Ayahuasca $100 - $2,000

Aya Madre Healing Center

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Aya Madre is a shamanic healing center outside of Iquitos, Peru. It is owned and operated by master Shipibo shaman Estela Pangoza and her family. Maestra Estela is a renowned healer who works with the power of ayahuasca and mother nature as part of an ancient system of holistic treatment. Come heal your physical, emotional and/or spiritual illnesses, and connect more deeply to nature, yourself and higher states of well-being.

Maestra Estela has owned this property and been hosting a wide range of guests, clients and patients for over 5 years. In 2018 the center was officially founded as “Aya Madre.” Maestra Estela’s vision is to open a space deep in the heart of the jungle for people from the around the world to experience the deep and profound healing of mother nature.

While “ayahuasca tourism” has boomed in the Amazon jungle, with tourists seeking the sometimes thrilling visions ayahuasca can offer, Maestra Estela practices a traditional form of Shipibo plant medicine. This tradition sees ayahuasca as one of many master plants which along with a range of other plant treatments, can act as a powerful diagnostic tool, purgative, and ultimately, help us connect more deeply with the healing power within ourselves and all around us. This form of Shipibo plant medicine has been practiced for thousands of years, and at Aya Madre guests will be immersed in the full system of healing under Maestra Estela’s care and guidance.

As far as we know, this center is unique in being 100% owned and operated by a female, indigenous shaman. This is no small task in a world of shamanism dominated by men. Maestra Estela provides a safe, nurturing, empowering environment where you can experience the deep healing of the jungle, Ayahuasca, and the Shipibo plant tradition.

Reviews (36)

4.3 out of 5

Overall 4.3

milan
December 13, 2021 at 7:00 am

Being at Aya Madre felt like being at home.

It was amazing to live in the jungle, with people who know it and live with it so intimately. Tamboos (small private huts where you sleep) are surrounded by dense Amazonian nature, so we felt like being guests of a jungle as much as of Maestra and her family.
If this was purely tourist visit, it would deliver on authenticity and beautiful nature. But it was not, far from it.

The connection between this place and nature is easy to feel but not that easy to capture in words. I’ll offer 3 stories which try to bring this a bit closer to you.
1. There was a big beautiful parrot called Carlos. He interacted with everyone, was fun to spend time with and we even joked he is the real shaman around there. You would think Carlos is a pet, but he is not. He lived in the jungle, got injured, someone from the village helped him and Carlos decided to stay with the village where he found a new place he belongs to.
2. One day we had a privilege to get a “jungle walking tour” by one of the locals. We took a two hour walk through the dense jungle. Other than knowing his way around like you would in your own town, the young local guy knew every single tree the way young men in west know celebrities or famous sport players: what it is useful for, how does it sound, can you eat leaves or roots, the way it smells, …
3. Medicine room filled with these plants and trees is one of the best things at Aya Madre, I’m so grateful for it. Maestra skilfully uses knowledge of plants and understanding of spirit to offer 5-6 plants you can consume couple of times of day. One of the best tips one of the volunteers gave us (thanks Chase! <3) is to "connect with the plants, not just drink/eat them". And really, connecting with the taste, drinking mindfully, staying with how they make you feel, one develops an intuition for these beautiful plants I didn't know even existed before.
Spending time at Aya Madre, you also share this connection which is long lost in most of the western world and feels like home at the most human level.

And the hardest part to capture and put in some characters on screen are ceremonies. I can say Icaros are amazing. Maloca (ceremony place) is serene and beautiful. We had a luck to got offered Shamburi, Huachuma (“San Pedro”), Hongos (“Magic Mushrooms”) as well as Ayahuasca during our stay.
If you feel called to do 4 ceremonies within 5 days, this is might not be a place for you and there are many westernised retreats that offer just that.
Aya Madre is more of an open and accepting traditional community that you can spend some time with, and we couldn't be more grateful that it opened as an opportunity for us.
Samika Kalra
June 18, 2021 at 3:06 pm

I stayed at aya madre with my mother for four months and I can tell with full confidence that this is the best place a person can visit. I went there with a lot of sickness and a little bit of hope. From the moment I entered the centre, maestra Estela helped me in every way to heal myself completely. She and maestro Guillermo are really good with their work and have a lot of experience in plant medicines. The plants which are given by the them to each individual is according to their specific needs. However, a person can choose on their own too. The cook is also a really good lady.
Thomasito
June 1, 2021 at 4:32 am

I had such an beautiful time at Ayamadre.
I think the real healing work is here, you can feel the purity of it. Here it is real. Im so thankful!
It really helped me with selfesteem, confidence and to help me realize where I am living for and letting go of fears, doubts etc. It brought me that I know how it is to really love life.
It feels like going home there.
And a very important part of this incredible healing centre is that you’ll get a responsibility to organise your diet, to prepare your diet plants. And through this way you learn that you are responsible to create your life after the whole experience.
To let you work together with the medicines and every single person who is working there.

Of course, there is so much help and care. And here they work for you with the heart with so many details. But with your conscious will and wanting, it will be extra healing.
Maestra Estella is a very powerful curandera, she knows how to work with the medicine but most of all connect with you and your needs during the ceremony. Her chantings are so healing. Maestro Guillermo, who was there as well, is also a really authentic shaman, really soft and healing energy.
mishmish
May 22, 2021 at 2:13 pm

I have been to this center two times and I am hoping to come again in future. When I came the first time I was so lost and confused that I wasn’t sure how or why I came there. I was so depressed that I didn’t even know that I was depressed. During my one month long stay my heart was opened and I felt light and happy again (there is nothing wrong with being unhappy or depressed but it was my time to see the other side). The benefits were so apparent that I immediately started saving for the next trip and was able to come the the next year and stayed for another month. As someone who doesn’t have a lot of spare income I can say it was worth it both times.

I recommend to try to stay longer rather than for a short period of time. I also recommend not to chase your past experiences and start from the very beginning.
reillybrown
May 8, 2021 at 11:30 am

Aya Madre is an incredible healing center and the time that I spent there was very healing. I spent five weeks at Aya Madre. Maestra Estela is a master of her craft, I really don’t think you could be in more competent and safe hands. I was someone who came in with a lot of fears and doubts about taking ayahuasca, so I really appreciated being able to work with Shamburi first (a very gentle, loving medicine), and just the whole time I was there I felt like I was supported to engage with the medicines in the most beneficial and healing way. Maestra gives you the amount of medicine that she intuitively senses that you need, and emphasizes a process of gradual healing over the time that you spend there. She is also open to listening to what you as the participant feel like you need/want,(like you can ask for more medicine during a ceremony) and I feel like the center of her approach is empowering you to be your own healer, to be an active participant in your healing process and journey. Such valuable and beautiful lessons to be learned from that, I really couldn’t recommend Aya Madre and Maestra Estela enough. The food is also quite good, the tambos are lovely and the retreat center itself is quite beautiful and peaceful. They treat you as a guest extremely well at Aya Madre, and welcome you into their home as if you are a part of their family.