Wayna Wasi • Hernan Wachuma — Hotel in Pisac

A good experience was tainted by greed and dishonesty. I loved the ceremony and the allday hike on that gorgeous mountain. And I hate to be cynical and untrusting. However, i feel I should warn others to make sure you count out each bill of your payment to him in front of a witness. At the end of the long day, I handed him the exact amount of cash to pay for the ceremony along with a little extra “tip.” I did not count out each bill as I gave it to him… I handed him the cash wad discreetly- huge mistake!! He went in the other room, came back out, and then told me that I was short 300 soles. I was shocked! I knew FOR A FACT that I had given him the correct amount because the night before I had counted it out, triple-checked the total amount was there, and then placed the cash bundle in a zippered bag separate from all my other cash so I would have the correct amount ready. I did that prep the night before!! The whole situation was very uncomfortable. I checked my bag and the floor to make sure I didn’t drop it, but in the end, I just gave him an extra 300 soles because it was my word against his.

I think we all have to bear in mind that while some shamans are teachers with pure hearts, some aren’t. They are still just human and they are products of the culture in which they live. I sometimes found during my time in this part of the world that prices are fluid and they sometimes ask for more IF THEY THINK YOU WILL GIVE IT. It’s not “fair” but I kinda get it. I personally think it’s wrong to lie to someone, but at Wayna Wasi I encountered a different concept of fairness and honesty. Earlier in the day, the shaman had seen that I had a bunch of cash because I pulled it out when they were shamelessly having one of their friends try to sell us overpriced “trinkets” while we waited for the driver to return. (We were still high on the wachuma so the timing and pushiness of this sales pitch seems exploitive from an ethics perspective). He also saw that I offered a large amount of cash to my friend who wanted to buy something but didn’t have enough. So I guess he saw an opportunity, and he maybe even perceived that this was some sort of divine gift to him. Maybe it is comedic to them, or some kind of shell game. But to me it is the ugly side of spiritual tourism… to manipulate a person who is feeling vulnerable from the wachuma and just had their heart opened by a “sacred” ceremony. I decided to just give him the money he demanded because I wanted to leave there safely. I think it is pretty sad and ugly that he tried to trick me into thinking that I had miscounted. Instead, he could’ve just honestly said to me “I would like an extra 300 soles for my family” and I probably have given it to them. But after reflecting on this for a few weeks, I feel I have to leave this sad review to help prevent others from this unpleasant experience. I’m sure there are other shamans and ceremony facilitators out there who will treat their clients with more respect than this guy. That money has bad karma attached to it now so he will reap what he sowed.

I have done several different psychedelic ceremonies, and I found that this one lacked respect, ethics, and decency. A real shaman wouldn’t have made us a captive audience while his friend tried very hard to sell us overpriced souvenirs when we were high on a psychedelic. And a real shaman wouldn’t lie about the amount of money handed to him. There were a couple other things that made me feel very vulnerable and unsafe that I won’t go into because they are more subjective. I definitely do not think that solo women travelers should pick this facilitator. I wouldn’t feel safe staying the night there. Even if you are with friends, bear in mind that friends don’t necessarily have the capacity to look out for one another while under the influence of a psychedelic. For your safety, please make sure you understand in advance how psychedelics can impact your sense of boundaries and trust. I was so relieved when I got out of there safely and feel lucky that the only harm done...

Hernan is one of the kindest human beings I've ever met. He share such a devotion in his life for the Wachuma and family ancestry. For a maestro he keeps his humbleness and heritage in a heart place, I can assure for all my experiences in ceremonies, he is the man i trust most of all maestros. We shared the medicine as hermanos in a lovely and joyful experience hiking through the mountains where he grew up and shared his ancentry wisdom. We had lots of laughs, powerful brotherhood and safety that aligned very much for what i was looking for guidance. He has helped me to change my life path In a direction of creating a strong and courageous relationship with myself that showed up my partner to be the woman to raise a family. Thank you so much for the guidance. All the blessings for your heart, family and all the people that come with an open heart to receive the medicine and embrace their nature. Much love, hermano....

We stayed with the family of Hernán a longer period of time and enjoyed our stay a lot. the best part was that we could really feel like part of his amazing family, see and experience his humble, joyful and love -sharing life. he is an amazing person that supports local communities with his teachings and food supplies when needed. we had a chance to see and talk about his work for community and I was so happy to see that there are people like Hernán. regarding wachuma ceremony - we had a private ceremony with my husband and a two year old son and it was one of the most intestine, undescribable experiences of our lives. it was an amazing gift for our family. Hernán and Rosa were so professional, knew exactly what we needed and made us feel safe and in peace to go through everything we needed. I hope we will be able to visit you again. Regards to your...