Frequently asked questions

Why La Luna del Amazonas?

When Discovery channel researched over 50 ayahuasca centers in the Iquitos area, they looked for two things; Safety and Authenticity.

They had an extensive list of safety requirements for their team and the insurance company and they wanted an authentic experience.

We are a humble center and can't compete with many western owned centers with fancy building materials, jacuzzis and air conditions etc.

On the other hand, we provide an authentic experience with renown village shamans, working with white magic only in pure nature. The beauty at our place is found in our hearts and the surrounding nature, not in our buildings.

We offer individual rooms with private bath and shower, comfortable beds and safe mosquito screened buildings. The magic and healing offered in our temple is not due to a fancy shining floor, but thru the traditional connection to pachamama, and individual shamanic limpiezas in each and every ceremony.

Also, we work with a lot of respect for our lineage and tradition working with one medicine at a time, rather than make business offering all kinds of medicines at a time. In the native traditions you would never mix energies of power plants (or animals such as Kambo). This is a western invent, and one could think that more is better, but the tradition has been developed during centuries and there are good reasons why you should not mix energies.

Ayahuasca, the mother of all teaching plants, works alone.

How many guests are you expecting for this duration?

We will accept maximum 10 guests in the ceremonies.

We keep the groups small and familiar, but more important, the shamans will give you personal attention and give you an individual shamanic limpieza (energetic cleanse) in each and every ceremony and during the whole retreat. If exceeding 12 participants in the ceremony room, there would be too much energies to manage, and the shamans would not be able to do their work, and would rather just serve medicine and sing songs.

How to prepare prior to my retreat?

Please read about our Ayahuasca retreats, and our medical guidelines!

Once you have paid the reservation fee and your spot is secured, you will receive a confirmation and welcome email, with some tips and tricks on how to prepare.

What are the accommodations like (ie bed, bathroom, etc)

It's important to have your own private space when working with Ayahuasca, since the purification and purging process continues long after the ceremonies, and you don't want to share purging energies from someone else. Therefore, we offer individual private rooms, with additional mosquito net over your bed. Private bathroom and shower.

How many shamans/care-takers in proportion?

1-3 shamans and 1-2 facilitators.

What about the diet, there are so many different views on this?

We don't require you to go on a hardcore diet before your retreat, however we encourage you to eat as healthy as possible, always :)

You don't need to exclude salt or sugar or oils, but if you normally have a high intake you can reduce them, and stay away from processed foods as much as you can, this way you might experience less physical purge, and can jump directly to the mental and spiritual purges.

We do strongly recommend you to stay away from pork meat at least 1 week prior to your retreat and 48 hours prior you should avoid alcohol and sexual activity.

The diet is much more important once you have the medicine in your body, to let it process properly, and once your retreat starts you will be served a diet that is optimal for the medicine to do it's magic.

The reson for this is, when we exclude salt, sugar and oils, we open up and become very sensitive to absorb any energies around us. This is of course great if you are at a safe and peaceful place, like our center in the jungle, but could be potentially harmful if you're living in the city and are around all kinds of energies that you wanna be protected from.

Traditionally the shamans do all their dietas in isolation for this reason. Doing it around people in the city or when spending time on airports generally not a great idea unless you want to absorb those energies.

On the other hand, once your retreat starts you will also start your diet here, and after your retreat it's important to stay away from a few things for some time so that you don't cut the process of the medicine. You will get your post-diet restrictions from our shamans the last day of your retreat in order to be able to integrate and incorporate all the light and healing energies that you have received from mother ayahuasca during your stay.

What to bring to la Luna?

Torch/Headlamp. We recommend a good headlamp with a red light option!

Rain boots and rainwear, it can get wet and muddy on the tours and trails as well on our retreat center. We also recommend swimming clothes when we go visit the pink dolphins!

If you have clothes that you do not use, we are happy to share those to the people in the village.

Pick up, airport, leaving day, stay in Iquitos?

We will pick up the group downtown Iquitos on Monday at 11am. We can arrange airport pick up for an extra fee if you arrive on Monday morning, please send us an email for more information.

On your last day (Sunday) you will be back in Iquitos around 11.30am, but we are only 1ish hour away from Iquitos and can be flexible to fit your flight schedule.

Do you offer translations?

We always have English–Shamanic Spanish translators available. Other languages at the moment: Swedish.

What about vaccinations?

Talk to your vaccination doctor. Generally it's not recommended with yellow fever vaccine or anti-malaria pills. But if you continue your travels deeper into the Amazon always check with your MD.

I want to trip balls, is La Luna the right place for me?

This is a great intention for getting disappointed. La luna del amazonas is a healing center, and our shamans use the medicine for healing. While its true that ayahuasca sometimes produce visions, it's certainly not a guarantee, nor is it needed for the healing to take place. Many times the medicine work in very subtle ways balancing your auric field and your chakras. Once your energy field is restored, you can open your third eye and receive visions. This is a very individual process, for some participants it happens the first time, and for others it might take 20 ceremonies to get there. The healing from the medicine is in any case always received.

Do I need to bring sleeping bags, towels, buckets, etc?

No, our retreats include everything you need, apart from your personal items.

What days are the ayahuasca ceremonies?

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

What happens at the end of the ceremony?

We remain in silence until next day.

Does the ceremony end at a certain time or when the journey is complete?

The ceremonies usually last 3-5 hours.

Is there any aftercare or integration help?

Yes, there will always be at least 1 facilitator available for aftercare, and shamans stay when needed. There is a sharing circle the day after the ceremony as well as opportunities for 1-on+1 meetings with shaman.

Is there a diet to follow after the ceremony?

Fasting is required until breakfast the next day. All meals are ayahuasca diet. At the end of your retreat you will get an individual diet to keep for some time after.

What other plant medicines do you offer, aside from Ayahuasca?

Our shamans are not only ayahuasqueros, but vegetalistas, working with many other medicinal plants from the jungle.

Many powerful plants and medicines exists in the rainforest, each with their unique energy. Traditionally natives would work with one energy at a time and allow some space in between different plants and energies. Some energies (entities) interferes with the pure energy from Mother Ayahuasca, and other plants should only be ingested in consultation with our shamans.

Covid-19?

Almost 100% of our guests have recently been tested, or received the vaccine in order to enter the country.

You can choose to drink from your own personal cup. We have powerful handicraft including wooden ayahuasca cups, from the Yagus tribe that you can purchase.

We can also offer medicinal plants in dry powder, for you to take home and keep a strong immune system.

There are no known interferences between Ayahuasca and Covid-19 vaccine.