Ayahuasca Retreat Reviews — Helping You Stay Safe with 5,000+ Independent Reviews
We are an ayahuasca retreat healing center, operating as a lodge in the Amazon rainforest. We are located 90 minutes outside of Iquitos, Peru near the small village of Llanchama along the Nanay River.
We provide traditional Shipibo medicine services wich includes: healing and learning diets, master plant medicine, and traditional Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies.
Once you are here, you will meet with our shaman master healer Ricardo Amaringo, and with the asistance of a profesional translator, you can explain him your intention for the healing procces.
Your treatment will then be tailored to your personal needs, often including further treatment with a master plant. Furthermore, in traditional style, you will then adhere to a strict healing diet developed to promote the healing work of the curanderos and our medicinal plants.
Once on the diet, you will be invited to participate in ayahuasca ceremonies four times a week, for further ceremonial healing under the guidance of Ricardo and his assistants shamans. In ceremony, you will be further treated by the curanderos through the traditional healing song, called icaros.
The day after every ayahuasca ceremony, with the exception of Fridays, there is a group discussion led by Ricardo to review experiences in the ceremony and the progress of all of our participants, apprentices and visitors.
In some cases, further treatment techniques are also indicated, including healing plant preparations for bathing and vapor treatment, or cataplasm.
Traditional treatment requires time, so visitors are encouraged to visit us for one week or more. Group programs are often designed for 10 days or 2 weeks and more advanced treatment can take one/two months or longer.
For particular individuals, we also offer traditional diets for learning under the guidance of Ricardo. This level of training is best discussed in person with Ricardo himself.
We charge an all-inclusive daily fee for our services, which covers transport from the Iquitos airport, private room, modern bathrooms and showers, diet meals, laundry service, electricity, wifi internet, traditional medicine and experienced international facilitator staff support.
If you are interested in visiting, please email us to establish contact and verify availability at our center. From that point, we can plan your visit!
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Sabrinav
January 1, 2019 at 11:06 amNihue Rao …
Some people head off to Nihue Rao Spiritual Center knowing what they are looking for , some aren t sure , some have an urge to clean themselves , some feel stuck / at a crossroad in their life, some are ready to step up and take on new challenges in life , no matter what are the reasons you will choose to make the journey to this paradise in the Amazonian Forest , Nihue Rao will open doors to your answers , you may just find your true self , cry , smile and say “now it all makes sense, Gracias”
You arrive in Nihue Rao thinking and counting the days left until you can go back home … and you leave Nihue Rao counting the days left until you can come back !
I have choosen Nihue Rao for its respect to ancient traditions , its pure and basic authenticity to nature, medecine and shamanism.
By removing all the uneccessary layers and artifice , with its intensity and basic environment Nihue Hao , brings you to the core of Medecine.
A clean path to your own cure / medecine.
They are some many centers and people out there pretending to have the knowledge of the plant and spiritual medecine . Remember that in the world of the shaman , the ones that talk the most are the ones who know the least .
Nihue Rao is a safe Spiritual Center that can be trusted.
Trust and safety .. thats what you should be looking for and what you can be sure of.
Not only you will learn from each Ayahuasca ceremony or any other plants you may be dieting on (i only diet on Ayahuasca), but also from all the passengers .
Each passengers story or experiences during the ceremonies may resonnate within you . Nothing is random.
Your nights/ ceremonies in the Maloka at Nigue Rao may be tough but you will be and feel protected by el Maestro , the shamans and warm energy inside the maloka .
The shamans and Maestro Riccardo ikaros will be pure medecine for your body and soul . Songs from the spirits .
Having only native shamans makes a huge difference in the entire approach of the ceremony itself and love for Mama Ayahuasca and all sacred plants .
An entire village / family working all together , sharing their medecine and knowledge.
“Finito” , The end of the ceremonies are always a blessing , candle light and fruits , we quietly “regroup”, share (if the need is there), laugh , smile and share a lot of love . The maloka becomes home , where purging/ cleansing becomes your favorite hobby 😉
You may want to sleep in the cocoony Maloka or lookup to the stars (if not raining;) outside before heading back to your jungle hut .
Your little hut will be very basic but with a very comfy bed and mosquito net .
There is a desk , shelves and Fan , all you need is there 😉
The huts are opened with nets as windows, i loved listening to the sound of the jungle (hut 20#) at night or should i say early mornings ..
Yes , you may not get much sleep at night 😉 but somehow Mama Ayahuasca gives you the energy you need to carry on the next day.
Maestro Riccardo is a true deep and beautiful wise soul , i have learned so much from him during the integration meetings (morning after the ceremony) .
Many tips / advices i have taken from maestro Riccardo and shall apply to my life after Nihue Rao.
And his laugh .. hahha . Gracias Maestro !!
Big thank you to Benoit “Apprentice Maestro” ! The right words at the right time .
Thank you to Victor for all the information and guidance !
Remember that each experience is very personal , Mama Ayahuasca will give you what YOU need and not what your neighbur needs ..
You may also be on different plan diet with different restrictions.
Surrender , respect , have faith ,forgive yourself and others, surrender, open your heart and let Mama Ayahuasca , Nature , the shamans , el Maestro feed your body and soul its medecine .
Be ready to shine and enjoy the flower medecinal baths !!
I am myself a shaman and have been recommended Nihue Rao by other Shamans who are seeking for a true , authentic experience .
It is now my turn to highly recommend Nihue Rao , stop browsing ! You have found the right place .
Gracias , Gracias , Gracias
God Bless
Ps: i have spent 7 days at Nihue Rao over Xmas and received all answers i was looking for.
Now i can understand the magic of Christmas…
☀️✨
sklimov86
December 7, 2018 at 1:09 pmIt was my first aya retreat and it was absolutely fantastic in almost all categories. The staff treated me very well, the place is beautiful, and the shamans are incredibly powerful and their healing energies are second to none. The only reason that stops be giving it 5 stars is that Ricardo (the master shaman and owner) decided to postpone the final ceremony by one day because he wanted to have a party for his wife for her birthday instead. This meant that I did not get to have my 4 ceremonies as planned in one week. Although I was refunded the day rate, it meant I wasnt able to go as deep as I wanted to into the experience and this left me with a feeling of missing out. Overall, i learned so much while at the center, loved meeting all the people especially Martina and Cvita who are shining lights of this community, and this is just my first step in a long journey with plant medicine, so I am immensely grateful. I am sure this incident was a one-off, and i would otherwise recommend this center to anyone. It is very safe for women and men alike, and you will be very well taken care of. Thank you to everyone who made it special.
vpetreski
November 12, 2018 at 10:46 amI stayed 2 weeks at Nihue Rao and my experience was AMAZING.
Mario
November 10, 2018 at 1:15 amI just completed a 10-day stay at Nihue Rao. My only regret is that I didn’t do this years ago. It has been an incredible healing and learning experience. I was completely unaware of the anger and fear and guilt that I was carrying. I just knew that I didn’t feel right and I had trouble sleeping.
Ten days later, I am in awe of how much I have learned about my past, my family history, relationships, human nature, and the larger mysteries of the universe. My personal journey is difficult to put into words. Let’s just say that I am transformed and reborn and healed. I am forever grateful to Ricardo and the other shamans for their guidance, teaching, and healing.
I chose Nihue Rao on the recommendation of several friends who have attended over the past two years, so I didn’t have any concerns about safety or logistics. The center itself is rustic, with many dogs, cats, chickens, and other animals roaming free. It has comfortable showers and toilets. The food is basic as it should be according to the diet. But the most important thing is the community: the staff, the local people working at the center, and the other passengers from many parts of the world create an incredibly welcoming environment. The groups are just the right size, about 10 people, so you can benefit from individual attention, and still have fellow passengers to bond with and share the experience and help each other along the way.
Ten days was the minimum recommended by the center in order to do a plant diet. I had no idea what that meant. On arrival, during the meeting with Ricardo, he assigned to me a master plant based on my problems and intentions. Mine was Ajo Sacha. After a couple of days I learned to recognize and trust her and I appreciated her guidance during the ceremonies. I participated in 6 ceremonies, and each was different and powerful. I learned so much and got a glimpse of how much more there is to learn in the other realms. It is a long personal journey and I totally understand now why people return again and again to Nihue Rao.
During the ceremonies, there are always staff to assist if someone needs help. I was very thankful for their help during two particularly intense experiences. The maloka where the ceremonies take place is a beautiful space that is safe and comfortable. The whole place is very well run and organized. On off days when there are no ceremonies there are tours available in the jungle, or the river and the many animal refuge centers near Iquitos.
I can’t wait to come back and bring some of my family members. I can’t recommend Nihue Rao highly enough. If everyone came here once in their life, the world would be such a beautiful place.
baby_panther
November 10, 2018 at 1:15 amI completed a 10-day course at the Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual. I could not be happier that I did this as early as possible in my life.
The Nihue Rao center is about an hour with motocar from Iquitos airport into the jungle. There are common bathrooms and showers, all very clean. The tambos (the small rooms we sleep in) are basic and comfortable with a bed, mosquito net, table and a hammock. Looking back, I definitely brought more stuff than I needed. There is a laundry service at the center, which takes about 2 days to dry and get back.
The process at Nihue Rao is very well organised. I received a lot of support and guidance when I had difficult times, both from the staff and the other passengers in my group. The groups are small (around 10 people) which helps a lot during the whole experience, as I could get to know them well, feel comfortable and at the same time the staff could pay enough attention to all of us. During ceremonies there is always at least two people who help facilitate. I felt very safe throughout the whole 10 days.
It was very important to me that there are 4 ceremonies per week, so we attended a total of 6 ceremonies. I was cautious at the beginning of my journey and did not get my breakthrough until about the third ceremony. Four per week was intense but for me this was exactly what I needed. Additionally, we decided to do a plant diet, which you don’t do if you go for one week only. At the beginning I did not know exactly what a plant diet was, but I am happy I chose to do it. It helps a lot to guide one’s healing process. The plant diet is chosen by Ricardo based on the intentions and problems we arrived with.
The shamans and the whole staff are always open for conversation and paid close attention to my needs.
Overall, my experience at Nihue Rao was very powerful and I am extremely grateful to Ricardo and the other shamans, as well as the whole staff. I recommend this experience and particularly the Nihue Rao center with all my heart.