Now, this is where things get really juicy. Finally, the day had come when I was going to be able to climb the mountain. Every single day we had been here the mountain was calling me, sometimes so loud it was making me jittery, wanting to get going so the days would pass and I could answer the call. Wherever we went my eyes sought it out, devouring its many faces as if I was looking upon a long-lost friend.
Hakim and I got up early so we could beat the heat and hitched a ride with the manager of the hotel in a little tuk-tuk. He drove us around the mountain to the northeastern side, where the people gather every October for the feast of Reconciliation, a three-day festival for all the local tribespeople.
We climbed up beyond the row of little mud houses that house the elders during the festival and here I asked to pause before we properly began to scale the mountain.
Crouching down and placing my hands on the earth I spoke to the mountain.
“I have heard your call and I am answering it. My feet are yours to guide where you will this day. May I stay clear so I can hear your voice. Thank you for calling me here.”
I waited there, feeling through my hands and abdomen until I felt a small release, an indication that I was heard and could proceed.
I do this whenever approaching the landscape, especially when I feel there has been a particular call. It is an acknowledgement of the sentience and intelligence of the beings that make up this earth. And, when you do so, the earth responds to you in wondrous ways. Ways that would seem impossible or at best, coincidental to many people but I know it to be a deepening of my relationship with Life.
We began our climb, struggling to gain our footing over the deep sand that encircled the mountain like a sandy, maxi skirt. On we went, following small trails that weave their way up here and there, my breath beginning to come in short gasps. I really do need to boost my fitness again after being sick for so long.
Angling more towards the northwestern side of the mountain we finally reached the rock-line where our footing became more solid. Except now, in places, the rocks would crumble under our feet sending them sliding down the mountain a short distance behind us.
By this point there was no longer a path to follow, which didn’t matter in the slightest. The mountain would take us where we needed to go and show us what we needed to see. And boy, did the mountain have a lot to show us.
Soon, much to Hakim’s excitement, we came across some large chunks of broken white calcite that had tumbled into a pile. There were no indications of a structure here, at least from what we could see on the surface but the stones must have been used for something and looked like they had lain in this way for thousands of years. All traces of former function and shape weathered away.
“Look at this!” exclaimed Hakim pointing to the side of the rock where he stood, “these are from water, do you see?”
Approaching half-way up the rock, was a band of what looked like fossilized little barnacles and algae, as if the rock had stood in water for a long time before the waters started to recede. But these chunks of white calcite were over halfway up the mountain, had there been a massive flood here at some point, that took time for the waters to recede? And if so, AND if the blocks of white calcite – which to be honest, I want to add, I don’t even know if it is a calcite because it doesn’t look like other calcites and I’m no expert – if the blocks were part of a structure at one time in the past, then it would have to be a very distant past because the structure would have fallen around the time of this flood in order for the stones to display evidence of prolonged submersion.
I don’t know much about the geological history of this area – naturally, I would love to learn more – but I presume there have been no floods of that magnitude here in recorded history. Could the flood have been because by the Younger Dryas event, which created global flooding incidents? And if so, does that suggest there was a civilization of significant development in the region 12,000 years ago? It’s a leap of the imagination, I know, but that’s how theories are formed and then the scientist gathers data to support the theory or not. I have little to go on but I feel in my bones that there was such a place here and I’m determined to one day prove it.
Happy with our find, we carried on upwards to the summit of this side of the mountain – the mountain is broken up in sections with different table-top peaks and deep toughs in-between them. At the top we had stunning views of the entire area around us and we sat in companiable silence as we took in our surroundings being gently awoken by the sun. From here the sound of a truck bumping past easily found its way up to us. Dogs barked in the little village below and the whole world seemed to be at peace.
It hadn’t taken us long to get up here and we still had plenty of time to explore more, so we carefully picked our way down the steep side of our perch eventually making it down to a large, sheltered, flat area.
The area was very big, perhaps the size of a football pitch, with a series of wide, flat, stone terraces. It felt like the courtyard of a temple, or a town plaza of sorts, capable of fitting hundreds of people and perhaps even structures on it. Certainly, the flat surface provided a solid enough surface to build upon. Yet, there was no evidence of fallen stone typical of a ruin – unless it had all been swept away by a wave.
Crossing the plaza, we carried on our way towards the edge of this side of the mountain. Below us, a steep drop-down led to a small pass between the rocky protrusions. It was a tricky little climb in places and it did occur to me that if I ever brought people here one day, this would not be an easy route for most. We would have to find another way.
Before we descended, we took a moment to scout the land in front of us, to look for possible pathways or areas of interest. Far over on the other side, in two different places, we could see two small dark openings into the mountain. Were they cave entrances? I tried to look out for possible landmarks to help guide us to these places because once we climbed down it would be hard to find them again.
Naturally, by the time we got down I was totally lost and had no idea where the enigmatic holes were situated. All the folds, boulders, peaks and troughs of the mountain hid all sites from our view, so we had to just trust the mountain would lead us.
With me leading a little way in front of Hakim, I followed my feet around a bend in the rock and paused, eyes wide and heart racing slightly. There in front of me a ledge had been roughly cut into the rock face. In the centre of the excavated wall was an opening, with a smooth stone frame to the doorway. We had found something.
I approached carefully, feeling a tingling begin all over my body. I knew this was why we were here. This is what the mountain wanted to show us, why it had called me. I entered the space and could not believe what I was seeing.
A chamber had been meticulously carved into the hillside with two rows of pillars on either side that flanked a pit dug into the back of the chamber. The pit had a low platform of smooth stone, almost like a step but low enough to make it difficult to get down. Below that was the floor of the pit, full of sand, stones and the odd piece of rubbish. Even up here you find rubbish, I thought sadly.
Going deeper into the hillside, a small chamber had been carved, low enough that you have to bend over to get in. On all the walls and the ceiling there are small chisel marks in multiple directions creating a pockmarked effect on all the surfaces.
It wasn’t the chamber itself that blew my mind, or the surprise of finding such a space, it was what I saw when I walked in that took my breath away. I have never seen anything like it before.
It was as if the walls and ceiling were moving in intricate geometric patterns. I could see the solid stone wall behind and through the patterns but at the same time they were fluid. Or perhaps the vision hovered a centimetre in front of the stone, I don’t know. But there were plants, vines, flowers, birds, insects, frogs, a strange nature spirit hovering at the bottom, between to plants, watching me. Everything was made up of these colourful lines of energy that somehow also had the form of all these nature beings and the whole thing moved slowly from bottom to top, like a slow-moving torus. I had stepped into a full-blown psychedelic experience without taking any psychedelics!
My ears exploded with such a high frequency and so loud, it was like nothing I had ever heard before. Electricity coursed through my fingers in a very familiar way. This felt just like the frequency of ayahuasca, I thought to myself stunned. Even the visuals were just like ayahuasca. What had I stepped into?
I went down into the pit, still completely entranced with the moving walls and ceiling and Hakim soon joined me there. I moved out of the way for him so he could sit and he began to tone but there was something not flowing, some discomfort or something stalling the energy with us both in the lower chamber, so I left and made my way back up to the top, leaving him there alone so he could sing and have his moment.
Standing on the left-side corridor, between the pillars and the wall, I could fully immerse into the energy of the place as Hakim’s singing swept through us all.
I have heard Hakim sing in various temples, I have heard others sing in various resonant spaces, I myself have sung in various sacred spaces but I have never heard anything like what I heard that day in that temple. It was quite literally out of this world. Within the tones there arose other sounds that I cannot explain, they almost sounded alien. Strange clicking noises and something almost electronic wove through the tones he sang.
After he finished, he climbed out of the pit and left the temple, leaving me alone in there with my nature spirits. And I had to sing too, for ever since I stepped into the space I could hear the songs of my forest family, the Huni Kuin. They seemed to be bleeding in from another dimension and filled the space.
Opening my mouth, I let the sound pour out and the song take form. It wasn’t a song I knew but it was an ancient one that somehow, I recognised. How is it possible that in a place so far away from the Amazon the frequency of ayahuasca and the forest was so powerfully present. It is as if this place is the place of Isis and Osiris, of Gaia, pure nature, of all things green and all things living. It is bursting with the vitality of life. The whole matrix imprinted within these walls. You just have to sit in here and absorb the information.
When I finished, I went outside and noticed that the doorway was aligned directly with the temple of the oracle of Amun. Hakim and I looked at each other in wonder. He told me that when he was inside the temple, he asked, what is this place? And then on the wall above the doorway he saw a symbol flash up brightly, clearly illuminated against the stone. It looked like a chair with another one upside down beside it, he said. At first, he thought it was the step pyramid of Saqarra and he was confused by this response but when I shared with him my vision, he understood the symbol as being Isis’ chair.
“It is as if all the temples and the pyramids were man’s attempt to replicate the technology of this mountain, of this place,” he said, his eyes shining brightly with excitement and reverence.
We walked on, deciding to explore the other side of the mountain. It was still relatively early and neither of us were quite ready to end our quest yet. We wondered along dusty paths and stony ledges, the palm grove extending below us towards the western lake, and soon came to a valley with steep, crumbling sides that felt like the valley of death. My inner radar was not feeling this route at all and after Hakim climbed a scaly path to get a better view, we quickly decided to turn round and head back. This was not the way for us today. When you feel inwards the signs are clear.
Meandering here and there as we roughly backtracked, Hakim’s phone suddenly rang. While he chatted to whoever was on the other end my attention kept being drawn up the rockface to my right. Perhaps if I climb up there, I would have a better view and might see where another opening could be. I was convinced there were more caves and temples to be found. After all we still hadn’t found the cave entrance that leads all the way to the temple and mountain of the dead.
So, I began the climb up, zigzagging along the unstable terrain, finally climbing up a short, rocky, throat to a ledge above. Here I could not help but laugh out loud in wonder, for there was another ledge carved out of the hillside, larger than the previous one, again with a smooth, stone entrance!
This time, I knew Hakim had to go in first, as I went into the last one first. This one was for him. Don’t ask me how I knew. It is the same as how I know what direction to go in. There is a little nudge within me, a releasing of tension, an inexplicable knowing. I later found out that it was indeed an important part of his inner journey to go into this one first. Never doubt, always trust, no matter how weird it may seem.
Turning around I went to the edge of the ledge and could see him pacing back and forth below, still on the phone. I called and waved him up then waited – a very thirsty wait for by that point we had drunk almost all our water and I was rationing the rest.
Finally, his dark head bopped up by the ridge and he pulled himself up the last stretch, eyes wide in amazement. I waited quietly, crouching in the shade for him to gather his breath and enter, then I followed.
This temple was larger than the other one and made the same way, with small, chiselled marks on walls, pillars and ceiling. There was no low chamber in this one but a series of chambers of different sizes leading off the main chamber, all with low ceilings meaning you had to bend over to move about in them.
I took some time in each room feeling into the energies of each one and they were all different – all nature based but different. In one I was sitting under the stars and planets that swirled all around me. In another, I was in water with various aquatic life forms swimming and moving through the space. In another I was in the middle of an enourmous tree. I could see the lines of energy moving through the tree in the very space around me. I could feel it pulsing from the ground through the trunk to the stars above and vice versa.
This temple was orientated exactly north. Could it have been to mark the northern star? Would the ancients have come here at certain times of the year to receive particularly magnified energies from the sky?
We had so many questions and for sure there is much more to discover in this land. This is the key to what was here before, I feel it in my bones.
We found another ancient site on our way back down the mountain, this one made from dressed stone that was open to the skies or was tumbled and buried. We didn’t stay long enough to find out, by that point we needed water desperately.
How much more is buried or lost? How much more is waiting to be discovered, to be remembered? For have no doubts, the ancient wisdom is rising up again. The wheel turns and we are returning. And the world will never be the same again.
One thing is for certain, I have to come back here. I cannot stop at just that visit. This mountain called me and for now, my heart is bound with its.
The video above is Hakim "playing" a large piece of petrified wood we found on one of the ridges high up on the mountain. I only took this video, at his request, a photo and one more photo of one of the sandy valleys (not sure why as it doesn't show anything interesting). I don't like to use my phone when I am questing or answering a call, so I have little visual aids to share with you. You will have to come and visit me there and I will take you, if you feel the call that is.
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