PUCALLPA · UCAYALI · PERU
Shipibo ayahuasca ceremony in Pucallpa, not Iquitos
Pucallpa vs Iquitos
A Shipibo ayahuasca ceremony in Pucallpa is usually held in Shipibo-Conibo country, in a quieter indigenous setting. Iquitos is a wider mix of traditional and modern centers, with easier international logistics and a wider range of prices and amenities.
Pucallpa is in Ucayali, a heartland of Shipibo culture. Many ceremonies there are traditional Shipibo work with Shipibo shamans, in native communities or secluded forest. The circuit is quieter and less commercial. Travel is Lima, then a domestic flight to Pucallpa, then car and boat.
Iquitos is a larger plant-medicine hub, and the largest city in the world with no road access. The ayahuasca ceremony there may be mestizo, Shipibo, Cocama, or a Western hybrid. The setting is more international and more commercial.
In short, Pucallpa is more for experiencing Shipibo culture. Iquitos is the larger tourist circuit.
Why this Shipibo ayahuasca ceremony is outside Pucallpa city
A city can take in a guest. It cannot keep the night in which the Shipibo ayahuasca ceremony is sung. Shipibo people and the Shipibo shamans believe the plant spirits dwell in Santa Rosa de Dinamarca and at our center. Piñón Blanco lives here and watches over this place with ayahuasca. What you meet is Shipibo life as it is lived, not a costume brought in from somewhere else. On this ground, a Shipibo shaman receives the clearest guidance of the plant spirits, and the power to help a person.
Our village is Santa Rosa de Dinamarca, in Pucallpa. The ceremony is held on Shipibo titled land in Ucayali, 8 miles from the village, and is not booked as a city tour. From Pucallpa, the rest of the way is about three hours by speedboat. You do not have to find the river by yourself. From the hotel pickup on, the team takes you to the community and brings you back. A woman traveling on her own can be met by a woman from the care team.
The Shipibo song has been carried from generation to generation, and the Shipibo community holds this line of Shipibo shamans in the highest regard. Those who keep it are Diomar López Silvano, Antonio Vasquez Galaretta, Rosa Arévalo Maynas, and Roger López Maynas. Diomar López Silvano is the chief of our tribe and the mayor of our village. With them, the ceremony is kept on this land.