Pachamama Temple
Pachamama Temple is a Traditional Ayahuasca Healing Center located in Pucallpa, Peru. We offer 7 and 12 day Ayahuasca Retreats led by experienced Shipibo shamans who work together with carefully selected and skilled western facilitators. We provide a genuine, caring and safe environment for guests who want to work with this sacred medicine. The Temple also offers longer stays for those who are interested in a more in-depth study of the medicine and Shipibo culture.
Our Mission
The Pachamama Temple was created to meet the modern challenges and growing demands of a world in need of healing. Humanity is awakening and reaching deeper into the ancient cultures to learn the old paths of wisdom and connection to the natural world. We believe that modern western culture and the ancient tribes need to learn from and support each other. Our mission is to create an environment where knowledge, education and traditions are shared freely for the benefit of all.
“Raise your awareness and share your uniqueness to the world.”
― Amit Ray
Naming the Temple
The Temple is named in honor of Pachamama, the World Mother, or Mother Earth. Pachamama is honored by the indigenous people of both the Andes Mountain range and the Amazon Rain Forest as the mother of the Sun god Inti and the Moon goddess Killa. The Incas know her as the generous fertility goddess. Pachamama is an ever-present and independent force who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life and to provide for all that dwell upon her. We named the Temple after Pachamama to honour her, as she is the one who nurtures the sacred medicine plants, who can then assist each of us on our path of spiritual enlightenment.
The Temple’s beloved Shipibo name is Rao Niwe Nate, which translates to “the realm of the medicine wind”. This name recognizes the healing potential of Mother Ayahuasca, and the power of her blessings to travel like the wind, far beyond the Amazon Rain Forest where the sacred vine grows. Ayahuasca’s healing potential is unknown to many, but ready to be discovered by spiritual seekers who are willing to walk a path of heart and benefit from her wisdom. We at Pachamama Temple are in awe of her healing power and have dedicated ourselves to sharing her medicine, holding space for deep healing and personal transformation, and doing our part to support global awakening.
“Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.”
– Germany Kent
Our Team
Maestro Francisco Ampuero Fernandez
Healer
Dear Pachamama web page visitor, because of the Corona virus, Pachamama temple has been through many hardships and thus, a lot of changes. In order to keep Pachamama temple alive, we are currently remodeling the temple structure as well as our web page. We thank you for your patience and understanding and hope we will have the new information online soon. If you are interested to book a retreat or have any other questions, please send us an email at pachamamatemple@gmail.com and we will reply as soon as possible.
Creating A Safe Space
As a healing center the safety of our guests is of the utmost importance and we take this responsibility very seriously. We have carefully designed our retreats with your physical and emotional safety in mind. We believe this starts by creating a compassionate and caring environment where people can feel at home and where the needs of every individual are met in the best possible manner. Our Ayahuasca Retreats include opportunities for individual consultations with the healers, and our facilitators are always available to discuss any difficulties that might arise during your stay in the Temple.
Screening Before Booking
One important aspect of Ayahuasca safety is examining the possible individual risks involved. The use of Ayahuasca can be dangerous for those with certain physical and psychological conditions and also when taken with certain medications. You can read more about this by viewing our Medical Guidelines and Medications Policy. Upon booking we will ask you to fill out an in-depth application and screening questionnaire. The information you provide will be treated confidentially. We stress that it is very important that you answer the questions in honesty and detail so we can make a well informed risk assessment to maximise your personal safety and the safety of the group.
Following Traditional Practices
We start our 12 day retreats with a traditional ceremony in which only our Maestros drink the medicine. We incorporated this into our 12 days program at the request of the shamans. Our healers use this ceremony as a diagnostic tool, giving them a chance to observe our Guests and their energy, to provide insight into possible blockages or problems. We have discontinued this practice for our 7 day retreats as a week stay includes 4 instead of 8 ceremonies and we simply want our Guests to take the most of their week stay. Even though beneficial, in this case we believe that directly experiencing the wisdom of Mother Ayahausa is more valuable for our Guests attending one week retreats.
General Precautions
- Security guards monitor the site at all times.
- Fire fire extinguishers are located in every room and we have a general evacuation plan.
- Emergency protocols are in place to minimize harm from any incident.
- A safe box is located in every room that can be used by guests with their own travel lock.
- Alcohol and recreational drugs are prohibited. Any guests who fail to comply with this restriction are asked to leave the retreat to ensure the safety and comfort of the other guests.
Safety during and after ceremony
- We have a team of experienced healers and facilitators.
- Staff members not drinking Ayahuasca attend all ceremonies to provide aid and support to all participants.
- We provide after ceremony care if needed.
Emergency Care
- We maintain a fully stocked first-aid cabinet.
- We employ first-aid certified personnel.
- Access to hospital care is located within 20 minutes.
Getting Here
Pachamama Temple is located just outside the city of Pucallpa. Why? Because this is where our Shipibo healers live! Unlike many other retreat centers, we chose to come to the heart of the Shipibo community instead of taking the Shamans away from their family and friends for months at a time to work in locations deep in the jungle of Iquitos. We strongly feel that the happiness of the Ayahuasqueros is of the utmost importance and reflects on their healing work in a positive way.
Pucallpa (which means “red earth” in the native tongue) is located in eastern Peru on the banks of the Ucayali River, which is a major tributary of the Amazon River. Pucullpa still remains quite isolated from the rest of the country by the Amazon Rain Forest and the Andes mountain range. The city is pretty much unspoiled by mass tourism. Here you can still walk the streets without persistent vendors trying to sell you something at every corner. We have found the local residents of Pucallpa to be very friendly and helpful people. We love the place.
Your Journey to the Temple
Mother Ayahuasca is calling out to people from all over the world to join ceremony and take part in the process of planetary healing. Below we offer you some information and advice on how to get to Pachamama Temple so you can take part in this global awakening. We will be very honored to welcome you.
International flights to Lima
All international flights arrive in Peru’s capital city of Lima at the Jorge Chávez International Airport. Although prices for a ticket to Lima vary depending on certain factors like the time of year, how far in advance you buy and the type of ticket, the main airlines seem to hold fares fairly steady and tickets can easily be bought online. Outside of the Christmas Holidays and to a lesser extent at Easter, the highest season is roughly from late May to early October. For a comparative analysis of flights and costs try inputting your route to Lima (and your flight to Pucallpa) on Skyscanner.com. It is our experience that this website will usually present you the most cost effective way to get from point A to point B through the air.
Flights from the US & Canada
Nearly all flights to Peru from the US (be that LA, San Francisco or New York) go via cities such as Dallas, Miami, Houston or Atlanta. Delta, Continental and American airlines are the traditional carriers serving Peru from the US. A number of airlines fly Miami-to-Lima, including American, Copa and LAN; the fare is usually $1,000–1,500 round trip. Fares from either New York or San Francisco (via Miami) cost no more than fares from Miami. Flights from Toronto straight to Lima start at about Can $900 with LAN; it is around the same price when flying from Montréal via Toronto.
Flights from the UK
There are no direct flights from the UK to Peru, so getting here will alway involve switching planes somewhere in Europe or America. From Heathrow you can expect the journey to take anywhere between 16 and 22 hours, depending on the routing and stopovers. The permutations are endless, but the most common routes are via Amsterdam on KLM, via Madrid on Iberia, via Frankfurt on Lufthansa or via Miami, Atlanta, New York and Houston on one of the US airlines. Fares (usually £750–£1,200) vary almost as much as route options, and the closer to departure you buy, the higher the price is likely to be, so it is worth booking in advance.
Flights from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa
Scheduled flights to Peru from Australia and New Zealand are rather limited and tend to involve changing planes, usually in the US. High traffic season is December to February; low traffic season is the rest of the year, but prices also vary depending on how long you stay (between a minimum of 21 days and a maximum of a year). Aerolineas Argentinas flies from Sydney via Auckland and Buenos Aires, with connecting flights to Lima; fares start at Aus$1,875. LAN, in combination with Delta and Air Canada, and Qantas also flies from Sydney to Lima via the US or Santiago, Chile with 45-day returns starting at around Aus$2,450. Continental and American airlines fly regularly from Melbourne via Sydney, Auckland and the US, Air New Zealand fly to LA from Auckland and Wellington but have no specific connections to Peru. Round-the-world tickets including Peru are usually a good investment.
All flights from South Africa to Lima involve making connecting flights. South African Airways flies to Lima from Johannesburg, with a changeover in either Buenos Aires (ZAR12,000–15,000) or Sao Paulo (ZAR11,000–16,000) and also fly from Cape Town via the US.
Domestic flights to Pucallpa
Most retreat guests arriving at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima choose to connect their flights straight to Pucallpa, the home of the Pachamama Temple. We do recommend that you leave enough time in between your flights for any delays. You will also want enough time to get your luggage, get to domestic departures and check in again. We recommend that you leave 2.5 to 3 hours between the flights. Pucallpa is easily accessible from Lima, only a little over an hour by plane. There are three domestic airliners that make this commute from Lima to Pucallpa. These are LAN, Star Peru and Peruvian airlines. These flights vary from about US $180 round trip to $300 depending on the airline and how far out you book.
Planning your arrival time in Pacullpa
When booking your international flight into Peru, its important to keep in mind the time of your connecting flight to Pucallpa. If you are planning to arrive on the day of the retreat, we recommend that you arrive in Lima no later than 5:30 am and make sure your departing flight from Lima to Pucullpa leaves before 8:30 am, as all our guests will be picked up at the Los Gavilanes Hotel in Pucallpa at 11:00 am. This ensures that you have enough time to get to the hotel before the pickup time. The way to get around in Pucallpa is by Motortaxi, which is a kind of tuck tuck. Getting from the airport to the hotel will cost about 8-12 Soles (US$3.00-5.00), depending on your negotiation skills, and will take about 10 minutes.
If you wish to arrive a day or more in advance, we have an arrangement with the Los Gavilanes Hotel and can provide booking for you at a rate of 110 Soles (US$30-35) for a single room. The hotel will also provide free transport from the airport to all overnight guests. You can find reviews for Los Gavilanes Hotel on Facebook. Please contact us to initiate your booking.
Please note that we will arrange the transport for all of our Guests on the last day of the retreat, at 2:30 pm from Pachamama, back to the los Gavilanes hotel. If you need to get to some other destination in Pucallpa, there are plenty of mototaxis in front of the hotel and you can easily get to any part of the city from there.
We wish you safe and happy travels!
Contact Us
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. We love to hear from you!