Ayahuasca $150 - $255

Caya Shobo Ayahuasca Healing Center

Name: Caya Shobo Ayahuasca Healing Center
Address: Carr. Iquitos-Nauta, Iquitos, Peru
Price range: $150 - $255
Rating: 4.6

Iquitos, Peru

4.6 (43 reviews)

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Reviews (43)

4.6 out of 5

Overall 4.6

Art
May 12, 2018 at 3:42 am

Dear Caya Shobo Team! I would like to thank you from the deep of my heart for your kindness, care, attention and succesful healing done during my stay. The words will never explain what you have done for me. During my stay with you I felt both home and school working on my internal issues. Guys, you are real Pros. You have set up a perfect healing center where you have implemented both shaman tradition together with the possible hospitality in all aspects!

Love you! I will obviously come back again and advise you to my fellows!
Carrie
April 12, 2018 at 6:29 pm

I’ve been home for one month after completing a two month stay at Caya Shobo. There are things I most definitely miss, things I didn’t realize would impact me. Like the smiles and sparkling eyes of all of the staff that I experienced each day — thinking that the company and beauty they shared would always be there. And it is, in memory but I miss them in real time.

The community of us.

I miss waking up or simply staying awake into the early hours and visiting with friends that you will undoubtedly make along the way.

A family of the most gracious, remarkable individuals that make life so much more interesting, simply by sharing it.

The sounds of the jungle, the smell of the rain, the perfect sunrise and nightfall. The Icaros.

Full stop.

The things I don’t miss?
Definitely the girl I used to be. The over analyzing, obsessing, worrying, overly amped up, not feeling quite right, non sleeping counterpart that had taken over my life — she’s gone.

And now with all that I have undone, for all that I am…

No, I didn’t have an aha! moment where the lights clicked on and the sheen cast its golden light upon everything — it was definitely work. The hardest, coolest, hands down bravest work one can do. And the aha moment! has become my life.

My entire frequency has changed. Yours will too.

Thank you Caya Shobo for helping me to remember.

Forever and always,
Carrie
frida
February 13, 2018 at 11:27 pm

I have been working with the medicine for almost 4 years but it was until December 2017 when I decided to deepen my journey and head to the Amazon. I went to Caya Shobo for a 2 week retreat and I confidently say it has been the most profound experience I’ve had in my life. Being right at the jungle in communion with the plants and animals made my experience very special.

Everyone at Caya Shobo is incredible. The facilitators were very helpful to me before and during my stay at the center. They were friendly and very open to chat with. The staff is great too. All I have are words of appreciation for them. I felt very safe and taken care of, as all I had to worry about was in my own healing.
I really enjoyed having one on one sessions with the maestros and facilitators along with enough spare time to be on my own.

Each ceremony was incredible and transformational for me. I am in awe and really thankful with the maestros as they were very compassionate and caring with each of us. Their plant and spiritual knowledge amazed me each time.

I also had a profound experience with the plant diet that was suggested by the maestros. In combination with ayahuasca, the plant diet helped me in calming my mind, become more present and connect my soul and heart.

I’ve heard about other ayahuasca centers in the Amazon, but I definitely recommend Caya Shobo as the quality of the medicine, the knowledge and experience of the maestros, and the love and care of staff and facilitators is unique and worth living.
Freddie
February 10, 2018 at 11:41 pm

My time at Caya Shobo has left me feeling obliged to write this review in hopes that it can be of some inspiration to those feeling called to the jungle to participate in the deep magical workings which occur at this healing center.

I’ll start by saying that journeying to Iquitos to stay at an Ayahuasca center in the jungle is not going to be comfortable all the time. You will have to surrender to the flow of things in more ways than you can anticipate. Iquitos is a noisy chaotic place and Peruvians aren’t often on time for things. You will likely be pushed outside your comfort zone here and there, but that is just unavoidable for most people feeling called to the jungle. The friendly folks at Caya Shobo will pick you up from the airport in Iquitos if you wish and take you to the center. I recommend doing this if you don’t speak Spanish and it’s your first time in Peru unless you really want to get a taste for what the city of iquitos is like. Caya Shobo is about a 45 minute drive from iquitos. After arriving you will be placed in the room that you will be staying in. The rooms are exceptionally well kept with their own private bathrooms and moderately comfortable beds. The center itself is a very tranquil place to stay. The landscapes and fauna are beautiful and the master plants growing throughout the land help hold a dream like quality to the space. Imediately upon arriving I began to feel a powerful shift in my energy, as if anticipating some monumental experience that was about to take place.

I arrived in the beginning of December for a 10 day retreat. The maloka would be completely full most nights ( around 30 people ) and there were 4 shamans that would be simultaneously working their magic in the space. I would like to note here that the tradition of wisdom and healing practice which takes place at Caya Shobo is deeply rooted in the way of the shipibo, who likely carry the oldest tradition of Ayahuasca use on the planet today. The shipibo are the Masters of the plants, and the maestros and maestras who work at Caya Shobo are the highest carriers of medicine and wisdom of any humans being I have witnessed by far.

The day the retreat officially began everyone was asked to drink a tea of a plant which acts as a purgative. This was prepared in the humble little jungle pharmacy by the sweet medicine man who regularly works there to prepare the Ayahuasca, plant baths, dieta teas, and whatever else people needed to assist them on their path. We all sat under the jungle canopy puking together for perhaps a half hour. After that ordeal we relaxed before ceremony. The first night was rather mellow and allowed for the maestros to get an idea of where everyone was at and which plants would be most beneficial for each person to diet.

The following day everyone was called to participate in a meeting in the maloka to discuss the dieting process and which plants would be dieted. I knew very little about plant dietas prior to this experience. The maestros prescribed to me two master plants which I would diet during my stay at Caya Shobo. Later that afternoon I drank my first tea of the combined plants and that evening during ceremony the dieta was officially opened by the maestros. My experience with Ayahuasca and my understanding of the world of the plants and my relationship to them imediately underwent a radical transformation. I had experienced 6 Ayahuasca ceremony’s in the past, most of which were extremely powerful, beautiful, and painful. This was entirely different. This was on a level beyond anything I’d experienced by any entheogen in my entire life. It was like apprenticing with the spirits of master plants who’s intentions were to help me to heal, grow, refine, and evolve. The magic I experienced from these master plant teachers and the incredibly skilled and dedicated shipibo maestros and meastras at Caya Shobo was nothing short of miraculous and life changing. At times it was indescribably beautiful and I felt as if I was overflowing with teachings and radiating with the energy of my spirit, and at other times it was agonizingly painful and full of darkness and chaos. There is great teachings and healings to be found in the light and in the darkness. The shipibo utilize both to cultivate the deepest level of healing and insight.

I ended up continuing my dieta at Caya Shobo for an entire month. During this time many struggles presented themselves to me, as well as an endless stream of insights and breakthroughs. During my stay the other participants at Caya Shobo and the people running the center were extremely friendly, generous, and helpful to me. I could always ask if I had any questions or felt like I needed support in any way. The vibes were much like family and I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to experience this miraculous place and the wonderful people and plants living there.

The only thing that comes to mind when I think of what I felt could be better was related to noise disturbance. There were several instances where I was feeling deprived of sleep but couldn’t rest because the employees were making too much noise doing maintenance work on the land. Luckily the maloka was always available to retreat to for an afternoon nap, so it wasn’t a big deal. It got frustrating here and there when I was deep in my process and wanted to be alone in my room but the people in the room next to me were talking loud and repeatedly slamming doors. I probably should have just respectfully asked for silence.. but it would have been nice if it was communicated to all the participants to be more mindful of their noise level because some people are going through a very deep process and are sensitive to the energy of others.

Thanks for reading, I hope this review is of services to others thinking of staying at Caya Shobo. I have so much gratitude and love for the amazing people who keep Caya Shobo alive. Julian, Katy, Beccy, Miguel, thank you!!
Extrinsik
February 8, 2018 at 4:11 pm

It is with a heavy heart that I must write this review of Caya Shobo. I communicated with three of the four owners of this retreat and I believe that what transpired was mostly a result of them being a new center rather than maleficence. I truly wish to see Caya Shobo improve so that they can better accommodate the sick people who might seek their help. Still, I must state that rather than having the symptoms of my illness treated they were instead exploited for profit. I will explain this in greater detail later in my review. Let me start at the beginning.

My first issue was that I was left at the airport for an hour despite the center knowing when I would be arriving. It is pretty uncomfortable to be minority(in Peru AKA white) tourist with your belongings in a country you don’t know and no phone service or internet to contact anyone. What if I get into the wrong taxi and they take me somewhere and rob me of my belongings? These are some of the concerns that were passing though my mind at the moment, albeit exaggerated but when you are in a new place you cannot help but be precautious.

This was understandable still, issues may have popped up which was actually what happened verified by other sources and that would have been fine but upon arriving to the center I needed a SIM card so that I could communicate with loved ones and be connected to the internet as well. So, a plan was set up that I would go by Motokart to the city and get the SIM card and come back whenever. Phone number to Kati was provided. When I arrived to the phone store, I found out that I needed to have my passport with me. This was NOT communicated to me, as Kati asserted upon my return. I literally had my passport in my hand thinking about whether or not I needed it and decided to leave it at the center so that it would not get lost. Again, this is understandable perhaps she forgot this detail, was stressed, whatever have it, she is human like the rest of us, but this was not the end of it. The plan was that the driver would stay until I had the card so that if anything went wrong I would still be in contact with the center. This did not happen. Furthermore, the phone number I was provided was getting busy signals or no answer so I was stuck in a city where no one spoke my language.

Eventually, I found my way to Dawn on the Amazon where all the Western tourists meet and was able to organize a ride back to the center to speak with Kati. Upon returning and relaying what transpired I was laughed at. I told them that it was nothing to laugh about and that this was a serious problem and they basically blamed me saying that they told me I needed the passport, that the driver had other things to do, etc etc. No apology or anything. As you could imagine, this made me very uncomfortable. They asked why I had come to the center but after what transpired I felt that I could not open up to them. I went to the maloca to think and try to wifi call loved ones and figure out my next move and I was approached for the remaining balance of my account with Caya Shobo. At this point, I was very overtired and had been profusely sweating for hours and decided to go to a hotel(with AC) get some rest and decide on my next move in the morning.

I returned to Caya Shobo and took part in one ceremony, to which I experienced little effects. I must mention here that I myself have particularly high tolerance in regards to psychedelic medicines. I am what Shulgin refers to as a “hardhead”. Upon my second ceremony on Monday, I was asked again for the remaining balance. I asked that they keep my $305 and allow me to just partake in the ceremonies while staying at the hotel, effectively paying only for services rendered and then some for the inconvenience. I was told that this is not how they do things, and that leaving the center was my choice and that I booked the trip and that it was my obligation to pay. Rather than them understand that I was already in a lot of emotional pain and unable to endure the discomfort of profusely sweating for 12+ hours of the day, they were more concerned with securing the full payment that I agreed to. I expected this kind of behavior from the Holiday Inn I stayed at in Lima on the way. I did NOT expect this kind of treatment from an ayahuasca treatment center. Disorganization is a symptom of the illness I came to the center to treat(ADHD), and rather than them treating it, it was instead exploited for profit. I eventually talked with Beccy and she refunded me $100 but I was not allowed to take part in anymore ceremonies. I effectively paid $205 for one ceremony and couple pancakes. I am out 2k USD for my plane tickets and even more behind on work.
- CayaShobo
  February 9, 2018 at 6:11 pm
  
  We are sorry to hear of your disappointing first visit to the Amazon. While we are obviously unable to control the heat and physical discomfort of the jungle, we do extend our apologies for being late to collect you from the airport – this was an administrative oversight and we regret the stress it caused you. We were happy to have been able to pick you up without too much delay.
  
  In response to your comments about difficulties obtaining a SIM card, it is clear that there was some misunderstanding about your required documents for this. And certainly it is not our intention to make light of your stress in the situation. We did explain to you that we have standard Wi-fi available at Caya Shobo with which you can connect with loved ones, and while we were happy to help facilitate your choice to immediately go to town and purchase your own high velocity card (by finding you an independent driver), we also are not able to control all aspects of our guests’ personal excursions outside the centre. We are better able to help when guests are willing to wait to visit town when our own driver and support staff are available to go with them and help with translation and local knowledge, as we understand that travelling in an unfamiliar country is often stressful and challenging.
  
  Finally, regarding our fee for your short stay at the centre, we are frankly surprised and saddened to hear your comments and we respectfully disagree with your assessment of the final outcome. In our final conversation before you left Caya Shobo, you expressed calmly and clearly that you felt we had reached a fair outcome, which we also believe to be true.
  
  Yes we are a healing centre, and unlike profit-motivated facilities, we apply significant energy and effort to help our guests achieve genuine transformative healing and spiritual learning during their stay. For that we are very serious in the discipline we apply to following the Shipibo medicine healing tradition, and in the level of care and attention we provide to our guests who come to receive healing. We also encourage guests to stay in the quiet environment of the centre, away from the stimulation and stress of the city, which can be disruptive to the healing process, especially required for more serious or long-standing conditions such as ADHD.
  
  As well as being a healing centre, we are also a non-profit accommodations facility. As such we must plan in advance resources such as food, materials and staffing to support our guests’ stays. Also when a spot is reserved for one guest this often means others are turned away due to lack of availability.
  
  For these reasons, as was detailed in your registration email, full payment for your entire reserved stay is due and payable 1 month before your arrival. In some cases we offer a partial refund if cancellation is made with at least 2 weeks advance notice, or in extenuating circumstances, or when we feel that Caya Shobo is not a good fit for the expectations and intentions of a guest.
  
  In your case you booked your stay with a 50% deposit less than 2 weeks before your arrival, and upon your arrival you refused to settle your account due to your physical discomfort in the jungle and your desire for high speed wi-fi in town, and you expressed your preference to come to Caya Shobo only for ceremony “visits” while you stayed in an air-conditioned hotel in town. You also wanted to find speakers to play your music, which we explained was not appropriate for the quiet healing environment we intentionally create at the centre. At this point, we felt clear that this was not a good fit – your wishes for stimulation and a healing process without discomfort, were clearly at odds with the deeply immersive medicine treatment that we specialize in providing.
  
  We therefore proposed that we refund your entire 5 day reserved stay and help you find a hotel where you could explore other options for your time in Peru. You declined, instead asking us to hold your spot, which we did for 3 days, with the clear understanding that this would be in agreement with our terms of reservation – i.e. that no discount or refund for held nights would be given even if you chose to stay in town, or later chose to cancel the rest of your stay. When you returned on the 4th day we again asked you to settle the remainder of your account for the extra 2 nights of your stay. Again you refused, and insisted that you wanted to stay in ceremony but not pay our price, even though we had patiently and clearly explained that these were not our terms of reservation and not consistent with our offering.
  
  Therefore, we felt no choice but to cancel the rest of your stay and write off the remainder of your account, and we went even further – in compassionate consideration of how challenging your first experience of the jungle was for you, we actually gave you $100 cash in hand, effectively refunding 39% of the fee for your first 3 nights and forgiving in total 66% of your original commitment. Further, we kindly gave you some recommendations of other centres we thought might be more suited to the sort of drop-in experience you were seeking. You expressed peaceful agreement with this decision as being fair and reasonable.
  
  Regarding your ‘out of pocket’ travel expenses, we are not able to assume responsibility for losses that could have been avoided or mitigated with more extensive research and planning before booking your travel – to better appreciate the intensive nature of a jungle healing experience, and the longer-term, slower-paced nature of plant medicine healing as is provided at Caya Shobo Healing Centre. It is generally known that the process of healing with Ayahuasca and especially the Shipibo medicine tradition can be uncomfortable, and requires much commitment and patience.
  
  We are genuinely sorry that it was such a challenging experience for you coming to the jungle, and we wish you the best in your search for suitable help for your condition. We are sorry that we were not able to provide that to you at this time.