Blog Post 14 - What the Andes Teach You: Reconnecting with Nature in the Mountains of Peru
I’ve traveled through many landscapes across the world- each one having it’s own impact on the way I see the world. From the untamed bushfields of South Africa, riding on horseback beside herds of elephants and antilopes, to the soft dunes of Atlantis and green hilly coastlines of the Wild Coast. From crossing deserts like the Australian Outback, the Nullarbor, traveling the Klein Karoo in South Africa, crossing the La Guajira in Colombia in a 4-wheel drive and riding camels across the ancient sands of the Sinaï. From the lush rainforests of Southeast Asia to exploring all the Amazon has to offer. From mysterious forests of Tasmania to the gorgeous white beaches of West Australia.
Each place left its mark. Each place gave me something - insights, clarity, adventure, a little shift in how I understood the world.
I’ve learned I thrive in jungles. I love heat, humidity, tropical air. Embracing the bad-hair-day every-day. I’ve loved every coastline I’ve lived on, with every piece of my heart. For some reason I always stayed near the shore.
But now, my journey has brought me somewhere completely different.
Where the Mountains Begin to Speak
For the first time in my life, I’m living in the mountains. High up. Really high up. Born below sea level in the Netherlands, and now living in a town around 2,800 meters above sea level, surrounded by mountains rising between 4,000 and 5,000 meters. It’s a unique place to call home, - specially realising the Amazon is just a short drive the one way and the desert a few hours the other.
The Peruvian Andes, where the air is thinner (and the UV is strong!), yet it somehow feels fuller. Fun of energy, stories, stillness, history and presence.
Living here is a great reminder of - what I feel - many people in the Western world have forgotten:
Nature isn’t just scenery, it’s a connection, a relationship.
The Andean Way: When Nature Becomes a Living Spirit
In the Andean point of view, everything has spirit and energy.
The mountains, called apus, are considered protectors - ancient beings, standing tall in closer connection with the gods, watching over the valley and holding stories older than memory. The earth, Pachamama, is a mother to be thanked, honoured and respected. The river isn’t just a stream of water; she’s a guide, a healer, a moving teacher.
The weather isn’t random - it’s a conversation. A little bit like presented in the Disney movie Pocahontas, but in real life: every rock, every tree, every gust of wind has a presence, an energy, a soul, a voice. They speak and if you’re looking for answers, you just need to listen.
Locals feel it. You can hear in their stories, the way they communicate with the environment and the way they speak. The way they say “Los apus me llamaron” - The mountains called me.
After weeks of walking the same paths, watching the seasons shift, listening to the river tell her stories, waking up and greeting the mountains each morning - I started to feel it too.
There is a sense of connection. Presence. The quiet magic of a land that sees you, holds you, and guides you in a way.
Nature here - supported by the local culture and they way people are connected to the land, pulls you into the moment. You can’t avoid it, and in my opinion: it’s great.
In Europe - I feel - we’ve lost quite a bit of that connection to the land. Through the structures us humans have built for ourselves. Things that seem to make our lives easier at times, make us more disconnected too. Like the automation. We even have automated systems in the supermarkets to pay for our groceries. Gone connection. We divide ourselves. - something that goes against nature. In nature we connect. Most animals live in herds or team up in some way. Yes, some are solitary, but in the end of the day, even they need connection for survival of the species.
A Valley Shaped by Tradition Focused on Healing
This part of the world attracts people from every corner of the globe - seekers, creatives, healers, wanderers. The sacred valley and surrounding jungle regions are especially known for their ancestral plant medicines: Ayahuasca, San Pedro/Huachuma, Kambo, Rapé, and others passed down through generations.
Today, these traditional medicines have become a significant part of the tourism industry here. Sometimes in a beautiful and authentic way… and sometimes less so. I’ve seen both sides - the genuine healing spaces, and I have heard stories about places that are more in it for business than the actual sacred practice and helping people. So, if you’re considering doing a dieta or working with plant medicines, I truly recommend to do your research well. If you want recommendations for trustworthy shamans, feel free to message me.
Many people arrive here looking for healing, transformation or clarity. Everyone in their own way.
Me as well. I’m transforming too - just not through plant medicine though.
The ceremonies with plant medicines aren’t really part of my personal path, but living here naturally connects you to this world and I’ve found it fascinating to learn about. Just by being here, you end up meeting shamans, you hear stories, you witness rituals and ceremonies, and you begin to understand how deeply plants, energy and nature are woven into every day life here.
It gives you a different perspective than the Western one - and a new respect for how much ancient wisdom still lives in these mountains, and how interconnected everything is.
The Rituals Hidden in Everyday Life
Beyond the ceremonies and the visitors, there’s something quieter here - if you pay attention. It’s in the small, everyday rituals that show the true heart of this culture.
People offering flowers to the river. Locals placing a few kernels of corn or some coca leafs on the ground or rocks before eating. Offering the first sip of your drink to the earth. Greeting the land. Some talk to their huachuma cactus before entering their home - these plants are protectors and often placed next to the front door. The incense smells filling the morning air in and outside shops to cleanse the energy. Also, the simple acts of moments of showing gratitude. In daily greetings but also in everything else. The way they hold their hands around their soup to feel the energy and have a moment of gratefulness with their eyes closed before starting to eat.
I find it a beautiful thing.
How the Mountains Begin to Teach You
Somewhere along the way, you become a part of it too. I’ve felt the mountains calm me when I was overwhelmed. I’ve felt the river soften me when I needed grounding. I’ve felt hold by this place and the people - both in difficult moments and in moments of abundance. I also enjoy going down to the river to offer some flowers and just get anything off my chest.
Living here teaches you to breathe slower, listen deeper, move with intention, and let nature guide you instead of rushing ahead. The Andes don’t push - they remind.
Lessons from the Andes:
1. Everything is connected - nothing stands alone.
The mountains, the river, animals, people… all part of the same energetic web. When one thing moves, everything else shifts.
2. Nature speaks - you just have to slow down enough to hear it.
A change in the wind, a bird flying lower than usual, the ants climbing up the trees, the change of air before rain. It’s all communication.
3. The earth has a spirit - and she responds to how you treat her.
When you walk with intention, gratitude, softness, the whole feels different. You feel different.
4. Energy moves in cycles - like ocean waves, the phases of the moon, and the cycles of the feminine body.
There’s a time for creating, a time for resting, a time for letting go, a time for receiving. Nothing stays the same because nothing is meant to.
5. You are part of nature, not a separate thing from it.
When you reconnect with the land, you reconnect with yourself, the purest version of yourself.
It’s the kind of wisdom that doesn’t come from books or teachers. Just like how we never learned about the different phases of the feminine cycle in school - or how the phases of the moon affect us all - not only sea turtles. Many other cycles in nature are affected by this. It comes from silence, from paying attention, observing. From letting the world around you show you who you really are.
A Love Letter to The Valley
The longer I’m in Peru now, the more I feel the presence of these mountains - steady, ancient, protective. They feel like a big hug, holding us. They’ve held generations of stories long before mine, and they’ll hold many after.
There’s a softness here, a wisdom, as if were closer to pachamama, a quiet strength reminding us to live from the heart. To be grateful. To be open. To be human.
I’m exactly where I’m meant to be in this phase of my life.
With warmth,
Kimberly 🌻