For the Seekers of the Life-Affirming
Each Sendero guest experience caters to a distinct kind of traveller: those who realize that nature and living heritage are not backdrops to be consumed, but places where we go to feel our most connected, inspired, and alive.
Sendero does not design trips for tourists; we facilitate pilgrimages for passionate explorers seeking to support communities and do what small thing we can do to help these people and their piece of this planet thrive.
Medicinal Garden - Farm Tour with Healing Tea Workshop and Community Lunch
Explore the base of historic farming demonstration and medicinal gardens followed by lunch with members of the local farming collective.
Guided tour of both the region’s premier agricultural demonstration garden and a medicinal community garden followed by breaking bread with members of the farming collective where we share and learn from each other over a farm to table meal.
This guest expedition offers a rare opportunity to engage with women and youth of a small Mexican village. Learn historic farming practices of today and explore a working medicinal garden. The day closes with breaking bread together to learn, share and grow together.
Jaguar Conservation Corridor Tour, Trail Monitoring and Family Lunch
Conservation meets exploration as you traverse the Sierra Madre del Sur headed for the very corridor jaguar travel each night to hunt.
You will work with local experts to monitor the trail cameras and obtain footage before joining a local family for a meal to hear about the history of the jaguar and what it means to residents of today and cultures of yesterday.
This exclusive, low-impact eco-luxury expedition offers unparalleled access into the rugged mountain peaks of Guerrero, navigating private wildlife corridors by premium ATV. Alongside our elite biologists and the pioneering family who have dedicated generations to apex predator preservation, you will actively participate in vital, boots-on-the-ground conservation by servicing state-of-the-art trail monitoring equipment.
This private heritage trek traces the sacred paths of the majestic jaguar—an animal that held a paramount place of mythological honor among the Cuitlatec rulers who dominated these lands 3,000 years ago. As you track these elusive big cats, your expert guides will reveal how this creature’s ancient, sacred place of cosmic power is being preserved through modern science, and how its revered place of spiritual guardianship still shapes the living history of the mountain today. An immersive, transformative travel experience that seamlessly blends high-adrenaline exploration with meaningful, legacy-driven wildlife philanthropy.
Professionals Without Boardrooms
Offer your marketing, financial, IT or other skills to the areas growing community of collectives and co-operatives.
Be a force multiplier and join the Sendero Impact Incubator.
Ancient Rhythms and Engineering Feats
Analyze 3,000 years of history through local community members’ lens. Exploring the structural engineering feats that lead to being able to read the solar alignment with the accuracy essential to leading and feeding a powerful region.
Big Ideas.
Real Impact.
Sendero: Pathway
The Journey is The Destination
Each educational expedition is a curated immersion into the history of the Costa Grande. From your greeting and blessing by a village elder to participating in an active dig, every detail is managed by the local experts and academic advisors who facilitate your learning.
Program Confirmation & Briefing: Your participation is officially confirmed upon registration. In preparation for your expedition, you will receive a digital pre-session field briefing. This pre-material offers you insight into the reach and power of this civilization you will be visiting soon.
Synthesis & Return: Following the completion of the on-site modules, your return transport is designed for a quiet synthesis of the day’s study. To ensure your comfort during this transition, we provide chilled, herb-scented towels and refreshments as you reflect on the historical insights gained.
Sendero Expeditions is committed to beyond fair market or trade. Every person from the village and part of your expedition is a valued facilitator of your experience and compensated accordingly.
We are all committed to the preservation of heritage and culture across Costa Grande. We are just starting with Xihuacan.
No matter where we focus geographically a key focus is Economic Resilience. Your participation funds our educational expedition ritual providers, elders and knowledge keepers as well as local farmers and those who prepare our meals.
In addition we provide micro-loans for these descendants who share their culture and heritage to invest in deeping their connection and roots. We have already funded drums you will hear in our rituals and we are exploring skills development as well.
Expedition 1
Introduction to Xihuacan & Ancient Rhythms
Classification: Introduction to Xihuacan, Structural Engineering and Solar Alignment, Drum and Dance Ritual at Sunset atop the Pyramid Overlooking the Jungle.
Program Fee: $350 USD | Duration: 3.5 Hours | Capacity: 6 Participants
The Expedition: Solar Engineering & The Cuitlatec Legacy
Following a traditional Copal welcome, join local experts and Cuitlatec descendants to analyze the Great Pyramid’s precision alignment. You will discover how this mathematical masterpiece captured solar light to govern millennia of agricultural cycles with unerring accuracy. Your journey concludes with a traditional Cocoa ceremony, honoring the sacred connection between the stars and the soil.
Expedition Curriculum:
0:00 – 0:45 | Mobile Classroom: Transit to Xihuacan and consider the incredible leadership it took to govern the very lands to drive through.
0:45 – 1:00 | Cultural Orientation: Traditional Copal Welcome and Xihuiacan induction.
1:00 – 2:15 | Applied Site Analysis: Deep-dive exploration of the Museum and Ceremonial Center focused on architectural and solar alignments.
2:15 – 2:45 | Solar Alignment Practicum: Overview of Cocoa Traditions atop the Pyramid at sunset, analyzing the structure’s role in tracking seasonal rhythms.
2:45-3:30 | Synthesis & Return: Concluding transit synthesis and return to your hotel.
Expedition 2
Xihuacan Engineering & Ancient Cosmology
Classification: Hydrologic Engineering Feats, Dark Sky Expedition and Water Bowl Discovery
Program Fee: $450 USD per participant | Duration: 4 Hours | Capacity: 6 Guests
The Expedition: Xihuacan Hydrological Engineering
This module explores the urban evolution of Xihuacan’s ceremonial center. Participants will analyze how ancient engineers harnessed the river's power during storms that dumped a staggering 5 inches of rain per hour. Using a sophisticated canal network, the city transformed the deluge into a defense, turning the trading post into a "floating" sacred island in a matter of hours.
Expedition Curriculum
0:00 – 0:45 | Mobile Classroom: Site transit featuring a comparative iconography briefing and digital research materials.
0:45 – 1:00 | Site Induction: Official entry into the research zone and safety briefing.
1:00 – 2:30 | Applied Structural Analysis: Supervised documentation of the Great Pyramid’s construction phases and stratigraphic markers.
2:30 – 3:15 | Urban Logic Practicum: Analysis of the Ball Court and surrounding plaza, focusing on the engineering of acoustic and hydraulic systems.
3:15 – 4:00 | Synthesis & Review: Final data recap and return transit.
Expedition 3
Archaeological Field Research
Classification: Supervised Archaeological Fieldwork & Research Participation
Program Fee: $695 USD per participant | Duration: 6 Hours | Capacity: 6 Guests
The Research Practicum: Stratigraphic Analysis
This intensive, field-based module provides direct access to an active research zone. Moving beyond traditional observation, you will engage in supervised site analysis—a professional practicum in the methods used to decode the stratigraphic record of the Costa Grande. Under the oversight of Professor Rodolfo Lobato, participants will assist in documenting primary findings, applying rigorous scientific protocols to preserve and interpret Xihuacan’s complex historical context.
Program Curriculum
0:00 – 0:45 | Mobile Classroom: Managed transit featuring a Methodology Briefing on the "3,000-Year Protocol" and subsurface scanning techniques.
0:45 – 1:15 | Field Induction: Site entry, safety protocol, and distribution of the Sendero Professional Field Kit.
1:15 – 2:45 | Supervised Data Collection: Hands-on participation in supervised excavation units, focusing on stratigraphic layer documentation and in-situ analysis.
2:45 – 3:15 | Cataloging Practicum: Technical session on artifact cleaning, labeling, and data entry to maintain the site’s archaeological record.
3:15 – 4:00 | Synthesis & Analysis: Review of the day’s findings with Professor Lobato and return transit.