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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.
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lulicord
August 23, 2026 at 8:14 amI followed my intuition after watching “She is a Shaman” and I am so happy I did. My stay at Aya Madre was two weeks long and I was met with so much care. I came with the intention to learn from the plants and Maestra Estela heard me and offered what she believed I was ready to receive. Her trust in me helped me trust myself more. The people cooking, making the medicine, maintaining the center, management and Maestra Estela and Maestro Roldan were so safe and caring. I found my new “school”. I brought my 4 year old son with me and they were so willing to help me with him during ceremonies. My son played with their kids and it was very sweet. I cannot wait to come back and keep learning! Gracias Aya Madre!
PhillyBoy
May 28, 2026 at 7:57 pmI visited in May of 2026 and I was treated very well. It was one the best experiences of my life actually. The Dieta, traveling to the site, living in the jungle was all difficult but it was all part of the process, the adventure and the cleansing. The jungle provides the medicine and the village knows the medicine you need by what your needs and intentions are. There is no dogma, no pressure to spend extra money, no disrespect of any kind here at Aya Madre. The Maestra has developed the experience to help you as best as possible and to support her people monetarily at the same time. I have never felt better in my life since being treated and healed by Maestro Roldán and Señor Manuel. I received a massage that partially involved prayer and a kind of energy work but also was very therapeutic physically. I also want to say the medicine they provide is very strong and very pure. Stay focused on the way of living Maestra has spelled out in the instructions and you will learn something nee about yourself in every moment. I think they have moved past the unfortunate events of years past and established a really safe and powerful for everyone who braves the way to Aya Madre. I swam in the river and chose to use Kambo. Roldán used it as a final cleanse for me. I stayed one week.
Julia O. Bianco
May 9, 2026 at 5:52 pmI stayed at Aya Madre twice, and I plan to continue doing so. The Maestros at Aya Madre take a lot of care and provide support beyond the Dieta or the ceremonies. They are thoughtful, connected, and humble. They do their best to provide for a quiet and healing experience, and they not only facilitate beautiful ceremonies – the center is their lives. I have deep respect and reverence for choosing a life of service and sacrifice.
I know for us westerners it can be hard to understand that the rustic setting and the constraints of Dieta are part not only of the things we have to face as part of this process, but also part of a lifestyle that we decide to adopt while we’re there. I have read somewhere in the reviews complaints about construction, noise, eventual water shortages… I think when traveling to other countries, especially in rustic settings, we should really undertsand that there are cultural and resource-based differences. I invite everyone to deeply consider adopting the Shipibo simple lifestyle instead of expecting a resort-like experience. We can find a lot of value by embracing that lifestyle, it is part of the process.
Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the center offers many comforts that other places don’t. There’s electricity, showers, the tambos are constantly being updated, the kitchen is a large, beautiful, and clean space. The food is made with lots of intention, considering that it is made according to the principles of Dieta. Maestra is accommodating and works with every person individually. The center is shared with other guests who come from a variety of backgrounds. I am more of a loner so during Dieta I spend a lot of time in solitude, by the river (gourgeous place) or in my tambo. I don’t think the time for Dieta is a time for socializing and Aya Madre is large enough that if you want to be by yourself, you can.
I would not want to romanticize the process of Dieta. It is a period of time fully dedicated to self-exploration, which can be difficult – anywhere. But Aya Madre provides a safe setting to do so. There’s a beautiful trekking loop into the jungle with an ancient vine guests can take everyday if they want to; the riverbank is really special. There are plenty of books and art supplies to entertain yourselves or help with the process. Finally, I’ve always wanted to study under a woman, and Maestra Estela is a great teacher, with a gentle and joyful demeanor, humble, and with great capacity for listening and compassion. I would truly recommend this place to anyone open to accept the simple lifestyle – the reward for it is priceless.
isaya yoga
May 7, 2026 at 10:43 amAyamdre is not a retreat center. It’s a threshold.
Nestled deep in the jungle, this place carries a stillness that begins working on you before the ceremonies even start. The calm is not empty — it’s alive.
The maestra who holds this space has been a curandera for over 30 years. She doesn’t just guide ceremonies — she takes charge of your healing process from the very first moment to the last. She sees you, tracks your process, and adjusts accordingly. You are never left alone in your transformation.
What sets Ayamdre apart is the depth of the plant work. This is not an ayahuasca-only center. The maestra prescribes a full range of master plants chosen specifically for each person. Cacao and Bobinsana to open and liberate the heart, to fill it with love and compassion. Chiric and Mucura to chase away fear and restore clarity of mind. At first, the number of plants can feel overwhelming — but you quickly understand that each one has a purpose, and together they create something precise and profound.
I surrendered to the process. I stopped trying to understand or control everything — and that was the real beginning of the work.
During my three stays, I experienced two ayahuasca ceremonies and one Huachuma. The combination is perfect for anyone committed to deep inner work. The icaros are powerful and liberating. The center holds only 3 people per ceremony — intimate, familial, sacred.
Some maestros work with one dieta plant. Others with three. Neither is better or lesser — they are simply different paths. Here, the approach is thorough and intentional.
I will never go anywhere else.
If this place calls to you — trust it. That call is already the light guiding you home.
evolvedlife
April 17, 2026 at 12:09 pmI have been to Aya Madre twice, first in 2019 and then in 2023 and I spent a total of about 8 months dieting various master plants and participating in ceremonies 2-3 times a week during that time.
I’ll try to give you a balanced view from my experience.
On a positive side, which I liked personally – Estella does three ceremonies a week, two of which are during the day and one night ceremony, that’s how it was both times I was there, which gives a different kind of experience during the day, giving you another perspective and comparison of day vs night and light vs darkness. I don’t know of any other center that offers day ceremonies. To me, this comparison of experiences was very useful and beneficial.
When I came to Aya Madre for the first time in 2019, another medicine was revealed to us called Shamburi which is a lighter and more gentle version of Ayahuasca. Estella described Shamburi as a sister of Ayahuasca, the medicine of light, and as having more of loving, gentle and maternal qualities than Ayahuasca. My experience with Shamburi was very positive – loving, gentle, joyful, it allowed me to heal from a bad PTSD in a very gentle and loving way. Though, there was nothing mentioned about Shamburi the second time I was there about 4 years later in 2023, so I don’t know if she still offers it.
She is great in ceremonies – very grounded and centered while singing icaros and I received a lot of benefits and healing from the ceremonies. I would often cry tears of joy and gratitude and then forgive her for all drama going on outside of the ceremonies.
On the negative side – Estella is known for extorting money from pasajeros. One of her main strategies, which she used on me multiple times is asking for money while I was still under the effects of the medicine. I have also heard the same thing from other people, and others have also mentioned that she is known to do that.
Also, I don’t see her approach to dieta guidance as ideal, far from it. I was drinking 5 different master plants everyday, 1 full cup of each, 3 times a day, which resulted in waking up and going to the bathroom 3-5 times per night, which was very uncomfortable. I have also experienced dehydration resulting in very low blood pressure, and on several occasions, nearly fainting, because of low sodium levels. What I have learned is that it’s best to diet only one master plant at a time and also include sodium and potassium in your diet to avoid dehydration.
There is usually some kind of drama or conflict going on at Aya Madre which makes the delicate process of healing, connecting and dieting master plants difficult. These are just some of the examples – drinking water shortages, food shortages, angry/tired volunteers cooking in the kitchen, people smoking in the kitchen, and other shared space such as as the vapor area. People continuously socializing non stop in shared social spaces, loud talking on the phone late at night, etc…Trying to resolve these kinds of situations with Estella is pretty much a dead end – she isn’t very skilled with conflict resolution and effective communication skills.
I have not had a good experience with other pasajeros that Aya Madre attracts.
Additionally, while I was there both times, there was construction – chainsaw, hammering, machete, which was very disturbing considering I was in a very open, delicate and sensitive state trying to connect with the plants on a subtle level.
The management of construction projects is sort of chaotic – they start building one tambo, abandon it and go to another project such as trying to fix the bridge or move their kitchen to a new area.
The entire Aya Madre environment just feels like it’s in a state of lack and shortages, even though Estella is making good money from people at $3,600/month – used to be $2,000/month when I was there in 2019. All the tambos are built with the lowest quality materials and effort possible, many of them have roof leakages and holes so that all kinds of creatures can get in. I have personally had these visitors: tarantula, mouse, snake, roaches and a lot of mosquitoes. Also, a lot of the tambos have mold, and a few of them are built on top of the shower/toilet water drainage septic system.
I have personally invested a significant amount of money and was promised that a full house would be built for me with a bathroom, kitchen and a shower – the only thing that was built is the initial frame structure for the foundation and it took me a lot of effort, and I experienced a lot of stress, while trying to communicate in Spanish, when I was just starting to learn it, to “make her deliver on her promises with the deadlines that we have agreed on” – which kept being postponed with more and more excuses.
With all of that said – I don’t recommend Aya Madre to anyone, but I am still grateful for Aya Madre and Estella for all the lessons and wisdom, even during the challenging times.
I hope this helps someone with making a good decision.