After an early morning breakfast along the road and river crossing by barge, we will arrive in the village of Kangalas in Nyurbinskii Uluus. There we will meet shaman Aar Saaryn and his family, our hosts for the next few days. We will take a few hours to share a meal with Aar Saaryn’s family at his home and rest before continuing onwards to the sacred land of Sata Khaya. Travel will take a few hours and be very remote. Wildlife sightings (bear, wolf) are possible.
Aar Saaryn and his family have been called by the spirits to steward the sacred land of Sata Khaya, a mysterious place of forest, lake, river, and mountain. Multiple times a year Aar Saaryn invites seekers for retreat and ritual. We will be the first foreigners to visit this place. Accommodations here are simple and close to the earth, as per the instructions of the spirits. We will be sleeping on the floor in huts, segregated by sex. Other pilgrims from Sakha Republic will be visiting Sata Khaya at this time, presenting you with the rare opportunity to live communally with those who have come for healing & rejuvenation. Aar Saaryn’s wonderful sisters will cook for the group.
By this point in our trip, you’ll be used to open-ended journeys, loose timelines, and allowing structure to arise spontaneously from intuition & inspiration. When one arrives on sacred land, one doesn’t immediately begin “doing stuff;” to impose a human agenda, especially an achievement-based one rooted in western capitalist models, would show a lack of humility & respect to this place. This afternoon we arrive, get settled in, and hang out. It’s beautiful here.
Accommodations: sleeping bags on the floors of huts, all together like an elementary-school slumber party
Meals Included: lunch, dinner.
Special Information: Bring a sleeping bag, layers, a water bottle, sunscreen, swimsuit, and bug spray. Sata Khaya often has lots of mosquitoes and black flies - depends on the year. Our food will be locally sourced and prepared with love & awareness. It can be very hot here. We’ll be using pit toilets and drinking mineral water which has a unique, strong taste which you may or may not find delicious.