Ayahuasca

Onikano

Name: Onikano
Rating: 4.9

Iquitos, Peru

4.9 (103 reviews)

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Onikano is one of the very few ayahuasca retreat centres still owned, led, and inhabited by the same Shipibo family whose lineage it was built to honour.

Located in the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve, 22 km from Iquitos, Onikano operates within a living Shipibo healing tradition under the direct guidance of Maestro Heberto García — known by his Shipibo name, Niwen Koshi. His grandfather, Yosi Ocha, was regarded as one of the last Merayas: healers who reached the highest level of traditional Shipibo curanderismo. That lineage is alive at Onikano today.

What makes Onikano different is the deeply personalised nature of the work. Each guest is received as an individual, not as part of a standardised retreat formula. After an initial personal evaluation, Maestro Niwen Koshi designs a healing process that takes into account each person’s history, needs, intentions, and energetic condition. Guests may come for one week or remain for several weeks or months, depending on the depth of the work they feel called to undertake.

Retreats at Onikano are rooted in a broad range of traditional Shipibo practices: ayahuasca ceremonies guided by ícaros, plant dietas, purification baths with plants and flowers, ancient rituals and work with the palos maestros, or teacher trees. Alongside this Shipibo foundation, Onikano offers San Pedro (huachuma) ceremonies — a tradition that Maestro Niwen Koshi learned from Andean maestros and integrates as a complementary path within the healing process.

Onikano sits deep within the reserve, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the Peruvian Amazon, characterised by majestic trees, red-water streams, and distinctive white-sand forests. The centre includes private bungalows, a traditional ceremonial house, a lake for swimming, and a cosy dining room where guests share meals prepared with fresh, local ingredients.

People come to Onikano for many reasons. Some arrive for their first encounter with ayahuasca. Others return year after year. Some stay for a week; others enter a longer path of healing, dieta, or shamanic apprenticeship with Maestro Niwen Koshi. What they all share is a sincere willingness to work deeply and respectfully, with trust in a tradition passed down through generations.

Onikano is not the right place for everyone. It is the right place for those who are ready to do real work. If that resonates, the journey begins with a personal application.

Reviews (103)

4.9 out of 5

Overall 4.9

mo
November 29, 2022 at 4:35 pm

It is hard for me to find the words to describe an experience, a feeling.
Not only my experience at this very special and spiritual slice of heaven, but also my feelings of gratitude for all who played their role so perfectly in order for me to heal and grow in the ways I did.

As you’ve already seen in all the other comments. Herberto is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever encountered. He’s a lot more than a server of the plant. A true and authentic medicine man of the body, mind, spirit and soul. It amazed me how much he has on his plate of constant devotion to healing and helping others, yet he by far has the most calm and present energy that I’ve ever seen.
By working with you, he is able to understand your needs on a deep level and provide you with a tailored healing plan. He has done some intense work for me with lasing results.

During my 3 week stay, I’ve connected with some really awesome people not only the guests but the all the wonderful staff.
Ines, Rada, Tulia, Eunice, Ruben, Barbra and the entire family, I will forever be grateful.

Please keep in mind, the work can be intense and is not meant to be a walk in the park. You might be challenged mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Surender and allow.
josue13
November 25, 2022 at 5:18 pm

I had an amazing time here
At 23 years old it was an experience of a lifetime
Being a bit unsure and uncertain I dove right in and at first it was intense but I settled in quickly I made many friends which I will soon not forget.
Herberto, the shaman who guided me and helped me with the many ceremonies was someone who was always calm but joyful
Ruben, the chef who has been with them for over twenty years who I connected with deeply❤️
Eunice, the shamans sister who helped me during a ayuascha ceremony during the day singing an icaro
This place helped me become my own best friend
I also met and made people who I will hold dear to my heart and I plan to come back here soon
Luis
October 18, 2022 at 9:07 am

My name is Luis, from Spain, 49 years old. I spent a wonderful week at Yosi Ocha. The place is not owned by western people, which is a plus. The owner is a Peruvian Shaman, Shipibo. Therefore, everything is genuine, not adulterated, not “ designed” by “business minded” western hippies.
The place is 45 min by car from Iquitos, and it is very quiet. The food is great, the caretakers and facilitators are very experienced and helpful, and the shaman is very knowledgeable and relaxed. I had a superb experience. I believe i will repeat. If you are looking for an authentic Ayahuasca Retreat, it is a very good place. The shaman, Maestro Heberto, also offers San Pedro ceremonies, Toé, Bobinsana, Kambo, and many other things. If you want a true experience, not designed by American Businessmen for American Tourists and Thrill Seekers, this is the place to go. Here, they care about Spirituality and the money stays with the Peruvians. It makes sense.
I was very happy and well cared for all the time. The Shaman is also very good in personalising the treatments and the diets, give options, and he listens very carefully to you. They are also very good with Psychedelic Integration and the after care part. Amazing flower baths and energy cleansing rituals. Great Rapé and Mapacho Rituals, Fire and Smoke Ceremonies, etc.
Guly
September 16, 2022 at 8:39 am

Review

Heberto is unlike any other, Shayman, I have ever worked with. He made my tumour disappear, the doctors cannot explain it. He saved my mother’s life.

I have worked with Ayahasca a number of times, it consists of being given the tea and music being played while I journeyed. Herberto does not work like this. He has a deep and profound relationship with the spirits.

At the beginning of 2022, I was diagnosed with a tumour and an urgent operation was arranged to remove it. Herberto did remote healing, the tumour disappeared by the time the operation was to take place. The doctors could not explain it. I then went to work with Herberto at the centre in Peru. There he did another diagnostic on me. He decided I was not ready to work with Ayahasca and for a week I worked with mqpacho and other plants until Herberto believed I was ready, he is the most responsible and safe Shayman I have ever met. I began to work with Ayahasca and it was as if Herberto and the spirit of the plant with one. He would whistle across to guide my journey, and as soon as he stopped whistling, I would return to the room. It was the most deeply healing experience of my life. I found myself able to feel and remember past traumas while at the same time feeling profoundly held in love. There is little electricity and no mobile phone signal at the centre , so I was unaware that my mum is health back in the UK deteriorated significantly. Towards the end of my treatment with Herberto, he called me into the temple and told me that my mother was dying, and I had to return to the UK immediately. He drove me out of the jungle to a point where there was mobile phone reception. I called my mum to find that she was critically ill. Heberto was able to know this, something that western science would say is impossible. He told me he would help my mother to return to the UK to undertake a ritual that Herberto asked me to undertake with her. He then went on to work with her remotely and she not only made a full recovery but became happier and stronger than I’ve seen her in years. I cannot recommend Herberto highly enough. He is a holder of an ancient knowledge. His land is under threat from a construction company. I encourage everyone to go and work with him and to do what they can to ensure this ancient healing modalities is preserved.
Ivana
August 29, 2022 at 4:56 pm

I chose this place according to the way it made me feel, and it was the place. Furthermore, Maestro Heberto happened to be connected with my own city – Belgrade! This couldn’t be a pure chance, and the road I took seemed even more to be my road.
The very place is calm and close to the nature, not only physically, but in all other possible senses. The people I met there were friendly, especially Laura from Spain. The importance the trees have there is magnificent, as well as the guidance for getting in a deeper touch with them.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford longer stay this time, so I took a private ceremony. During the whole time I felt very much secure and protected. I don’t remember when I manage to trust this much to a man I have just met. Maestro Heberto is not just an ordinary man, anyway.
The following day there was a lot of time, space and silence for channeling all what has happened the previous night.
What I also liked a lot about Maestro was his readiness to listen and answer my questions, that’s how he made this ceremony long-lasting for me.
More than a month after I attended two ayahuasca ceremonies in Colombia. I’m very grateful I went through that, but there I didn’t really felt held, what was a total opposite to what I experienced at Yoshi Osha Retreat Centre where ayahuasca is a much more sacred and respected medicina.