Amazon activities will focus on the edible and medicinal plants of thePeruvian Amazon, including visits to markets where local herbs are sold,explorations of the Inkaterra Field Reserve, the Useful Plants Trail, andthe Garden of Medicinal Plants. A literal highpoint of the Amazon portionof the trip includes traversing the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway that soars 100feet above the forest floor, allowing people to view plants and animalsthat dwell in the upper canopy.

Andean activities include a workshop by a traditional Incan shaman in thesacred Urubamba Valley, the Pisac traditional crafts market, and theinspiring "lost" mountaintop ruins of Machu Picchu. Each stop of this tripwill focus on the native ethnobotany of the area and ways the indigenousInca people traditionally used and currently use local medicinal plants.

Tour leaders include internationally known author, photographer andlecturer, Steven Foster; neuropsychopharmacologist, author and educator,Jerry Cott, Ph.D.; and ecologist and educator, Joseph Bishop, Ph.D.Presentations include History of Herbs in Medicine and Pharmacy, MedicinalPlants of the Amazon, Plants of Economic and Health Value, Amazonian FoodFarmacy Diet, Herb-Drug Interactions, and Herbs and Aging.

"We are incredibly passionate about helping people live healthier livesworldwide through the responsible and sustainable use of herbs andmedicinal plants," emphasized Mark Blumenthal, Founder and ExecutiveDirector of the American Botanical Council.

"For twenty years, the American Botanical Council has dedicated itself toproviding accurate and reliable information and education about the use ofherbs and medicinal plants," added Blumenthal. "Onsite educational programssuch as our Amazon and Andes Ethnobotany Ecotour are a core component ofproviding compelling information through applied education and a hands-onopportunity to immerse yourself in the actual environment with leadingherbal and environmental experts. It is often a life-changing experience!"

ABC has been co-sponsoring and conducting continuing education-accreditedethnobotany ecotours to the Peruvian Amazon and Andes regions since 1994.ABC has also co-sponsored continuing education tours to Belize, Costa Rica,Kenya and South Africa as part of its core mission to provide educationusing science-based and traditional information to promote the responsibleuse of herbal medicine.

"This will be a fabulous trip, particularly the amazing Andean city ofMachu Picchu," said veteran ethnobotanical expert and tourleader, StevenFoster. "The greatest culture shock I've ever experienced is going from theprimary rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon up to the ancient Inca capital,Cusco, on the way to Machu Picchu. Believe me, it doesn't get better thanthis!"

Space for the Peru tour is limited. Full itinerary and registration formscan be found online at the ABC website:http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Ethnobotany_Tours.

ABC published a short article by former ABC Pharmacy intern, CodiScarbrough Triesch, sharing her experiences on the trip to Peru a few yearsago. The article can be found at:http://content.herbalgram.org/abc/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2902. Linksto photos from last year's ecoutour can be seen at:http://www.stevenfoster.com/photography/subjects.html

About the American Botanical Council

Established in 1988, the American Botanical Council (ABC) is the leadingnonprofit, member-based international organization working to educateconsumers, healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, industry, andthe media on the safe and effective use of herbs and medicinal plantsproducts. ABC is located on a 2.5 acre site in Austin, Texas, where itpublishes HerbalGram, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal; HerbClip, atwice-monthly scientific literature review service; and HerbalEGram, amonthly electronic newsletter. ABC is also the publisher of "The ABCClinical Guide to Herbs," a continuing education and reference book, whichcontains extensive monographs on the safety and efficacy of 29 popularherbs, and the recent "The Identification of Medicinal Plants: A Handbookof Morphology of Botanicals in Commerce," a guide to the macroscopicidentification of botanical materials for industry quality controllaboratories that ABC published in cooperation with the Missouri BotanicalGarden. More information is available at http://www.herbalgram.org/.

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