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 (42)

4.3 out of 5

Overall 4.3

AlexKadam
December 26, 2023 at 11:19 am

I spent a month living at Aya Madre with Maestra Estella and her family recently. It was my first time in South America and Peru. I had some experience of plant medicine before, but being in the jungle and staying with this traditional Shipibo family was truly magical. I felt very welcomed and cared for by Maestra and her family and I made many friends. They take great care of the guests and take care to ensure all your needs are met. This is a simple and authentic shipibo family living in the jungle, so do not expect 5 star spar resort luxury. Maestra and the other shamans she works with radiate kindness and sing beautiful icaros during ceremonies. You can go on guided jungle walks, bath in the river and eat simple, healthy, plant dieta friendly meals. I experienced a lot of personal growth, healing and received a lot of wisdom from Aya Madre. If you want an authentic and affordable ayahuasca retreat experience, I could not recommend this place enough. This is a wonderful place for a plant medicine and healing journey.
chris_isner
November 7, 2023 at 11:16 pm

Just got back from another wonderful stay at Aya Madre and I’m just horrified by all these 1 and 2 star reviews! What is wrong with people? I’ve been sitting with Maestra Estele for 10 years now, from before she even had a center, and honestly I’ve never met sweeter, kinder people than she had her family in my life.

Reading between the lines on some of these reviews with a minimum of critical thinking can be revealing. Just one for instance: someone saying that the tambos are screened windows all around and “perfect for peeping Toms”. So, this person wants a closed in wooden house….in the heat and humidity of the jungle, that would be an oven! Tambos are always open and screened all the way around to allow breezes to come through, otherwise you’d roast alive.

Sometimes a little knowledge and common sense goes a long way. In dieta, the main obstacle one encounters is oneself and the main problem that arises is dealing with oneself. I suppose it’s easy for some to project that struggle onto others.

Chris Isner @isnerart
zee s.
August 28, 2023 at 12:01 pm

I went on a 4 week retreat at aya madre in November 2022. It’s been 9 months since, and my heart and life have been transformed. Maestro andres who is mentioned in other reviews was not present at that time. I’m so grateful to the maestra estela, maestro Roldán, maestro Juana, & all the maestros and assistants who shared their songs and medicine with me. I was very fortunate during my time there to have two bilingual volunteers, both of them with a lot of experience with ayahuasca and one of whom works as an integrationist. She really helped advocate for consistent integration with the maestra and helped with additional integration sessions outside. I was also fortunate to have meals cooked by Rosana who was an incredibly caring & great chef. The conditions of the center are incredibly rural and rustic. The center is run by maestra estela and her family. It is not built for western comfort and requires that attendees help out with taking care of themselves, advocating for their needs and even helping with some cooking and food purchasing. I found it joyous to give back to the center in this way. The maestros give so much of their hearts and presence to the medicine and the healing. I found everyone to be incredibly loving and caring. While some of the treatment around hospitality could be judged as unprofessional by western standards, it helped me to reflect on relative access to wealth and resources. Maestra is sharing a one bedroom home with family sleeping in hammocks, while attendees have a beautiful private Tambos to themselves. They are making just enough to get by and provide medicine they have committed their lives to preserving. And it is an intense and demanding medicine to train & to live. What they do is miraculous, and it took me the 4 weeks with 2 weeks ahead of being on dieta to be able to soften enough and move out of my own way enough to receive the gifts. The process was uncomfortable, harrowing and challenging, and rewarding beyond measure. I want to be alive and I love my life. I could not access this state consistently before in my life. I went with a heart of gratitude and service, in the spirit of humbling myself in front of people who have maintained their connection with the earth medicine above all else in order to offer consciousness and healing to anyone who is called, and in times of frustration and discomfort this perspective helped me through. I’m very grateful to aya madre, i wish only love & light to them and all who are fortunate enough to receive the gifts of their icaros & hearts.
Bob_p
August 26, 2023 at 3:56 pm

This was my second time at Aya Madre and just like the first time it was a truly amazing experience. Maestra Estela knows exactly what medicinal plants to use for a tailor-made dieta and healing. Adding to the experience is being in the Amazone Jungle amidst an authentic Shipibo tribe and learning their traditions. Going to Aya Madre has been life-changing. I can imagine that for some visitors it might be a culture shock and difficult to adapt but come with an open mind, be proactive, and trust the process. Remember, we are being welcomed into their culture and lands to help us to heal. Let’s be grateful. Gracias Familia!
loveisforever
July 22, 2023 at 12:56 pm

After being a volunteer at Ayamadre for 2 months I could not leave a negative comment. After reading all previous comments I feel myself obligated to share my honest experience. I have extensively talked with maestra Estela about the comments and trying to clarify why some patients left with a bad taste. Concerning the situation with maestro Andres, that situation I must say was not handled the best way it could have been. I have spoken with maestra about how the situation should have been treated to avoid this ever happening again. Maestro Andrés has not been at the center for June and July and maestra assured me that he will not be coming back. Right now Maestro Gilberto, a very lovely 70 year old with so much experience accompanies maestra Estela in ceremony. All my ceremonies have been exactly what I needed and I am so grateful for both of them. I became quite close with the whole family and feel really cared for. I got to know the people that work at the center as more than workers, staff, and Maestros, I got to know them as so much more. They do not live for the patient, they also have their own lives. Of course they will take care of you and provide everything you need but it’s not always possible to do something from one day to another. Patience is required and going with the flow is the only sane way to live here. Volunteers are responsible for communicating to the maestra if there are plants or food missing and when that communication is missing then problems may arise. I have told maestra about all these comments and the importance of making sure that none of it happens again. While I’ve been here for retrying has been smooth. Maestra estela is in charge of everything at the center and within her big family, so do be patient if you have to remind her of something. She also had just had surgery which I believe might have forced her to miss on some ceremonies but since I’ve been here she has been in ceremonies. So that is only one example of how we can’t always see the full picture. I am a woman and would not want other women to come if I felt unsafe in any way. But based on my experience everything has been good and the only discomforts I felt were that of my own process (to be expected). In coming here you are not supporting the simple commercialization of ayahuasca, but rather supporting a healing center. All the money is managed by Maestra estela and goes towards the patients needs, paying the maestros and supporting her large family. This is not corporate world like other center, but individuals receiving healing and giving back to the communities that provide that healing. Thank you for reading and please do reach out if you would like more clarifications or if I missed something crucial.