Return to Source Amazon Expedition
Guests will meet by 9am at Wakaya Ecolodge
Up to 15 in group
Open Dates
Retreat Highlights
- The Eight Day Amazon Expedition is a cultural intensive that explores Amazon perspectives of Well Being and where guests can experience authentic traditions, take unique workshops and field trips off the beaten track.
- Stay with a Shipibo-Conibo host family at Santa Clara
- Learn about Shipibo Spirituality and a radically different view of living on the planet.
- Participate in everyday activities and learn new skills such as Amazon traditional cooking, and net fishing.
- Learn about Amazon Medicine in the Shipibo Tradition
- Visit the permaculture gardens at Santa Clara, learn to identify Amazon medicinal plants, and how to prepare many essential remedies (including those used during the pandemic) to cleanse, kill viruses, and build resilience and immunity with the Rao Banabo project.
- Relieve stress and remove negative toxins with Amazon therapies and receive protection from Baños de florecimientos (floral baths).
- Take a special workshops in Shipibo-Conibo arts and learn the meaning behind the mysterious kené design patterns.
- Receive a very unique free E-book!
- Learn about the ancient Shipibo language and useful phrases that you can practice with the community.
- Take an eco tour of the mighty Ucayali, the largest tributary of the Amazon river. Visit river communities and wildlife in one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet.
- Part Two: Visit the Rainforest
- Relax and regenerate in the peaceful enclave of Santuario Huishtin Traditional Amazon Lodge, situated on a rainforest reserve about three hours outside of Pucallpa in the province of Huanúco (by car, boat, and jungle hike.)
- Discover the enchanting world of Vegetalismo. Learn how to harvest and prepare plant medicines with Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez. Take rainforest walks to identify important medical plants and trees on the reserve and the botanical gardens at Santuario Huishtin.
- Hike through the reserve and and encounter many fascinating geological phenomena such as the famous "Boiling River of the Amazon," a geothermal phenomena considered sacred to local communities. Visit thermal waterfalls, geysers, and an unusual salt water river. Discover the huge variety of species of flora and fauna: rare and unusual trees and flowers and melodious birds, giant insects, and many species of monkeys.
- Explore Pucallpa
- Visit Pucallpa, a bustling Amazonian frontier city, with fascinating local culture. Explore city markets and sites and sample Amazonian regional foods and markets.
- Visit the studio of master visionary artist, Dimas Paredes Armas and the Uskar Ayar Gallery, the former school of his teacher, the famous visionary artist and shaman, Pablo Amaringo.
- Proceeds from our Retreats are directed to our Community Projects.
- Visit our website: www.amazonmedicineinstitute.com for more information.
About this Retreat
Patrick Quio Valdivia
Assistant director and tour coordinator
An environmental engineer by profession, I am an enthusiast of clean technologies and have worked with many organizations and international NGOs on cultural and eco-tourism projects, environmental conservation, and sustainable development in Perú. In 2014, I was part of the Swiss cooperation team at COP 20 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC) and supported the delegation of Rio+20 (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012. I am also a photographer with a love for nature photography and am an active supporter of regional arts and culture, including the new Amazon Film School.
Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez and family
Santuario Huishtín is the home and lifelong passion of Maestro curandero and vegetalista (plant spirit shaman), Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez and his family. For over thirty years Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez has studied the many plants, vines, and trees of the forest in the tradition of Vegetalismo, the ancestral knowledge of his indigenous forbearers. A healer of Cocama heritage, his family originates from the small town of Santa Rosa on the Brazilian border. Over his life, he has been in apprenticeship with great curanderos of the region of many ethnicities (Shipibo, Cocama, Ashaninka) and since then has developed a profound intuition in working with traditional plant remedies wide variety of maladies both physical and spiritual in nature. Like many vegetalistas, he felt a deep spiritual calling to the path from a young age and now has many apprentices of his own. Whether international travellers or local villagers, there is a constant flow of visitors to Santuario to seek healing and guidance from the Maestro..
At Santuario Huishtín, it takes a big family to run a traditional healing center and all of the Maestro's brothers and their wives and children play an important part. Maestro Santiago Enrrique's wife and partner, Ayme, is also a curandera in her own right. The mother of three children, Ayme divides her time between Santuario and the nearby village of Honoria where they go to school. However she is dedicated in her attendance to the Friday ceremonies when her intoxicating voice and powerful feminine presence. Brother Hegner is also a talented shaman and brother Belasario the experienced ayahuasquero responsible for the preparation of Santuario's famously potent brew. Whether it is collecting and preparing plant medicines, facilitating ceremonies, or expanding the center itself, everyone plays an important part and contributes to the warm and welcoming atmosphere at Santuario. [caption id="attachment_44" align="alignnone" width="1382"]
Santiago Enrrique with brother Hegner (to the left) and nephew, Wagner, also a vegetalista with one of the most powerful teacher trees of the forest, the lapuna blanca.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignnone" width="4608"]
Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez and his wife and curandera, Ayme and two of their children, Harmony and Paulina. (older photo)[/caption]
Marcos Urquía
Marcos is the director of Alianza Arkana, an important indigenous-led grassroots organization dedicated to advocacy and social and cultural revitalization of Shipibo-Conibo communities in the Ucayali region of Peru. He is also the long experienced director of permaculture at the Santa Clara Shipibo-Conibo community and has a deep understanding of the technical challenges of permaculture in the Amazon as well as the social and environmental issues afflicting the region. To find more about Marcos and Santa Clara, please follow this link: http://www.enchantearth.com/santa-clara-shipibo-conibo-tours/ Presently Marcos is involved in launching of two very important projects with Alianza Arkana. The first is the RAO BANOBO , an educational initiative to teach urban and community cultivation of backyard medicinals for families without access to modern medicine.You can learn more and experience this project for yourself in our inaugural Amazon Medicine Field School to be launched this spring 2022. The second innovation is the KENÉ book, a "colouring book" of Kené designs, the mysterious psychometry of the Shipibo-Conibo visionary artesans . The Kené project has gathered the contributions and profiles of the most locally respected artesans, their history and traditions, into one unique book. It can be purchased today as an E-book. Learn more about the fundraiser and how to buy your copy!
Ayme Vargas
Ayme Vargas is the partner of Maestro Santiago Enrrique. A curandera in her own right coming from a long matriarchal traditional of healers, Ayme has a voice that is sublimely powerful in ceremony and a presence that is both feminine, strong, and totally unforgettable. She has played a vital role in the development of Santuario Hushtin and is a mother of five children. Ayme spends her time between Santuario and the local village where she volunteers at the local school and aids in local healings. She travels to Santuario with the children in time for the Friday ceremonies. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0QNmOCBS3s&t=31s[/embed]
Maestro Hegner Paredes Melendez
Maestro Hegner Paredes Melendez (left) is brother to Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez (centre), and is an experienced maestro in the vegetalista tradition with over twenty years and more experience and dedicated training working at Santuario and other healing centers in Peru. Possessing a unique character and sympathetic disposition, Hegner's warmth and strength is immediately felt and many are attracted to his strong energy and gentle command in ceremony at Santuario.
My name means Sweet Swallow in my native Shipibo. I was born in the native community of Vista Alegre in the district of Masisea. For twenty years, I have been a traditional healer. I first studied teaching in the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Publico Bilingüe of Yarinacocha and worked for five years in bilingual schools in the native communities. Since 1992, I have been living Santa Clara where I began working with Donaldo Antonio Roque Cumapa in authentic healing tradition of my ancestors. My practice has been reviewed and accredited by the Association of Ancestral Medicine of the Shipibo-Conibo Onayabos.
Details of this retreat
Return to Source Amazon Expedition
Discover the Amazon View of Happiness
Embark to the Ucayali, the indigenous heartland of Peru on this one-of-a kind cultural intensive that goes to the source of "Buen Vivir" or Amazon perspectives on happiness and well being. Visit Shipibo Communities, natural wonders, take fascinating workshops in ancestral arts, cuisine, and Amazon medicine.
Stay with a Shipibo-Conibo host family
Travel to Santa Clara, a Shipibo community dedicated to revitalizing their ancestral traditions on the Ucayali river. Stay with a Shipibo host family and experience daily life, take fascinating workshops, and discover the meaning of the good life from a Shipibo perspective.
Learn about Shipibo Spirituality.
Learn about the rich ecological cosmovision of the Shipibo and its teachings on harmony and reciprocity under the mentorship of Onaya Chonon Benxo.
Enjoy Community Life
Participate in everyday activities and learn new skills such as Amazon traditional cooking, net fishing for river fish, gardening, and arts and crafts. Make life long connections around the fire and exchange stories.
Learn about Amazon Medicine in the Shipibo Tradition
Visit the permaculture gardens at Santa Clara, learn to identify Amazon medicinal plants, and take a workshop on how to prepare many essential remedies (including those used during the pandemic) to cleanse, kill viruses, and build resilience and immunity with the Rao Banabo project.
Take Floral Baths and Drink Cleansing Teas
Relieve stress and remove negative toxins with Amazon therapies. Drink restorative teas made from fragrant Amazon flowers and receive protection from Baños de florecimientos (floral baths).
Discover Shipibo Ancestral Arts
The Shipibo Conibo of the Ucayali have become globally recognized for their rich culture and art practice. Take a special workshops in Shipibo-Conibo arts and learn the meaning behind the mysterious kené design patterns. Receive a very unique free E-book!
Take a Language Lesson in Shipibo
Learn about the ancient Shipibo language and useful phrases that you can practice with the community.
Tour the Ucayali
Take an eco-tour of the mighty Ucayali, the largest tributary of the Amazon river. Visit river communities and wildlife in one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet.
Part Two: Visit the Rainforest
Enjoy Deep Tranquility at the Aguas Thermales Reserve
Relax and regenerate in the peaceful enclave of Santuario Huishtin Traditional Amazon Lodge, situated on a rainforest reserve three hours outside of Pucallpa in the province of Huanúco (by car, boat, and jungle hike.)
Immerse Yourself in Vegetalismo
Discover the enchanting world of Vegetalismo. Learn how to harvest and prepare plant medicines with Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez. Take rainforest walks to identify important medical plants and trees on the reserve and the botanical gardens at Santuario Huishtin.
Explore the Aguas Thermales Reserve
Hike through the reserve and and encounter many fascinating geological phenomena such as the famous "Boiling River of the Amazon," a geothermal phenomena considered sacred to local communities. Visit thermal waterfalls, geysers, and an unusual salt water river. Discover the huge variety of species of flora and fauna: rare and unusual trees and flowers and melodious birds, giant insects, and many species of monkeys.
Part Three: Explore Pucallpa
Visit Pucallpa, a bustling Amazonian frontier city, with fascinating local culture. Explore city markets and sites and sample Amazonian regional foods and markets.
Proceeds from our Retreats are directed to our Community Projects.
Visit our website: www.amazonmedicineinstitute.com for more information.
Discover the Amazon View of Happiness
Embark to the Ucayali, the indigenous heartland of Peru on this one-of-a kind cultural intensive that goes to the source of "Buen Vivir" or Amazon perspectives on happiness and well being. Visit Shipibo Communities, natural wonders, take fascinating workshops in ancestral arts, cuisine, and Amazon medicine.
Stay with a Shipibo-Conibo host family
Travel to Santa Clara, a Shipibo community dedicated to revitalizing their ancestral traditions on the Ucayali river. Stay with a Shipibo host family and experience daily life, take fascinating workshops, and discover the meaning of the good life from a Shipibo perspective.
Learn about Shipibo Spirituality.
Learn about the rich ecological cosmovision of the Shipibo and its teachings on harmony and reciprocity under the mentorship of Onaya Chonon Benxo.
Enjoy Community Life
Participate in everyday activities and learn new skills such as Amazon traditional cooking, net fishing for river fish, gardening, and arts and crafts. Make life long connections around the fire and exchange stories.
Learn about Amazon Medicine in the Shipibo Tradition
Visit the permaculture gardens at Santa Clara, learn to identify Amazon medicinal plants, and take a workshop on how to prepare many essential remedies (including those used during the pandemic) to cleanse, kill viruses, and build resilience and immunity with the Rao Banabo project.
Take Floral Baths and Drink Cleansing Teas
Relieve stress and remove negative toxins with Amazon therapies. Drink restorative teas made from fragrant Amazon flowers and receive protection from Baños de florecimientos (floral baths).
Discover Shipibo Ancestral Arts
The Shipibo Conibo of the Ucayali have become globally recognized for their rich culture and art practice. Take a special workshops in Shipibo-Conibo arts and learn the meaning behind the mysterious kené design patterns. Receive a very unique free E-book!
Take a Language Lesson in Shipibo
Learn about the ancient Shipibo language and useful phrases that you can practice with the community.
Tour the Ucayali
Take an eco-tour of the mighty Ucayali, the largest tributary of the Amazon river. Visit river communities and wildlife in one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet.
Part Two: Visit the Rainforest
Enjoy Deep Tranquility at the Aguas Thermales Reserve
Relax and regenerate in the peaceful enclave of Santuario Huishtin Traditional Amazon Lodge, situated on a rainforest reserve three hours outside of Pucallpa in the province of Huanúco (by car, boat, and jungle hike.)
Immerse Yourself in Vegetalismo
Discover the enchanting world of Vegetalismo. Learn how to harvest and prepare plant medicines with Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez. Take rainforest walks to identify important medical plants and trees on the reserve and the botanical gardens at Santuario Huishtin.
Explore the Aguas Thermales Reserve
Hike through the reserve and and encounter many fascinating geological phenomena such as the famous "Boiling River of the Amazon," a geothermal phenomena considered sacred to local communities. Visit thermal waterfalls, geysers, and an unusual salt water river. Discover the huge variety of species of flora and fauna: rare and unusual trees and flowers and melodious birds, giant insects, and many species of monkeys.
Part Three: Explore Pucallpa
Visit Pucallpa, a bustling Amazonian frontier city, with fascinating local culture. Explore city markets and sites and sample Amazonian regional foods and markets.
Proceeds from our Retreats are directed to our Community Projects.
Visit our website: www.amazonmedicineinstitute.com for more information.
Schedule
*Everyday, we'll gather for optional reflection exercises on the meaning of happiness. Exact topic, exercise, and timing will shared in our detailed itinerary included in our registration package.
Days 1-2
Pucallpa, a Vibrant Amazonian City
Begin your adventure in Pucallpa, a bustling rainforest frontier city on the Amazon frontier that is becoming the place to to experience authentic Amazon culture and traditions.
Day One: We will meet at Wakaya Eco lodge for our orientation session. From there, we will venture on a walking tour of the city. After lunch, we will visit the studios of renown Amazonian visionary artists.
Day Two: We'll head to Tayuya for lunch and then to Madre Selva, for a special workshop in Amazon gastronomy with famous regional chef, Blanca Perez.
Days 3-4
Visit Santa Clara
What is the meaning of a life well lived? Day Three, we'll visit Santa Clara, stay with a Shipibo-Conibo community, and learn about "Buen Vivir," a radical perspective on happiness that will change your view of life.
Day Three: Embark on a fascinating eco-tour of the Ucayali River, the Amazon's largest tributary, en route to Santa Clara. Attend presentations on Shipibo culture (art, language, and traditions) and learn about their unique spirituality with Shipiba Maestra Chono Benxo. Take baños de floricimientos (floral baths) and special herbal teas to purify the mind and body. Participate in a sacred Pachamama ceremony.
Day Four: Delve into Amazon permaculture with Marcos Urquía and to prepare traditional remedies that were used during the pandemic with Rao Banabo. Visit the neighbouring village of San Francisco for a hands-on workshop on the ancient art of Shipibo Kené designs and their mysterious meaning.
Days 5-7
Explore A Magical Rainforest Reserve.
Head off on an exciting trip by road and river to visit Santuario Huishtín and the Aguas Thermales Reserve, an ancient region rich in flora, fauna, and unusual natural phenomena including a "Boiling River of the Amazon," that travels seven kilometres through the rainforest.
Day Five: We leave early for the a trip by road and river to Santuario Huishtín eco-lodge where we meet with Maestro Santiago Enrrique for a tour of the "boiling river." Depending on weather, we'll immerse ourselves in a star-gazing session to observe the incredibly clear and unique night sky over Santuario.
Day Six: Discover the magical world of vegetalismo (Peruvian mestizo plant shamanism) in a presentation with Maestro vegetalista, Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez. Following, we will take a hike through the surrounding rainforest and learn to identify rare medicinal plants and trees. Take by Nature Photography workshop with Patrick.
Days 7-8
Return to Pucallpa.
Day Seven: Return to Pucallpa for an evening of relaxation at Wakaya. That evening, we'll connect for our final gathering and reflect on the journey taken.
Day Eight: Continue your journey or return home.
Your Support
Funds from your participation in our programmes go directly to our projects to conserve Amazon ancestral culture and traditions. Help us build the first institute dedicated to Amazon medicine and culture.
Days 1-2
Pucallpa, a Vibrant Amazonian City
Begin your adventure in Pucallpa, a bustling rainforest frontier city on the Amazon frontier that is becoming the place to to experience authentic Amazon culture and traditions.
Day One: We will meet at Wakaya Eco lodge for our orientation session. From there, we will venture on a walking tour of the city. After lunch, we will visit the studios of renown Amazonian visionary artists.
Day Two: We'll head to Tayuya for lunch and then to Madre Selva, for a special workshop in Amazon gastronomy with famous regional chef, Blanca Perez.
Days 3-4
Visit Santa Clara
What is the meaning of a life well lived? Day Three, we'll visit Santa Clara, stay with a Shipibo-Conibo community, and learn about "Buen Vivir," a radical perspective on happiness that will change your view of life.
Day Three: Embark on a fascinating eco-tour of the Ucayali River, the Amazon's largest tributary, en route to Santa Clara. Attend presentations on Shipibo culture (art, language, and traditions) and learn about their unique spirituality with Shipiba Maestra Chono Benxo. Take baños de floricimientos (floral baths) and special herbal teas to purify the mind and body. Participate in a sacred Pachamama ceremony.
Day Four: Delve into Amazon permaculture with Marcos Urquía and to prepare traditional remedies that were used during the pandemic with Rao Banabo. Visit the neighbouring village of San Francisco for a hands-on workshop on the ancient art of Shipibo Kené designs and their mysterious meaning.
Days 5-7
Explore A Magical Rainforest Reserve.
Head off on an exciting trip by road and river to visit Santuario Huishtín and the Aguas Thermales Reserve, an ancient region rich in flora, fauna, and unusual natural phenomena including a "Boiling River of the Amazon," that travels seven kilometres through the rainforest.
Day Five: We leave early for the a trip by road and river to Santuario Huishtín eco-lodge where we meet with Maestro Santiago Enrrique for a tour of the "boiling river." Depending on weather, we'll immerse ourselves in a star-gazing session to observe the incredibly clear and unique night sky over Santuario.
Day Six: Discover the magical world of vegetalismo (Peruvian mestizo plant shamanism) in a presentation with Maestro vegetalista, Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez. Following, we will take a hike through the surrounding rainforest and learn to identify rare medicinal plants and trees. Take by Nature Photography workshop with Patrick.
Days 7-8
Return to Pucallpa.
Day Seven: Return to Pucallpa for an evening of relaxation at Wakaya. That evening, we'll connect for our final gathering and reflect on the journey taken.
Day Eight: Continue your journey or return home.
Your Support
Funds from your participation in our programmes go directly to our projects to conserve Amazon ancestral culture and traditions. Help us build the first institute dedicated to Amazon medicine and culture.
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Amazon Medicine Institute, Guests will meet by 9am at Wakaya Ecolodge
Directions
Guests are met at a location in Pucallpa depending on their retreat by their facilitator and then escorted to the locations as per their itinerary. Guests are expected to be in good physical condition as the itinerary can be challenging and may include some hikes.
Accommodation
Eight Day Amazon Expedition Program Price
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Delicious Amazon cuisine which features a diverse offering of rainforest fruit, river fish, rice, plantains, soups, and grilled meats. Vegetarian options are available.
What's Included
- Three Nights Accommodation with included breakfast at Wakaya Ecolodge.
- Two nights at Santa Clara Shipibo community (all meals included)
- Two nights stay at Santuario Huishtin Traditional Plant Medicine Centre on the famous "Boiling river of the Amazon" (all meals included)
- Travel to all locations in the tour.
- Floral baths at Santa Clara and Santuario Huishtin
- Pachamama ceremony
- Shipibo art "Kene" workshop
- Shipibo language workshop
- Workshop in Amazon plant medicine preparation with RAO BANABO
- Workshop of Amazon "Vegetalismo" (plant spirit shamanism) with Maestro Santiago Enrrique Paredes Melendez
- Botanical walk to visit Boiling river and medicinal plants at the Aguas Thermales Reserve
- Visit to a Visionary Art Studio
- Pucallpa city tour
- Workshop in Amazon Gastronomy with Blanca Perez at Madre Selva.
- Ucayali River tour and visit to river communities
- Free E-book on Shipibo Kene Art