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

irrremerdem
April 11, 2022 at 9:40 am

One of the biggest reasons and motivations for my solo travel in Peru was having an ayahuasca ceremony. You will come across a lot of healing centers and retreats but eventually, your gut feeling will decide where you are going to have this experience. I was going with the flow as I always do, but also doing my research and contacted a few centers. I got a warm reply back from Yosi Ocha ( from Barbara, who manages their account) She called me and really wanted to make sure that I will be in safe hands and Maestro Heberto is a genuine Shipibo.

When you google you won´t see reviews about Yosi Ocha, and maybe it will make you rethink. But it should not! Cause Yosi Ocha is not a restaurant or a cafe. That´s why you will find the necessary reviews here on this website hopefully.

I feel extremely lucky and grateful that I had my first ceremony with Mother Ayahuasca at Yosi Ocha, led by Heberto. Although my stay was short due to my limited travel schedule, he really tried to understand my intentions and motivations behind my decision of visiting the center. I have heard many stories where people have their first experiences with Aya, completely left alone with the medicine itself. However, you should keep in mind the significance of a true and genuine shaman in this experience. I felt extremely safe thanks to Heberto´s presence. I cannot and should not explain every detail, but you should know that Heberto is a true healer and he has the heart of gold.

Inés will accompany you, she is the assistant and translator. She is super helpful, extremely present, and does her best to help the communication between you and Heberto ( if you are not a Spanish speaker)

The food is amazing ( thanks to Ruben), and the surroundings are lovely. The bungalow is very comfortable and honestly, you won´t need much there. Just take as much as you can from this very unique experience and know what Yosi Ocha is the place if you are ready to discover the world of plant medicines.
Eva and Max
November 7, 2021 at 7:08 pm

Going to Yosi Ocha was a life changing experience, we were able to learn how to appreciate life on a whole new level and are eternally grateful. The retreat was beautiful while maintaining a natural feel and the staff were very friendly and accommodating.

Maestro Herberto paid special attention to our needs while guiding us through our ayahuasca journey. His icaros were moving, and helped us to expand our mind and travel to higher dimensions. He also offered us more experiences, such as Mapacho, Rapé and San Pedro. Muchas gracias Maestro Herberto!!

Antonio (our guide) was so energetic and happy, he found time to show us the jungle, local wildlife and the amazon river even while we were on a tight schedule.

Inés (translator) was amazing, she stuck with us throughout our days and would take ayahuasca when we did as a way to feel what we were going through but was still able to translate flawlessly. She also guided us through our candle rituals and showed us how to prepare our daily plant bath.

The cook Ruben was out of this world, everything he cook was amazing. Even days when we felt nauseous from the ayahuasca, we wanted to eat his cooking.

Maestro Herberto’s family brought handmade crafts one day. They were all so beautiful, we ended up getting many things! They have been wonderful to have as a reminder of the incredible experience we had at Yosi Ocha.

We can’t do justice with describing the ayahuasca journeys. It’s something that has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. It can feel daunting at times but also intensely joyful and peaceful. Sometimes it felt like we had to push ourselves to understand what the medicine was trying to teach us and other times it felt best to just let go and we would be flooded with insights. Regardless the end result was one of the most profound experiences of our lifetime.

Quite a few nights after the ceremonies, we sat outside of our bungalow and stared into the night sky in awe, with the moon and stars above and the diverse sounds of the rain forest all around. With the ayahuasca still in our system, the feeling of euphoria overtook our body, all you can do is know that life is incredible.

We highly recommend this retreat.
Thank you to everyone at Yosi Ocha.
Love from Max & Eva
viviancarrasco22
July 1, 2021 at 5:28 pm

Its hard to explain what I experienced at Yosi Ocha… I had the most transformational experience of my life. There are things I had been working through for over a decade and I couldn’t seem to get any clarity on until visited Yosi Ocha and worked with Herberto. He is a true master of plant medicine and a warrior of the light! Everyone at the facility was amazing… Antonio, Lestor, Ruben.. everyone. Love vibrates from Yosi Ocha! I did so much research before booking and wanted the most true and authentic experience for my ayahuasca journey… Yoshi Ocha did not disappoint. The people in this center are doing the work to heal and spread love, peace, harmony and help everyone fight their light. If you feel called to this medicine… look no further. This is where your healing awaits.
mw19801981
June 18, 2021 at 9:24 am

I arranged a trip to Yosi Ocha for myself and 3 friends. With so many centers to choose from, I just trusted my intuition and it brought us directly to Heberto and his team. I have dealt with other Shaman’s in the past, and I can tell you that Heberto is a true authentic Master. The setting is truly beautiful, the team there was amazing, radiating love, and most importantly there was a feeling of inherent trust coming off of all of the wonderful staff. We all went home knowing that we got the experience that we needed. If you are being called to plant medicine, this is the place.
Rosita
August 27, 2019 at 4:59 pm

I heard a lot of nice things about Maestro Heberto and his work before I got the chance to meet him. He is a really special human; so kind, smiling and funny in a positive way. You can see that he does his work with all of his heart. Everything that he said was helpful and smart.
He sings some of the most beautiful icaros, with so much care for every participant in the ceremony!
After the first retreat with Heberto, I saw some major changes in my life and I know that I am lucky and very grateful that I found the right Maestro.