Peru Shamanic Expansion Retreat

The Peru Shamanic Expansion Retreat is a nine-day Andean shamanic retreat in the Sacred Valley near Cusco, Peru, built around plant medicine ceremonies and breathwork. It is meant for people who have done years of inner work, such as therapy, meditation or yoga, and who understand their patterns but still find themselves repeating them. Johnson Chong leads it with Q'ero healers, using his SAGE Journey method. The group is limited to 14 participants.

What to Expect

The retreat follows the four stages of the SAGE Journey, each named for an Andean animal: Serpent, Puma, Hummingbird and Condor. Serpent is about releasing what the body has inherited and held. Puma is about reclaiming emotional authority and learning to respond rather than react. Hummingbird reorients identity toward purpose through clarity rather than willpower. Condor reaches for the sense of self that exists before conditioning. The stages layer and deepen across the nine days, guided by ceremony, the shamans and the land.

The ceremonial work includes two nighttime ayahuasca ceremonies and two daytime huachuma (San Pedro) ceremonies. There is also one bufo ceremony, a hapé ceremony workshop, a Temazcal sweat lodge and a Q'ero Pachamama ceremony with the indigenous healers. Alongside these are daily yoga and mindful movement, shamanic breathwork workshops, inner healing and somatic integration sessions, and visits to sacred sites in the high Andes.

Preparation begins before you arrive, with an eight-module online course, a group intention call and a one-on-one intention-setting session. A Human Design Energy Blueprint session is included. After the retreat there is an integration call, plus personal follow-up sessions until integration occurs (conditions apply).

About Johnson Chong

Johnson Chong is a shaman, yogi, breathwork and meditation teacher, TEDx speaker and coach. He wrote the bestselling book Sage Sapien: From Karma to Dharma and created the SAGE Oracle deck. He is initiated as a paqo shaman of the Andean Q'ero priests and is a Four Winds Energy Medicine Health Coach. He is also a certified E-RYT yoga teacher with over 1000 hours of continuing education. His method weaves the Andean medicine wheel with somatic energy work, Human Design, breathwork, plant work and coaching, starting with the energy body so the mind can reorganise around a new baseline. He has guided breathwork, coaching and shamanic healing at organizations including Unilever, Facebook and Nike.

The Andean Healers

Porfirio Apaza was born in the Q'ero nation and began apprenticing at 15 with his parents. He received his Andean initiations at 20, later worked with the San Pedro cactus, and studied with jungle shamans in Pucallpa, where he received the rites to serve ayahuasca. He has offered healing for over 30 years.

Wilka Amaru Huallpa, also known as Altumisayuq, is a Wak'a Kamayuq, a guardian of the Andean oracles, from the Huallpa lineage. He works with coca leaf divination, energetic cleansings, water ceremonies, despacho offerings, Wachuma ceremonies, Paqarina healings and Qarpay initiations.

Marquesa Apaza and Raul Apaza are the daughter and second son of the Q'ero healer Maestro Alejandro Apaza. Both are pampa mesayoqs, healers who work with energies and spirits in nature, and lineage holders of the Apaza family. They read coca leaves for divination, make offerings to the Earth and the Pleiades, and heal with chumpis, blessed stones of alabaster and marble.

The Setting

The retreat takes place in the Sacred Valley, in a boutique accommodation with a mountain setting. Transport to the sacred sites during the retreat is included. Three room types are offered: a twin room with a bathroom shared between four guests, a twin room with an ensuite shared between two, and a single private room with an ensuite, mountain views and a private jacuzzi. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all vegetarian.

Before You Go

The level is intermediate. No plant medicine experience is required, but prior inner work and readiness for deep somatic and emotional work are essential. The retreat is held in English, and participation begins with an application and a conversation about fit.

Flights, travel insurance, personal shopping and travel to and from the retreat center are not included. Laundry is available for an additional fee.