Perkins
OPTIONAL EXTENTION: Without John
March 27th: Arrival to Guatemala City
After arrival in Guatemala City, you will be met by a driver and transferred to Clarion Suites Hotel.
March 28th: Guatemala City to Atitlan Lake
It will take us a 3 1/2 to 4 hours drive through picturesque villages to Atitlan Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, surrounded by volcanoes. We will arrive directly to Santiago de Atitlan. In the afternoon, we will visit the house of Maximòn, the local idol (a sort of statue/doll). The devotees of Maximòn practice a syncretic ritual - a mixture of Catholicism and idolatry, and the form of Maximòn is moved from house to house of its devotees. Maximòn is venerated, he is represented by an effigy which resides in a different house each year. It is an honor to have Maximòn in one’s home. He is most visible during the annual holy week celebrations and rituals of sacrifice that are carried out to cleanse and regenerate the world during this time. During the rest of the year, people of the communities visit Maximòn in his chosen residence, where his shrine is always attended by two or more people, called Cofrades, who serve for a full year to care for him in the Cofradia (fraternity/brotherhood) and keep the altar and sacred items in order. Shamans come daily to do rituals on behalf of their clients.
Back to the Hotel Bambu for dinner and rest.
March 29th , Lake Atitlan Village Visit
It is a gift that invites us to step away from our frantic life and immerse ourselves in a culture that lives in harmony with the natural rhythms of the Mayan Culture. Our day takes us through the villages of Lake Atitlan in a day, without stress or pressures. There are three majestic volcanoes, Toliman, San Pedro and Atitlan overlooking what is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, Lake Atitlan. Dotted along its shoreline are more than a dozen towns and villages, most of which have retained their Mayan character to this day. Maya culture is prevalent around the lake where traditions, customs, and culture, along with the traditional clothing (traje) has been retained. Each indigenous Mayan village has its own uniqueness and its own signature style of clothing that sets it apart from the others.
We will check into and have lunch at beautiful Hotel Bambu in Santiago de Atitlan. In a private motor boat we will head to San Juan de la Laguna Village to visit a cooperative of local Mayan women who dye and weave textiles. We will also visit a medicinal garden that is run by a local women’s cooperative. You will have an opportunity to tour the gardens, learn about the herbs and their uses, as well as learn about their belief in caring for the land with love, and without harming it. Then we will visit San Pedro de la Laguna where we will have a nice local lunch.
Back to the hotel to enjoy the gardens and facilities. Rest, relax and dinner at the hotel.
March 30th, Chichicastenango Indigenous Market
We will start the day with a 45 minute motor boat ride to Panajachel where our van will be waiting to take us to Chichicastenango City to visit and enjoy one of the most colorful and important indigenous markets in Latin America. We will be there on the big market day. Among the local items sold are textiles, particularly women’s blouses. The makers of masks used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest, have also made this city well- known for woodcarving.
Another major attraction in Chichicastenango is the 400-year old church of Santo Tomas, which is next to the market. Shamans still use it for their rituals, burning incense and candles. Each of the 18 stairs that lead up to the church represents one month of the Mayan calendar. The Tzolkin Mayan calendar has 18 months of 20 days each. We will also visit the cemetery that is very famous and colorful.
In the afternoon we will visit the cemetery of this picturesque village, were with luck, we can observe some of the ceremonies and rituals the families do honoring their dead relatives. The cemeteries in Guatemala are one of the most important references of the Mayan culture.
March 31st, Chichicastenango – Guatemala city
We will drive for 2:30 hours to Antigua to join the group arrival today, and to start the main journey with John and the other friends
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Cost per person: $4,500 (double occupancy). Initial deposit of $1000 will confirm your space. Second payment of $2,500 is due November 21st, 2024. Balance of $1000 is due January 21st, 2025.
Single Supplement: $800 per person.
Cost of the optional extention: $830, double occupancy
Single Supplement: $390
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Reservations: All reservations are subject to availability. To make a reservation for the journey or for information about how to reserve your space and make your deposit, please contact Linda Leyerle at lleyerle@aol.com. In Guatemala, it is not possible to reserve rooms, air tickets or park entrance fees without a copy of the traveler’s passport. Linda will give you details about how to send a copy to us. Time is of the essence so please respond as soon as possible if you are interested in this journey.
Cost includes: Private tour bus or van for travel during the journey, all meals, hotels, tips for restaurants and hotels, water during meals, transportation to and from the airport in Guatemala, intra-country flights, entrance fees, local and shamanic guides to share history and archaeological information, Mayan shaman to share ancient teachings and traditional ceremonies.
Cost does NOT include: Round-trip airfare to Guatemala City, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, “seed readings” with the shaman, tips for the guides, shamans and private bus driver, personal items and souvenirs.
This journey is for individuals ready to have an educational/experiential experience. Persons with physical or psychiatric challenges may find this journey too difficult or uncomfortable. We recommend a visit with your doctor at least 6 weeks in advance of departure. No immunizations are required unless you will be entering Guatemala from a country with Yellow Fever – in which case you will need a Yellow Fever immunization and be prepared to show proof. We will not be in high altitudes in Guatemala.
More information is available on the CDC webpage.
No visas are required for most people entering Guatemala (US, Canadian, EU, Australia and New Zealand citizens). If you have questions about this, please let us know. Your passport must be valid at least 6 months after the date of your return (September 28, 2025).
Please be aware that at some of the locations there may be limited or no cellphone and Internet service.
Once you have reserved your space, we will send you more information – packing lists, info about the country, etc. You will be fully prepared for the journey. Also, Linda is always available by email for any questions or concerns – whatever they may be.
Cancellations and Refunds: Due to availability of space on our journey and the time required to process trip reservations, your deposit will not be refundable if received after November 21st, 2024. We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance in order to protect yourself in case extenuating circumstances force you to cancel your trip. Travelex or CSA are two respected possibilities.
Responsibilities: ANDEAN PATHS reserves the right to accept or reject any person as a participant at any time, and to make changes in the itinerary whenever deemed necessary for the comfort, convenience, and safety of our participants, and to cancel a journey at any time. In the event a journey is cancelled, ANDEAN PATHS shall have no responsibility beyond the refund of monies paid to it by program participants as listed. By registering, the participant agrees that neither ANDEAN PATHS and/or their affiliates shall be liable for any damages, loss or expense occasioned by any act or omission by any supplier providing services to any program participant. The only reason that Andean Paths would cancel a program is for safety reasons due to impassable roads, protests in Guatemala, or similar unforeseen events.
John and Daniel are very excited about the opportunity to share this amazing journey with you.