Tips on Visiting Mayantuyacu
Mayantuyacu is a plant healing center located in the Peruvian Amazon several hours journey from the city of Pucallpa. It sits on a picturesque stream where near-boiling hot springs blend with cool water flowing down to the Ucayali River. The founder and “maestro” of Mayantuyacu is Juan Flores, who National Geographic described as “one of the more famous curanderos in Peru.” Maestro Flores has been written about by Jeremy Narby, Robert Tindall, and others, and he is the subject of the documentary film Tonkiri. In the language of Amazonian curanderismo, he is a “banco muraya” — a master of the plants and animals of the land. The extraordinary beauty of Mayantuyacu combined with the reputation of its maestro has made it one of the most renowned Ayahuasca centers in the world. Having visited Mayantuyacu several times, I was inspired to write some practical tips to help new visitors better prepare and adapt to the unique culture of the center.
The guidelines below are based on my experiences at Mayantuyacu and at times I veer into personal opinion. You should consult with Mayantuyacu staff regarding any serious questions or issues. Once you’re there, you can visit Maestro at the top of the hill and speak with him directly. Other good resources for information at Mayantuyacu are Maestro’s apprentices, who speak Spanish, and his foreign students, who often speak English. You will know them because they are part of the regular round of singers in Ayahuasca ceremony.
Why are you going?
People travel to Mayantuyacu for a variety of reasons. Some seek treatment for serious afflictions and others come to connect with plants and cleanse their mind and body. There are students studying Amazonian plant healing in depth and others who come to Mayantuyacu to experience Ayahuasca for the first time. You may be someone who feels healthy in life and wonder why you are being called to visit a plant healing center. To this, I say that the modern world is sick and none of us can avoid taking on some of that sickness. Mayantuyacu teaches a better way — based on love, humility, interconnection, and respect for nature — and visitors take this way of being back home where it is sorely needed.
There are patients who have successfully treated cancer at Mayantuyacu, but some diseases are too advanced for a cure through plant medicines. An instructive story can be found in the personal history of Maestro, who once seriously injured his leg in a hunter’s trap. His life was saved by modern medical care, but his leg only recovered when he treated it with medicine he made from a Came Renaco tree that grew on the present site of Mayantuyacu. Visitors seeking help with major ailments or disease should consult with Mayantuyacu to determine whether a visit is advisable.
Mayantuyacu is LGBTQ friendly.
Planning your visit
The website of Mayantuyacu has various useful information in Spanish. Mayantuyacu recommends that visitors stay for at least 15 days, but they do allow shorter stays. Keep in mind that coming from the north it will take time for you to adjust to the Amazonian climate and the clean diet offered at the center. At first, you may feel sick and physically exhausted as your body acclimatizes and purges toxins. Ayahuasca ceremonies typically happen every three days, and a stay of at least 9 days ensures that you will experience at least three ceremonies, which is a good minimum number of ceremonies for first timers. A stay of two weeks guarantees that you have plenty of time to settle into the healing, as well as to complete a 10-day plant diet.
Mayantuyacu’s website has contact information. Their email is mayantuyacu@yahoo.es. The preferred language of communication is Spanish, and you can use Google Translate for the messages. Once you are ready for the trip, Mayantuyacu will have you fill out a questionnaire. It is important that you disclose any medical issues and medication you are taking.
Preparing for your visit
Many ask whether a visit necessitates taking the vaccinations that many doctors recommend for a trip to Amazon. If your only stop in the Amazon is Mayantuyacu, vaccinations are not necessary. It is a place you will go to get better, not to get sick.
There are many opinions on how to best prepare for Ayahuasca ceremony, including eating a healthy, mostly vegetarian diet, and cessation of alcohol and any medication. Some people and traditions recommend sexual abstinence and not drinking coffee. The cessation of medication is most important and should be done weeks before participating in Ayahuasca ceremonies. If there is a medication you can’t stop taking, you must consult with Mayantuyacu as to whether it is safe for you to participate in ceremonies.
Living, as many of us do, in cultures that have lost their connection to the natural order, psychological ailments such as anxiety and depression are endemic, as are the pharmaceuticals prescribed to mask their symptoms. A visit to Mayantuyacu can permanently cure these problems by unveiling meaning and purpose in your life and teaching you how to adopt a healthier lifestyle. It is very important that you cease taking antidepressants and similar medications well before coming to Mayantuyacu as they are known to react adversely with Ayahuasca.
Regarding diet, the sooner you begin eating clean the more you will get out of your visit to Mayantuyacu. Avoid sugar, spicy and processed foods, excessive salt, beef, pork and alcohol. Vegetables, grains, fruit, chicken and fish are good. At the very least, eat better and stop drinking alcohol two days before your arrival.
Mayantuyacu’s staff members mostly do not speak English, but there will be people who can translate for you. It is worth taking the time to learn some Spanish. There are phone apps that can teach you a lot in little time.
Packing your bag
When packing for Mayantuyacu, imagine you are going camping. In the rainy season, which lasts roughly from November through April, torrential downpours can come every day. Clothes and a towel designed to dry quickly, a poncho and rain boots will make your life easier. Mayantuyacu has rain boots for sale in its office in Pucallpa. In general, it is about 90 F (33 C) during the day and about 70 F (21 C) at night. That means t-shirts and shorts during the day, and long pants and perhaps an extra layer at night. If you are sensitive to insect bites, you may want to cover up with long sleeves and pants all day. Bring a swimsuit to take advantage of Mayantuyacu’s incredible variety of swimming holes.
Shoes that you can slip in and out of easily are good for visits to the bathroom during Ayahuasca ceremony. Many people choose to wear a white shirt at ceremony, but this is not required. Do bring a ceremony outfit that you don’t wear during the day so that it stays dry and clean. Likewise, you want to keep a clean outfit for your trip home, safe in a plastic bag. You can hand wash your clothes at Mayantuyacu, and you will need direct sun to dry them.
Bring a water bottle. A flashlight is also an essential item. Bring a journal to write in. In the dining building, there is a library of books left by visitors.
You are going to the Amazon and there will be bugs. Big ones that crawl on you and small ones that bite you. Bring a non-toxic bug repellant and perhaps some lotion to treat the bites you will inevitably incur. I found that if you don’t scratch mosquito bites, they soon go away.
Bring some soles to buy crafts from the Shipibo artisans who regularly visit Mayantuyacu or to buy items from the Mayantuyacu bodega (store). In general, you don’t want to head into the backcountry with an empty wallet. There is no ATM at Mayantuyacu.
You will be provided with a pillow, sheets, and a blanket.
Traveling to and from Mayantuyacu
Mayantuyacu operates an office in Pucallpa. Visitors flying into Pucallpa are picked up at the airport and taken to the office. At this time, you will pay for your visit with cash, bank transfer, or Visa credit card. US dollars are accepted, as they are almost everywhere in Peru. You will also need to pay for the several hours’ journey to Mayantuyacu, and the transportation fee depends on whether you ride alone or with others.
The road to Mayantuyacu gets very rough near the end after turning off from the downriver town of Honoria. If there has been dry weather for a couple of days, the truck will be able to drive you all the way to Mayantuyacu. If not, you will need to hike in from Honoria. Don’t worry, worker boys will meet you to carry all of your suitcases. Still, be prepared for a more-than-an-hour hike, and have a full water bottle and a hat and sunscreen handy to protect yourself.
Accommodations
The cabins at Mayantuyacu are simple and you will sleep under a mosquito net. Keep everything off the ground to keep it dry. Bugs will pass through your room and things can get a bit muddy when it’s rainy. But the simplicity is a benefit because it helps you better connect with the jungle environment, and this is therapeutic and should be an aim of your visit. Be self-reliant as much as you can and friendly to the staff. You are all in it together.
Most cabins at Mayantuyacu have running water, including a simple shower, sink and toilet. Water comes from the hot springs and is good to drink from all the taps. Put toilet paper and feminine products in the trash, not the toilet.
Food at Mayantuyacu is simple, with little salt and no dairy. Periodically, chicken or fish is offered, and there are usually vegetarian alternatives such as beans or lentils. There is fruit available in the dining area if you would like a snack, and herbal tea. There is also black tea and coffee for guests reluctant to take a pause with their caffeine habit.
Mayantuyacu has satellite wi-fi Internet in the main building, which you pay for by the day or hour. It may not function on rainy or cloudy days. The cook can log you in and then remove the connection from your phone when you are done. Resist the temptation to use your phone freely as you do at home because this will distract you from your work with the plants.
Conduct
For many, Mayantuyacu is a sacred place where the plants and the divine come together to heal humanity, so you should be as respectful as you might be in visiting a more conventional holy site.
It is not unusual to meet a stranger at Mayantuyacu and find you have a mutual friend or some other kind of unlikely connection. Synchronicity, which pushes through the veil whenever consciousness is being raised, is an omnipresent phenomenon at Mayantuyacu. But despite the bond you feel with other visitors, Mayantuyacu is not a singles’ club. There may be unattached people who are there to heal sexual trauma or strengthen their relationships back home. Give people the peace and quiet they need to heal.
You may come to Mayantuyacu after experiencing Amazonian plant healing with other lineages. Every curandero has different methods of healing. You’ll probably get more out of your stay at Mayantuyacu if you seek to align with Maestro Flores’ way of healing, rather than remaining too attached to different styles of curanderismo that you experienced elsewhere.
Maestro says that the plants teach humility, and humility should be something for which you strive during your visit. A big ego and demand for attention will get in the way of your and others’ healing. Wait, you might be thinking, I am sure that I am the “chosen one.” Know that there are many chosen ones at this juncture in history being called to cooperate and save our species from itself. Without humility, spiritual advancement is limited.
Beginning your stay
There may be an Ayahuasca ceremony the night you arrive, the next day or two days later.
Adjusting to the climate and powerful energies of the place takes me a few days. I’ve learned to rest and drink a lot of water. The first couple of visits, I raced up and down the river and generally tried to do too much too soon, and ended up with dehydration headaches.
You’ll have a consultation with Maestro within the first couple days of arriving. His consultorio (consulting room) is located in the main house at the top of the hill, and this building also contains his living quarters. The main house is also the dining hall for visitors and staff, and where the cook lives as well. A good time to speak with Maestro is after meals when he stops by to say hello, or any time he is already in his consultorio.
Maestro will ask you why you have come to Mayantuyacu and answer any questions you have. Guests staying longer than a week will be given another plant medicine to take during their stay. Many of the medicines are made from the bark of trees that grow in the area. You will take a cup of the liquid three times a day. While these plant medicines are not psychedelic, you may feel certain effects. For example, Tamamuri, a blood cleanser, is somewhat sedative. Other medicines like Shihuahuaco, a strengthener, may be stimulating. Trust in Maestro to prescribe you exactly what you need. He is highly intuitive with more than 60 years of experience as a healer and a direct line of communication with the plants.
Some visitors choose to partake in a ceremony with Huancahui sacha, a purgative, early in their stay. This plant cleanses and helps prepare your body to work with the other plants. Maestro may not prescribe Huancahui sacha until after he’s had a chance to access you through an Ayahuasca ceremony. The Huancahui sacha ceremony begins promptly at 7 am, and can last a few hours or all day long and even into the evening. Make sure to drink plenty of water. If interested in Huancahui sacha, you can ask Maestro about it, or he may suggest it for you on his own.
Mapacho
Mapacho is the name for Nicotiana rustica, a more potent strain of tobacco used by Amazonian healers. Mapacho smoke is used to activate Ayahuasca and for soplado healing during ceremony and tobacco is generally viewed as an important plant that helps regulate other plants. Mapacho has no chemicals or additives but is strong and should not be inhaled, like a cigar. At Mayantuyacu, non-smokers are often inspired to smoke mapacho cigarettes. It’s best to keep to just a few a day and smoke them ceremoniously. Mapachos can be bought in the office in Pucallpa or from Maestro at Mayantuyacu.
Ayahuasca ceremony
Ayahuasca ceremonies are held in the maloca, which is the big, round, thatched-roof building down the hill by the river. On the night of an Ayahuasca ceremony, arrive to the maloca by 8:30 pm and stand in the doorway or just inside until one of the staff tells you where to sit. Palo santo wood is burned to create a fragrant smoke that cleanses the space and participants. At 9 pm, Maestro will arrive and begin the ceremony. A cup of Ayahuasca is brought to everyone and then the lights are turned off and there is silence for 30 minutes or more. You may feel the medicine come on before Maestro begins his singing, and you can listen to the music of the river, insects and animals. Maestro will then commence the icaros, which are songs to invoke the healing plant spirits. The a cappella singing will continue in a circle around the room with pre-selected singers that include Maestro’s students. Keep as silent as you can during the ceremony.
If you don’t feel the effects of the Ayahuasca, you are welcome to ask Maestro for a second cup. Wait for about an hour after you drank the first cup as it may take time to take effect, but do go before the third hour or so. If you feel the impulse to have a second cup, just go rather than debating. Wait until the Maestro is done singing and sit down in front of him. He will give you as much as he thinks you need.
Maestro makes a pure and subtle medicine. At other Ayahuasca centers, the medicine may be supplemented with Toé or other plants to guarantee a psychedelic punch for Ayahuasca tourists. Such practices are dangerous. At Mayantuyacu it may take several ceremonies before you have the kind of visionary psychedelic experience you’ve read about. But even if your night is mild you can be sure that Maestro’s medicine is healing you. What matters most is not the ceremony, but how it changes you for the better in the weeks and months after your stay at Mayantuyacu.
I don’t try to force matters by taking a third cup. The Ayahuasca vine is increasingly rare in the wild and Maestro once said in an interview that he believed Ayahuasca was going to disappear after completing its mission to heal humanity. The less you take the more will be available for others, including for the indigenous people of the Amazon who have less access to their traditional medicine as a result of international interest in Ayahuasca.
You may have an intense experience on Ayahuasca and travel to dark corners of your psyche as part of your healing experience. Do not resist. Jump into the monster’s mouth with faith that Ayahuasca is showing you what you need to heal, and will not give you more than what you can take. Drink some water and listen to the icaros if you are feeling overwhelmed. During a difficult moment, I actually found it helpful to think of being in a dentist’s chair undergoing an uncomfortable procedure. In that situation, I would remain still in the chair until the doctor was done with their work. It should be the same with Dr. Ayahuasca.
Don’t resist purging. In Maestro’s native language of Asháninka, Ayahuasca is called Camarampi, which roughly translates to “purging snakes.” A purge removes something negative from your being forever. It is a myth that purging lessens the effects of Ayahuasca. My strongest Ayahuasca experiences have been after a purge and the release that it brings.
Around midnight, Maestro and an apprentice visit each person and perform the soplado in which rose water and mapacho smoke is blown on participants. Kneel on the end of your mat and lift your hands in prayer. Ceremony then continues as long as people feel the medicine, usually to about 1 or 2 am.
After soplado, the floor is open for any participant to sing. If you think you might want to offer a song in gratitude to the plants, prepare one in advance. You can learn one of Maestro’s icaros, which he offers freely to his students to sing, or a more lyrical “prayer” or “medicine” song. Just make sure that whatever you sing is soothing because some people may feel the medicine late into the night. Signal that you are about to sing by taking an audible intake of breath.
When the Ayahuasca wears off, you may want to engage in conversations with others. Make sure you whisper so that you don’t disturb participants still feeling the medicine.
Here are a few other miscellaneous guidelines. You are free to drink water during ceremony, and you can fill up your water bottle at the sink by the maloca entrance. You are also free to use the bathroom during the ceremony. The best way to the bathrooms is to walk up the wood platform walkway, rather than the more direct route across uneven and slippery concrete. But if you are tall you will want to duck on the walkway to avoid hitting your head on the thatching. Some people smoke a mapacho when first drinking the medicine, and then it is customary to wait until after your soplado healing before smoking another. Finally, you may be hungry after the ceremony, but avoid late night visits to the dining hall because Maestro and the cook will be asleep.
Integration
An important part of the healing process at Mayantuyacu is taking the time for reflection and rest. The center is ideally equipped for this purpose. You can rest in a hammock in the maloca, chat with other visitors, or explore the river.
Write in a journal and take time to yourself. You can also get to know the jungle, which is reaching out to you in ceremony, through hikes and engaging with plants.
There are waterfalls and a myriad of swimming holes up the river of varying temperatures. Walking up the river requires some clamoring over rocks and you should take care and wear shoes. In bare feet, you will slip easily on wet rocks. About an hour hike upriver is a big waterfall and pool called the “Place of the Spirits” or the “Pool of the Mermaids.” It’s tricky to get to. See if you can enlist another visitor or perhaps a staff member to show you the way.
Other than the ceremonies, there is no set programming at Mayantuyacu. The philosophy of Maestro is to get out of the way and let the plants do their work.
Integration continues after you leave Mayantuyacu. Manish Hotel Ecológico in Pucallpa is a great place to decompress for a couple of days. The excellent restaurant even offers a special menu for plant diets. Personally, I like to relax in Lima after Mayantuyacu. If you are heading straight home, take a few more days off before resuming your normal life. Go for long walks, meditate or do yoga, and continue to eat well. It is a great opportunity to begin new beneficial practices and break bad habits.
Tambo
In your walks up the river, you will notice various jungle huts, which are called tambos. Maestro’s students often stay in tambos while they are dieting on plants. The isolation helps them build a connection to the plants and inspires them to develop or compose their own icaros. People staying in tambo eat a much lighter diet so that the plant medicines have a stronger effect. They return to Mayantuyacu for ceremonies and may avoid interacting with others as they focus on bringing the spirit of the forest into ceremony. Think of them as participants in a silent meditation retreat. They spend ceremony nights in their regular room.
If you are interested in staying in a tambo, speak to Maestro about it, and he will consider your request. Understand that the key to learning is the plant diet, and tambo is not essential for a successful plant diet. If you do go to tambo, let the kitchen know at which number tambo you are staying and boys will run your breakfast and lunch up the river — there is no dinner — while making sure you are equipped with water, toilet paper, candles, and matches.
Good luck.