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!
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flogoette
June 24, 2025 at 4:02 pmNihue Rao is my favorite Ayahuasca retreat in the world. I came here back in 2014 and the Ayahuasca experience absolutely changed my life in many aspects, such as my diet, my spirituality, my sexuality, my relationships, my work, my passions, and many more. It’s been the most transformative experience for me, and I am very grateful for Maestro Ricardo, his co-founders Joe Tafur and Cvita Mamic, as well as maestros Miguel, Felacio, Oracio and Oscar. Ricardo has earned his reputation as one of the best shamans in Peru through his hard work, his dedication and passion. His ceremonies are legendary, especially when you have a “bomba”. Having spent many months and over 100 ceremonies in Nihue Rao, it feels like a home to me and one of my favorite places on earth.
Nihue Rao stands out of the many Ayahuasca centers due to being run by native Shipibo curanderos, offering a vast variety of master plans that are mostly grown in their own perma-culture garden, providing special facilities for long-term dieters, and supporting the local community and environment.
The retreat has the dimensions of a small village, with different facilities such as the magic maloca (where magic happens), a medicine house, the art maloca, a yoga & gym area, a dining & kitchen area, a hammock area, a traditional massage area, a laundry house, tambos in the jungle for long-term dieters and many more. I love the many animals in the retreat, the dogs, cats, parrots, chicken and frogs. It’s a wild place which makes it so special and authentic to me. I was told that they no longer keep animals in cages and take better care of the animals now.
Nihue Rao offers a wide range of services that you don’t always get in other retreats such as a vomitivo on arrival (enjoy ;), personalized icaros according to each passenger’s intentions, daily group integration meetings, flower baths, master plants, massages, jungle tours and even private ceremonies.
The place feels very safe being guarded by powerful shamans and plants, and 24/7 security on site to protect the passenger’s from outsiders, and even some insiders who go crazy on the powerful medicine. I trust in Ricardo and the team of Nihue Rao, and am looking forward to my next dieta.
SaschaK
June 12, 2025 at 4:40 pmI’ve been traveling to Nihue Rao for about 10 years now. Some shorter diets, some longer. I’ve had the opportunity to experience a level of healing I have not found anywhere else in the world. My experiences at Nihue Rao have helped me integrate the effects of pre-verbal trauma, finding meaning in becoming a licensed psychotherapist, and uncover an incredibly rich and nourishing spiritual reality. I’m forever grateful for the hard work of everyone at Nihue Rao.
Sunseeds333
June 4, 2025 at 5:36 pmIf you're looking for a safe space that's well held and maintained with great support and a true authentic traditional master plant diet, Nihue is the place. I wouldn't recommend any other place. My experience has been very profound and the team at the retreat center is committed to make it better and better each time. And Maestro Ricardo is a powerful healer with a lot of integrity. The integration circles are also very beneficial. And they remain true to their doctoring lineage. If you're looking for deep healing and transformation, this is the place!
arias
April 8, 2025 at 8:47 amI was came for a retreat here but there was a shocking scene when I arrived.
A woman who drank the ayahuasca apparently had a mental break and the facilitators had locked her inside of a room. The woman was screaming loudly, rambling verbal nonsense, banging on things and sounded in a state of emergency.
Another guest told me that it had been like this for days. I couldn’t believe such behavior and madness was occurring next to the ceremony space and the other guest quarters. It appeared outright negligent for the woman obviously in deep distress to be locked up and left alone.
At the time the head shaman was not there and from what I could see the facilitators seriously lacked experience, care, professionalism and insight.
everything I witnessed was unethical and unsafe which prompted me to turn around and leave to find a calming center with better attention towards its participants.
elenamotak
May 23, 2024 at 3:43 pmI can wholeheartedly recommend this center! The entire organization was excellently planned, from the preparation and airport pickup to the introduction to the processes and procedures.
The facilitators are so empathetic and loving, always available for support and advice!
The dieta went very well; I was able to clarify my intentions and the questions that arose during the relatively short stay.
The ceremonies were so beautiful, and the Icaros from the maestros are simply a wonder! I had never experienced such strong, intense healing processes with Aya before!
The experience was unique and truly special!