Ayahuasca

Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual

Name: Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual
Rating: 4.6

Llanchama, Peru

4.6 (147 reviews)

Contact for $5

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We are an ayahuasca retreat healing center, operating as a lodge in the Amazon rainforest. We are located 90 minutes outside of Iquitos, Peru near the small village of Llanchama along the Nanay River.

We provide traditional Shipibo medicine services wich includes: healing and learning diets, master plant medicine, and traditional Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies.

Once you are here, you will meet with our shaman master healer Ricardo Amaringo, and with the asistance of a profesional translator, you can explain him your intention for the healing procces.

Your treatment will then be tailored to your personal needs, often including further treatment with a master plant. Furthermore, in traditional style, you will then adhere to a strict healing diet developed to promote the healing work of the curanderos and our medicinal plants.

Once on the diet, you will be invited to participate in ayahuasca ceremonies four times a week, for further ceremonial healing under the guidance of Ricardo and his assistants shamans. In ceremony, you will be further treated by the curanderos through the traditional healing song, called icaros.

The day after every ayahuasca ceremony, with the exception of Fridays, there is a group discussion led by Ricardo to review experiences in the ceremony and the progress of all of our participants, apprentices and visitors.

In some cases, further treatment techniques are also indicated, including healing plant preparations for bathing and vapor treatment, or cataplasm.

Traditional treatment requires time, so visitors are encouraged to visit us for one week or more. Group programs are often designed for 10 days or 2 weeks and more advanced treatment can take one/two months or longer.

For particular individuals, we also offer traditional diets for learning under the guidance of Ricardo. This level of training is best discussed in person with Ricardo himself.

We charge an all-inclusive daily fee for our services, which covers transport from the Iquitos airport, private room, modern bathrooms and showers, diet meals, laundry service, electricity, wifi internet, traditional medicine and experienced international facilitator staff support.

If you are interested in visiting, please email us to establish contact and verify availability at our center. From that point, we can plan your visit!

Reviews (147)

4.6 out of 5

Overall 4.6

Lucky Bamboo
May 10, 2018 at 3:33 pm

Nihue Rao was my first Spiritual Center in Peru. I went back in December and could not have asked for a better experience. The staff is very friendly, accomodating, and every one went the extra mile to help with anything that you needed. Going to a Spiritual Center is definitely not a time for wild adventures. Going deep within yourself with a lot of solitude and stillness will help the healing process.

I loved how the Dieta helped physically clean my system on top of the medicine to help spiritually and mentally heal me. I left Peru feeling whole and complete, pure blissful and grateful for the opportunity of life. Ricardo is definitely a very experienced healer and can help you with a variety of symptoms from physical to mental to spiritual.

I am whole again and forever thankful to Nihue Rao and their team!!!
Angry Lion
April 30, 2018 at 7:40 pm

I recently came back from a 10 day retreat there and had a wonderful experience. To my knowledge, everyone had a positive experience. There were people from all walks of life, and I felt at home and safe at NHCE. I believe the Maestro Ricardo is very experienced in his craft, but its best if you go, please adhere to the diet and instructions given. Sure there aren’t many activities to do other than rest, relax, reflect on yourself (go inwardly), so if your intention is go have a slew of exciting and wild amazonian activities and tours, this might not be for you. The tour I signed up was for a journey to go inwardly, and this is exactly what I got.

The support staff will go beyond and above what is required to help make things formidable at the center. The day of my departure, I lost my phone on the bumpy ride back to town, and a local found it. Two of the staff members, Serjio and David, helped me retrieve my phone back from the local founder. For this I will always be grateful. Shouting out to the beautiful staff, the Maestro and other Shamans, and the fine friends I made during this time. Salutations to the Spirit of the Amazon and the beautiful plants at NRCE. Gracias for todo!
ceturn
April 23, 2018 at 10:48 am

A few years ago I was singing ayahuasca’s praises. It seemed like a miracle that something so powerful and life-changing could exist. I did my first ayahuasca ceremonies at Nihue Rao, got some powerful icaros and went back home feeling completely transformed, energized and like life was a clean slate. Then I came back to Nihue Rao a second time because I knew I needed more work on myself. This time it was very different, and one ceremony in particular went bad. Ricardo said they had trouble dealing with some of the heavier energies that night. He said I would feel better the next day. However, I felt sad the entire rest of the week there and couldn’t shake it off. One of the staff suggested I contact a coach who charged over $200 per session. I went home feeling disconnected from life and feeling extremely suicidal for the next three months due to whatever had infected my energy field. There was no support, nobody I could get help from for this.

Sure, ayahuasca is some powerful stuff. I get why people are so enchanted by it. The visions are powerful and the icaros can lead to some powerful healing. However, ayahuasca is a double edged sword. And it’s the spiritual equivalent of playing with knives. It’s also one of the most spiritually dirty healing modalities that exists. You are in a space with up to 20 or more people, all of whom are completely opened up energetically, so any negative juju is free to come in or out.

It’s not just me who’s been affected. I know others who have also had bad and even traumatizing results, or at the very least whose healing was just temporary.

There are much more effective and safer spiritual modalities out there if you are looking for healing or spiritual growth. Fortunately I found powerful healing that helped me more in 6 months than 18 ayahuasca ceremonies did in one year. It didn’t cost nearly as much and didn’t involved terrifying, confusing and senseless visions and purges. So, this isn’t just a review for Nihue Rao but for ayahuasca in general. Just know that if you do ayahuasca there are some real risks.
billy3000
April 9, 2018 at 10:07 pm

For my 52nd birthday this year, I wanted to experience Ayahuasca, “the vine of the soul.” I felt intrigued and encouraged by the stories of so many people who have found healing through this renowned plant medicine. Making the commitment to take this journey was a process that entailed a lot of reading and reflection. I remember the moment, several months ago, when I transitioned from having mere curiosity about Ayahuasca to a deep feeling of excitement. I knew that I was finally ready to travel to the Amazon basin in Peru to experience it for myself.

I researched several healing centers and decided to book a 10-day stay at Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual. Ricardo Amaringo is the leader of Nihue Rao. As a shaman and ayahuasquero with several decades of experience, Ricardo is very well regarded. The center is located on a beautiful property surrounded by lush forest that is an hour’s drive away from Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. Upon my arrival, I was pleased to find that my accommodations consisted of a bungalow with three open sides – only screens separated me from the tropical forest. In the coming days, I would enjoy long naps, falling asleep at bedtime, and waking up in the morning surrounded by fresh air and the sounds of birds, insects and the occasional rainstorm.

The staff at Nihue Rao was very kind and attentive during my stay. Benoit is supervisor, and he conducted an in-depth, introductory interview with me regarding my purpose in traveling so far from home to experience Ayahuasca. Throughout my stay, Benoit monitored each visitor’s progress with the plant medicine, and he was always available to answer any questions that I might have. I also had an individual meeting with Ricardo prior to my first ceremony. This meeting was critical since it gave me the opportunity to communicate my specific intentions for healing to the shaman.

As I met the other visitors at Nihue Rao who had already been to ceremonies, I was struck by how excited they were about their experiences with Ayahuasca. Some of them spoke about elaborate visions that they had seen during ceremonies. And several described gaining newfound awareness that had a “transformative” effect upon their lives – an amazing claim given the short amount of time that they had spent at the center.

Soon, it was time for me to participate in the first of six ceremonies. I had thought long and hard about my intentions. My intentions were focused upon healing childhood trauma, finding forgiveness with family and relationship issues, overcoming addictive behavior, and gaining inspiration toward greater skill and confidence in my profession. During each ceremony, participants received an individual icaro, or medicine song, from Ricardo or one of a few other shamans that often induced a profound state of release, healing and awareness. I was truly amazed to realize new insights and make steady progress across all of my concerns as each ceremony unfolded.

Ayahuasca is truly a wondrous medicine. I felt so grateful for the expert guidance that I received at Nihue Rao from Ricardo and the other shamans and from Benoit and the other staff, which helped me to navigate this extraordinary experience. On mornings following ceremonies, participants supported each other in the process during sharing sessions with guidance from Ricardo and Benoit. And Nihue Rao provided a beautiful, serene environment for rest and reflection between ceremonies that was quite conducive to healing.

Nihue Rao is a beautiful place where I always felt safe and where my heart was truly opened. It provided me with the opportunity to not only reflect upon my deepest concerns, but to actually make substantial progress working through each of them. I returned home from Nihue Rao full of gratitude and very excited about the positive impact that staying there will surely have on my life going forward!
saara_n
April 7, 2018 at 2:43 pm

I just wrapped up one of the most transformational experiences of my life. 10 days at Nihue and I feel lighter than I ever have – finally I’ve shed baggage and pain that I was carrying for decades.

Shamans of the Shipibo tradition at Nihue Rao are focused on in-depth healing and introspection. They ensure that everything from intake to exit facilitate an experience of the heart and soul.

The staff at Nihue is unparalleled – they are accessible, compassionate, and incredibly wise. Benoit is truly exceptional. I could talk to him at any point about intentions, doubts, fears, or questions which allowed me to walk into each ceremony feeling comfortable. Then, during ceremonies themselves, there are plenty of people dedicated to ensuring that everyone has the support they need.

Moreover, the location is beautiful – waking up every morning to see beautiful trees and walking around every afternoon to enjoy the adorable animals running around further centered the experience.

When my friend and I were searching for a retreat, we ran into a few centers that effectively tried to promise everything. For example, one center stated we could do 6 ceremonies and a Master Plant in 6 days – be wary of these places. Ayahuasca can be a profitable business and some locations seem willing to compromise the safety of passengers and sanctity of the process to make a dollar. Nihue Rao has developed clear guidelines after years of experience that worked very well for us and all others in the community.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Nihue Rao to anyone looking for an ayahuasca experience.