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 (45)

4.3 out of 5

Overall 4.3

RedwoodViajera
February 22, 2026 at 4:19 pm

So blessed and so grateful to have found this place through a friend. I have been looking for a place like this for many years. I have been here multiple times now and have had an amazing experience every time.

At Aya Madre one is immersed in nature while here, and her family lives here which feels really beautiful to me. So many amazing jungle noises. Sweet little tambos to stay in. Such good food prepared by Nimia, who gets creative with very few ingredients. Maestras family sells their beautiful tapestries and beadwork once a week and I have bought many beautiful things. Everyone here is kind and very caring about maintaining a peaceful environment.

Now onto ceremony and Estella… she has the most integrity of any medicine carrier I have worked with, and at this point that has been a dozen or so different groups. The healing I have witnessed in myself and others is astounding. Things I didn’t think I could touch have been healed with her in a flowy, feminine way, not like with make medicine carriers where they want to punch it out of you. She helps guide the medicine to heal in a different way, patiently. Her icaros are amazing and she always shows up to ceremony fully present, despite whatever she has going on in her life. Her brother Roldan sometimes sits with us and he brings an amazing gentle masculine energy.

She goes above and beyond for us. This time she made syrups for people almost every day. Someone was sick with gut issues and she was always there to care for him and asking about him. We had long integration sessions where she patiently explained things to us about our experiences. She is very protective of the energy and wanting to keep the space clear so we can heal safely.

And most of all, Maestra and Roldan take this love for healing and people out into the world. They aren’t the kind of healers that are one way in ceremony and completely different in real life. I can see and feel the love in everything they do.

So grateful for my experiences here and I will be back.
Seanie
February 10, 2026 at 8:16 pm

Wow, where do I start!!
Firstly thank you to Aya Madre, the workers and family. I absolutely enjoyed my time. It was my first time sitting with Ayhuasca and I was quite lucky to have found this place, as I only contacted the centre 2 weeks before I arrived. I travelled all the way from Australia. The communication from Heloise was fast and made it easy to travel to Iquitos, Perú. Maestra Estela, Maestro Roldan, Manuel and their family were so loving and always made us feel welcome and cared for. If we needed anything we could always ask Manuel or the workers. The food was so yummy, although strict Nimia knew how to make it tasty. I also felt really safe and the male workers at the centre knew to leave us alone. I came away healed from what I came to the centre for and I also connected to my spirituality. I particularly loved learning about the different plants/dieta and I met some life long friends, who I will keep in contact with both Diana and Gillian. I enjoyed my time so much that I will be back again and hopefully with some Amigos/friends.
lindsay.fox
February 2, 2026 at 10:11 am

I recently went for my third trip to Aya Madre. This place is as authentic and magical as it gets. Every time I step onto this property (sanctuary is a better word) I get an immense feeling of peace and safety. I know I can always come back here whenever the modern world is heavy or chaotic, and each time I come I feel like I transform into a deeper remembering of myself and what life truly is. The utmost importance to me for ayahuasca ceremonies is finding a shaman who embodies divine light and goodness – and Maestra is just that. Her, her brother Roldan, and all of their family members who live at the village on site, absolutely radiate joy and compassion and just an overall healing presence. I am a solo female traveller and have never felt safer in a place. At first I wasn’t sure about the daytime ayahuasca ceremonies (have always been told they are supposed to be done in the dark), but it is absolutely divine. Having the sunlight and rainforest sounds surround the maloka during your ceremony is magical (at one point a little rainforest bird came and sang his own icaro right above my head and I will never forget it). Maestra is so knowledgeable in regards to the plants and which herbs each passengero needs, and I love the process of harvesting and preparing your own herbs (which they teach you). On one of my trips I also received my Kambo Practitioner Training with Roldan, and have integrated and brought this medicine back home to Canada and am honoured to now share this rainforest medicina back home. Aya Madre is a true authentic experience- you are living in a wooden hut in a remote village with the Shipibo people. It’s not fancy but to me that makes it even better. I will be coming back here for life. Thank you Aya Madre
kathryn
January 26, 2026 at 10:33 am

I just completed a 3-week dieta, and I can honestly say it was one of the most profound and heart-opening experiences of my life.
In full transparency, this was my second visit to Ayamadre. My first dieta there was challenging, partly because I walked into some dysfunction among long-stay volunteers, but mostly because I was a brand-new dietero, completely new to the medicine, and diving headfirst into a remote part of the jungle with no salt or oil and excavating through some deep childhood trauma. Nothing can truly prepare you for your first dieta. It was hard.

So when I decided to return, with another group, my community was shocked. But I felt a strong pull to come back, and I came far more prepared. Yes, I prepared practically by packing lightly and planning for inclement weather, but more importantly, I arrived with a more open, humble, and gracious mindset. What a difference attitude makes.

Maestra Estela was deeply present and available throughout the entire dieta, especially for integrations. Her care, attention, and wisdom created a profound sense of safety and trust. The ceremonies themselves were truly magical, powerful, grounded, and held with deep integrity. Sometimes her brother Roldan accompanied her but often she was guiding alone! What a force! I personally witnessed and experienced her offering individual healings and skillfully bringing people down when the medicine became too intense, right there in the maloca. Seeing the depth of her medicine and her devotion to each person’s process was incredibly humbling.

The food during this visit was exceptional. Nimia is the best. Meals were consistent, thoughtfully prepared for each pasajero, and often more than I could eat. Every meal felt supportive of the dieta and made with care and respect for the work we were doing. She even accommodated one of our vegan pasajeros with such ease and generosity.

One of the most unexpected and beautiful aspects of my time at Ayamadre was connecting with the wider family and community. I spent a lot of time with Maestro Roldan’s daughters and the other children, who took me on walks into town and welcomed me into their world with so much openness. In their quiet, natural way, the children helped me connect to the center and the plants in profoundly deep ways.

Maestra Estela’s sister Margarita was also there, along with her daughter Rosie and her nephew’s young son, Rodi. They had traveled from Pucallpa, and their presence added such a human, loving layer to the experience. She is a masterful artisan, the best work I’ve seen. Margarita even embroidered my skirt for a humble price, a gift I will treasure forever and a symbol of the care, artistry, and connection that flows through this place.

Ayamadre is not just a retreat center, it is a living, breathing family and lineage. I left feeling deeply changed and supported, connected not only to the medicine, but to the people, the land, and the spirit of the place.

I am endlessly grateful for this experience and would recommend the Ayamadre dieta to anyone seeking authentic, heart-centered healing. If you come in the spirit of sacred reciprocity, with generosity, humility, curiosity, and respect, understanding that you are a visitor to these ways, you will receive an investment that continues to return over a lifetime.
butterfliesinthesky
November 22, 2025 at 9:57 am

Medicina medicina medicina
Wow! I am so grateful for my experience at Aya Madre! It has been a blessing to receive plant medicine from such a knowledgeable, kind, healing Maestra Estela. The Shippibo family is welcoming with sweet smiles and the Amazonian location has all the butterflies and birds to captivate you. There is a special diet to help ensure the plants are received better and plant teas for healing your body inside and out.
The Ayahuasca was sensational and Maestra sings to everyone individually to provide a more intimate connection as you receive the medicine. It truly is an authentic plant medicine experience from a woman who breaths the Amazon and heals with her magical hands. Thank you so much for the opportunity to receive, learn, release, and grow. You must give yourself the gift of AyaMadre!!