Peyote Ceremony Real de Catorce

This lovely village in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi was once a thriving silver mining town. It has long been a pilgrimage site for both local Catholics and Huichol shamanists.  International tourists are drawn to the peyote ceremonies of Real de Catorce because of the area’s reputed spiritual energy.

Thousands of pilgrims visit the Parish of Immaculate Conception to express gratitude for favors granted.  The Huichol indigenous people walk across miles of desert from many regions of Mexico to visit the valley of Catorce every spring to leave religious offerings at the Cerro Quemado, a ceremonial center to the east of their mystical religious territory.