You are safe here.
You are guided.
This is a journey into the nature of yourself β held within the wisdom of the sacred plants and guided by practitioners with decades of lived experience in these traditions.
Over nine days in Peru's Sacred Valley, you will sit in ceremony with Ayahuasca and Wachuma, led by experienced shamans alongside your guides Carmen Santillan and Bruce Taylor. Carmen brings twenty years of walking with the medicines in the Andean and Amazonian traditions. Bruce brings close to a decade of sitting with the plants, alongside his background in Zen and traditional Reiki RyΕhΕ.
Together, we create a container built on trust, experience, and deep respect for the medicines. Every day includes time for integration, rest, and support. You will have the space to meet whatever the plants bring β and the guidance to carry it forward into your life.
This pilgrimage was created for you, ifβ¦
- You've reached a point where surface practices no longer feel enough, and you want to meet the deeper layers of yourself.
- You're curious about stepping into traditional plant medicine ceremonies held with care and integrity.
- You feel ready for a journey that reshapes how you see yourself, your healing, and your path forward.
- You are interested in learning from sacred plants and are seeking genuine depth and experience from those guiding your journey.
Your Journey
Nine days immersed in the Sacred Valley of Peru β held, supported, and guided every step of the way.
- 2Γ Ayahuasca Ceremonies β led by experienced local shamans in a safe, held space
- 1Γ Wachuma (San Pedro) Ceremony β a heart-opening journey with the sacred cactus
- Rapeh and Sacred Tobacco Work β traditional medicines for grounding and clarity
- Deep Integration and Healing Time with Reiki and Shamanic Support
- Movement and Flow Practices β connecting body, breath, and energy
- Zen Meditation and Mindfulness Practice β stillness as a foundation for the work
- All lodging, meals, and ground transport throughout the pilgrimage
- Guidance and support from Bruce Taylor and Carmen Santillan
Countdown to Sacred Valley
The Retreat Center β Sacred Valley, Peru
Your home for the pilgrimage is a dedicated retreat center nestled in Peru's Sacred Valley β surrounded by the mountains and rivers that have held ceremony for thousands of years.
Everything is taken care of: nourishing meals prepared with local ingredients, comfortable accommodations designed for rest and integration, and ceremony spaces built with respect for the traditions they serve.
This is a place where the land itself supports the work β where you can step away from the noise of daily life and step into something deeper.
Your Accommodations
Comfortable rooms designed for rest and integration. Choose the option that suits you.
Your Guides
Bruce Taylor
Pilgrimage Leader β’ Zen β’ Reiki β’ Plant Medicine
Bruce is the founder of Roots of Life and has spent years working at the intersection of Zen practice, Usui Reiki RyΕhΕ, and plant medicine traditions. Bruce has been sitting with the sacred plants for close to a decade now. The hours are in the thousands across both private and group ceremonies, and the wisdom they carry has guided him through every aspect of his life.
He leads the Deep Roots Pilgrimage to Kyoto each year and brings the same depth, care, and integrity to this journey into the Sacred Valley. Bruce holds space with quiet presence and a deep trust in the medicine: if we listen, the plants will share precisely what is needed in this moment.
Bruce understands that working with the plants is a sacred honor and his deep personal practice reflects this. He credits much of his understanding of his other modalities, his book Touching Silence, his journey of personal healing, and his current trajectories in life to the wisdom the plants have brought him. It is not always easy work, but we all must walk through the fire enough to recognize we won't get burnt.
Carmen Santillan
Pilgrimage Leader β’ Plant Medicine β’ Shamanic Facilitation
Carmen carries a deep Andean ancestry and has called Peru home for more than 25 years. For two decades, she has walked with the sacred medicines, following the path of the ancient shamans. Called to drink the medicine alone in the jungle, Carmen strengthened her spiritual connection through solitary practice, countless dietas, and years of teaching received in both the Amazon jungle and the Andes mountains.
"Plants are my teachers," she says β and there is something in the way Carmen conducts ceremony that reveals this truth. Her Γcaros are her own: pure, instinctive, and born from her deep relationship with the medicine. As a mother of five, Carmen embodies the Divine Feminine with grace, strength, and simplicity.
"I have faith in this path with the Ancestral Medicines that teach us about Love β and the reality of how life moves through us. They allow us to see beyond the layers of illusion, loneliness, and sadnessβ¦ to meet who we really are, and why we are here. When we understand this, we want to live well β because we understand Unity in an entirely new way."
How We Found Each Other
We had been looking for each other for close to twenty years β we just didn't know it until one fateful day in Menorca in 2023. I was attending a sweat ceremony held by people I didn't know, led by a woman from Peru I had never met.
Carmen heard that I teach traditional Japanese Reiki RyΕhΕ, something she had been wanting to really dive into for many years now. Just as I had been waiting for many years to find someone who held the plants in deep respect and reverence. It didn't take long until we were introduced and we realized that the wait was over.
She is my sister, and I am her brother. It is an honor for each to walk alongside the other β Carmen in her guidance and teachings of the plants, and I with my guidance and teachings of Reiki RyΕhΕ and Zen. We work together across South America, Europe, and Japan, united by a deep and lasting respect for one another.
We both knew this meeting would come. In the world of plant medicines and Reiki, teachers and practitioners cross paths often enough, that is true, but finding someone who truly lives the practice, who honors it not as a skill but as a way of being? That is something rare and deeply precious.
Sacred Roots Pilgrimage
9 Days β’ 8 Nights β’ All-Inclusive
October 11 β 19, 2026 β’ Sacred Valley, Peru
All ceremonies (2Γ Ayahuasca, 1Γ Wachuma, Rapeh & Sacred Tobacco) β’ Integration & healing sessions with Reiki and shamanic support β’ Movement, flow, and meditation practices β’ All lodging and meals throughout the retreat β’ Ground transport within Peru β’ Guidance from Bruce Taylor and Carmen Santillan
International airfare to Cusco is not included.
Detailed travel instructions will be provided upon booking.
Only 12 spots available β first come, first served
This Is a Pilgrimage
The Sacred Valley has held ceremony for thousands of years. The plants are waiting. Your guides are ready. All that's left is you.
Questions about the pilgrimage?
I'd love to hear from you. Use the form below, or reach out directly β let's see if this journey is right for you.