Collette Lilly photographed* this musician decades ago after moving to Mexico in the 1960s with her husband John and while living with the Huichol people for 17 years. She curated an amazing exhibit at the Zacatecan Museum which displays the art, crafts, religious objects, rituals and spiritual journey of these fascinating people.

Every year Huichol shamans and some families walk from their tropical mountain homeland near the Pacific, stopping on sacred hilltops, gathering peyote, until they reach their sacred Huiricuta land above the Tropic of Cancer hundreds of miles away, and then they walk back. The ancient journey of their ancestors takes months, and last year UNESCO recognized 20 sites along the route as a world heritage site, helping the Huichol people to protect their land and culture.

I visited the museum and the easiest site in Zacatecas city, taking the teleférico to Cerro de La Bufa. From there you can see another hilltop site at the south of the city. Zacatecas is in the middle of the route, and the colorful Huichol artwork can be seen in the local artisan shops in this delightful world heritage city center.

I also visited Real de Catorce, a remote mining town accessed by a ridiculously long cobblestone road and long narrow tunnel, which marks the northeastern end of the journey. The route passes through town on its way up to Cerro el Quemado in the sacred Huiricuta area, best reached by guided horseback trips easily arranged in the town square. Real de Catorce is only one long day’s drive from Laredo, Texas.

* My photo at top is an edited section of Colette Lilly’s exhibit photo. Several photographers have their photos on exhibit, including her late husband John Lilly, who also invented the isolation tank and wrote the book Altered States.