Ayahuasca Retreat Reviews — Helping You Stay Safe with 5,000+ Independent Reviews
The mission of Yosi Ocha, The Peruvian Institute of Shamanism and Natural Medicine, since its foundation in 2014, has been to establish a brand of excellence in the preservation of authentic Shipibo shamanic practices. Maestro Heberto García, who is today one of the most recognized shamans among the Shipibo descendants, preserves this indigenous tradition with great rigor. The centre was named after his grandfather and mentor, Yosi Ocha, known as the last Meraya, a title granted to curanderos that attained the highest level of shamanism.
Today we pride ourselves on offering the most complete combination of original Shipibo shamanic treatments available. The centre is the ideal refuge for those who seek deep healing and transformation through a personalised program, or wish to be trained in the fascinating art of shamanism following the ancient Shipibo tradition. Maestro Heberto makes a holistic diagnosis of each guest and designs a tailor-made program taking into account his or her individual objectives.
The passengers are free to choose the starting date and duration of their stay. Many centres offer retreats with fixed start and end dates for cost savings reasons, but in Yosi Ocha we believe that such rigidity does not favour the personalised treatment approach and goes against the central shamanic spirit that values the healing and promotion of integral well-being above any consideration of personal benefit.
Yosi Ocha is located in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, about 20 km southeast of Iquitos, in the Allpahuayo Mishana National Park. The diverse ecosystem in this magnificent part of the jungle includes majestic trees of impressive sizes, streams of reddish water and distinctive white sands that contribute even more to the enchanting beauty of the place.
Once a year, Maestro Heberto travels to Europe (Holland, Spain, etc.) to conduct intensive 3-days healing retreats. These retreats are an excellent opportunity to carry out deep personal work in a safe and loving environment, while discovering his unique approach to the medicine and healing.
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nicolas
May 10, 2022 at 5:23 pmOur stay ar the Yosi Ocha center was way beyond our expectations.
The place is a lost little paradise on earth. The bungalows, the bathing platform nearby an amazon stream, the maloca.Everything was so well organized from the booking with Barbara which is really responsive to the whole stay where if you have any request the sweet Ines will take care of.
Every resident hace a personnal following and treatment and it is not only ayahusca (San pedro, cacao, ..). A entire panel of plant healing experience will be awaiting you. Master Heberto will accompany you with his caring and kindness.
Icing on the cake, we asked for a spiritual wedding which was breathtaking to see how much effort and heart all the staff put into it.
Truly a life changing experience and no need to look for another one in the list of so many. At Yosi Ocha will find what you are looking for.
irrremerdem
April 11, 2022 at 9:40 amOne of the biggest reasons and motivations for my solo travel in Peru was having an ayahuasca ceremony. You will come across a lot of healing centers and retreats but eventually, your gut feeling will decide where you are going to have this experience. I was going with the flow as I always do, but also doing my research and contacted a few centers. I got a warm reply back from Yosi Ocha ( from Barbara, who manages their account) She called me and really wanted to make sure that I will be in safe hands and Maestro Heberto is a genuine Shipibo.
When you google you won´t see reviews about Yosi Ocha, and maybe it will make you rethink. But it should not! Cause Yosi Ocha is not a restaurant or a cafe. That´s why you will find the necessary reviews here on this website hopefully.
I feel extremely lucky and grateful that I had my first ceremony with Mother Ayahuasca at Yosi Ocha, led by Heberto. Although my stay was short due to my limited travel schedule, he really tried to understand my intentions and motivations behind my decision of visiting the center. I have heard many stories where people have their first experiences with Aya, completely left alone with the medicine itself. However, you should keep in mind the significance of a true and genuine shaman in this experience. I felt extremely safe thanks to Heberto´s presence. I cannot and should not explain every detail, but you should know that Heberto is a true healer and he has the heart of gold.
Inés will accompany you, she is the assistant and translator. She is super helpful, extremely present, and does her best to help the communication between you and Heberto ( if you are not a Spanish speaker)
The food is amazing ( thanks to Ruben), and the surroundings are lovely. The bungalow is very comfortable and honestly, you won´t need much there. Just take as much as you can from this very unique experience and know what Yosi Ocha is the place if you are ready to discover the world of plant medicines.
Eva and Max
November 7, 2021 at 7:08 pmGoing to Yosi Ocha was a life changing experience, we were able to learn how to appreciate life on a whole new level and are eternally grateful. The retreat was beautiful while maintaining a natural feel and the staff were very friendly and accommodating.
Maestro Herberto paid special attention to our needs while guiding us through our ayahuasca journey. His icaros were moving, and helped us to expand our mind and travel to higher dimensions. He also offered us more experiences, such as Mapacho, Rapé and San Pedro. Muchas gracias Maestro Herberto!!
Antonio (our guide) was so energetic and happy, he found time to show us the jungle, local wildlife and the amazon river even while we were on a tight schedule.
Inés (translator) was amazing, she stuck with us throughout our days and would take ayahuasca when we did as a way to feel what we were going through but was still able to translate flawlessly. She also guided us through our candle rituals and showed us how to prepare our daily plant bath.
The cook Ruben was out of this world, everything he cook was amazing. Even days when we felt nauseous from the ayahuasca, we wanted to eat his cooking.
Maestro Herberto’s family brought handmade crafts one day. They were all so beautiful, we ended up getting many things! They have been wonderful to have as a reminder of the incredible experience we had at Yosi Ocha.
We can’t do justice with describing the ayahuasca journeys. It’s something that has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. It can feel daunting at times but also intensely joyful and peaceful. Sometimes it felt like we had to push ourselves to understand what the medicine was trying to teach us and other times it felt best to just let go and we would be flooded with insights. Regardless the end result was one of the most profound experiences of our lifetime.
Quite a few nights after the ceremonies, we sat outside of our bungalow and stared into the night sky in awe, with the moon and stars above and the diverse sounds of the rain forest all around. With the ayahuasca still in our system, the feeling of euphoria overtook our body, all you can do is know that life is incredible.
We highly recommend this retreat.
Thank you to everyone at Yosi Ocha.
Love from Max & Eva
viviancarrasco22
July 1, 2021 at 5:28 pmIts hard to explain what I experienced at Yosi Ocha… I had the most transformational experience of my life. There are things I had been working through for over a decade and I couldn’t seem to get any clarity on until visited Yosi Ocha and worked with Herberto. He is a true master of plant medicine and a warrior of the light! Everyone at the facility was amazing… Antonio, Lestor, Ruben.. everyone. Love vibrates from Yosi Ocha! I did so much research before booking and wanted the most true and authentic experience for my ayahuasca journey… Yoshi Ocha did not disappoint. The people in this center are doing the work to heal and spread love, peace, harmony and help everyone fight their light. If you feel called to this medicine… look no further. This is where your healing awaits.
mw19801981
June 18, 2021 at 9:24 amI arranged a trip to Yosi Ocha for myself and 3 friends. With so many centers to choose from, I just trusted my intuition and it brought us directly to Heberto and his team. I have dealt with other Shaman’s in the past, and I can tell you that Heberto is a true authentic Master. The setting is truly beautiful, the team there was amazing, radiating love, and most importantly there was a feeling of inherent trust coming off of all of the wonderful staff. We all went home knowing that we got the experience that we needed. If you are being called to plant medicine, this is the place.