I recently attended a week-long retreat at Yosi Ocha (now called Onikano). My experience was a mixed bag and largely departed from the glowing reviews others have left. I’ll share my thoughts, beginning with the positives.

Upon arrival, the retreat center immediately embraces you with its stunning jungle surroundings. The property is vast, covered in thick vegetation that gives way to open areas where guests can sit in quiet contemplation or swim in the lagoon.

During my stay, I learned how to prepare and take a plant bath. Each morning, I gathered leaves from pre-identified trees and poured the infused water over my head and body. Chilly but refreshing.

At night, the jungle came alive with a crescendo of sounds that lulled me into a pleasant rest. Some may find this overwhelming, so bringing earplugs is advisable.

The real highlight at Onikano is the ayahuasca medicine. If you separate it from the surrounding chaos (which I’ll soon address), its strength and potency are undeniable. The ayahuasca at Onikano is powerful.

Now, onto the negatives—unfortunately, there are many.

Advertised as a place for deep, personalized healing, Onikano fell far short. After a brief consultation with Maestro Heberto, every guest in my cohort was prescribed the same plant dieta. Days were mostly unstructured, leaving guests to their own devices.

The first ceremony was shocking. The website describes a thoughtful approach to administering ayahuasca, with dosages tailored to each individual. In reality, newcomers received the same, if not more, ayahuasca as experienced guests. This was true for both me (an experienced participant) and my friend, a first-timer.

In later ceremonies, guests were free to determine their own dosage. Some were clearly more interested in indulging than healing. One guest, for example, treated the experience like a competition to see who could consume the most medicine.

Even more concerning, guests could choose whichever medicine they felt like consuming. I had assumed the Maestro would prescribe what each person needed, but I was mistaken. Ayahuasca? Sure! Sacred powder? Why not? Rapé? Have at it! Dosage? Entirely up to the guest.

Another issue was Maestro Heberto’s absence during most of the ceremonies. After singing personal icaros at the beginning, he disappeared. Facilitators claimed he was “working remotely,” but there was no evidence of this. It seemed more likely that he simply went home, leaving his sister, aunt, and two facilitators to manage the guests.

The guest dynamics were also problematic. A wide range of personalities attended, which is expected at such retreats, but there was no effort to curb those who treated it as a psychedelic bender. Some guests were standoffish and territorial. One individual even claimed the space above the ceremonial area as his own, literally looking down on the rest of us.

Another frustrating aspect was the staggered arrival and departure schedules. Some guests stayed for several weeks, while others were there for just one. This created an awkward dynamic where long-term guests ignored new arrivals. Each week brought a new mix of personalities, not all of whom meshed well with the holdovers.

The food, often praised in other reviews, was inconsistent and poorly planned. One lunch included spaghetti, a hard-boiled egg, sweet potatoes, rice, lentils, shredded beets, tomatoes and lettuce — a bizarre mix. It was okay, but far from the nourishing meals one might expect at a healing retreat.

Despite the abundance of fresh fruit available in nearby Iquitos, the retreat only offered mealy apples and overripe bananas. When these ran out, they were not restocked. It felt as if keeping fresh food in supply simply wasn’t a priority.

A final note concerns the primary point of contact for guests, a woman named Barbara. If you expect to meet her upon arrival, you will be disappointed — she allegedly resides in Serbia. While this is not inherently a problem, it was never disclosed beforehand, making it an odd surprise.

Having attended a different retreat before Onikano, I have a basis for comparison. With that in mind, I cannot recommend Onikano to anyone. It was a disappointing experience that lacked the reverence and focus on healing that ayahuasca deserves. Ayahuasca is a powerful medicine, but it requires the right conditions and a group aligned in solemn energy to be truly effective.

P.S. I wasn’t sure where to include this, so I’ll leave it here. Onikano hosts up to 15 guests per week, each paying $1,400. That amounts to $21,450 per week — around $85,000 per month and more than $1 million per year. That’s a substantial sum, even by Western standards, let alone in Peru, where the average salary is $500-$800 per month. Despite this, some guests felt compelled to fundraise for Maestro Heberto so he could have some of his favorite shirts. Really. (See photo.) It’s hard to believe he couldn’t afford them himself.