Your questions
answered

Ayahuasca can pose health risks if you have a pre-existing medical condition. In general, you should not take drugs, including marijuana and prescription medicines for several weeks before drinking ayahuasca, even if they are prescribed by your usual doctor. If you have any doubts whatsoever about any medication you may be taking or any condition from which you are suffering, we strongly recommend you read these comprehensive Ayahuasca Safety Guide prepared by our friends at the Temple of the Way of Light in Iquitos.

Yes, provided you follow some simple rules. Dieta is a delicate discipline but as long as you follow the instructions of your Master, you will be in safe hands. If you fail to do this and ‘cross’ your diet, the consequences can indeed be serious for your physical, emotional and psychological health. To this point, during your diet, DO NOT under any circumstances:

• engage in sex or sexual activity, including masturbation. Wet or erotic dreams that are not of your conscious choosing (ie. not lucid) are completely natural and nothing to worry about; or
• take drugs, including marijuana and prescription medicines, even if prescribed by your usual doctor. If you feel you cannot abide by these rules, it is absolutely imperative you discuss your circumstances with Don Pedro.

See our How to diet well guide for more information.

This is up to you – how long you choose to diet will depend on your schedule, your budget and how deep you want to go. Anything from a couple of days to a couple of years! Nothing delights Don Pedro more than sharing his medicine with people who have a genuine motivation and can make good use of it. He loves it when people make a commitment of three months – a good amount of time to really establish oneself on the path. Nevertheless, a great deal of progress can be made in a stay of a few weeks or a month, which is more typical among visitors to Nii Rao Xobo. 

You will need to budget on a monthly cost of 4000 Peruvian Soles (PEN) (a little over US$1000 at the time of writing) for your dieta with Don Pedro, plus your travel costs. A stay of less than a month is likely to cost proportionally a bit more, subject to negotiation: for example, 1200 soles for a week.

All food and medicine is included, but coconuts are extra. There are not many other expenses, but it is always worth bringing a little extra to restock any basic supplies from one of the village shops in the case that you run out of something you need, or to buy some of the amazing Shipibo textiles available from the family and wider village.

At the moment, we aren’t set up to receive deposits or reservations online. However, if you let us know when you are coming and for how long through the contact us form, we will make sure there is a space for you.

There is no obligation to prepare in a certain way, but obviously the more you can declutter your mind and body before you do dieta, the less there will be to clean out at the beginning and the quicker you will settle into the work. There is also something to be said for the benefit of making a psychological commitment to value and respect your future dieta of your own volition before you are obliged to. And the plants will instinctively recognise and respond to your attunement when you enter your dieta. Accustoming yourself gradually to some of the privations of dieta will help. You might consider consuming less salt, oil or sugar – or none at all – for a week or two before you arrive. You might even try fasting one day a week. Spending less time online and more time in peaceful contemplation, meditation or out in nature will also help.  

Your cabin comes equipped with a bed, mattress, bedding, towel, and mosquito net, and in some cases, a chair and table. We recommend you bring a yoga mat and hammock. We advise you to bring appropriate jungle clothing (i.e. that is durable enough that the mosquitos can’t bite you through the material, but lightweight enough that you don’t overheat), a wide-brimmed hat (to keep you sheltered from heavy rain or direct sun), mapachos (jungle tobacco), agua de florida, a water bottle, toilet paper, lighters, candles, a headtorch, mosquito coils, a simple medical kit (band aids, antiseptic cream) and a wash kit, (make sure any toiletries you bring, toothpaste included, are organic and additive-free). Plus anything you need to be creative (paints, pens, brushes, paper, musical instruments) but nothing to distract you (mobile phones, playlists, books). In addition, a poncho or other waterproof, and wellie boots will serve you well if you are coming in the rainy season (end November through April). You can get most of these items in Pucallpa.

See also our How to diet well guidelines to explain why we advise not to bring certain things.

From Lima, it is a one-hour flight or a 20-hour overnight bus ride to get to Pucallpa. The best bus company is Movilbus. Bus fares cost around US$30. Basic flight fares start around US$60 one-way. Nii Rao Xobo is located in the Indigenous Community of Nueva Betania on a tributary of the Ucayali river, about 25km upstream of Pucallpa in central Peru. You can catch the rapido (fast boat) bound for Aguas Negras, every morning at 9am and 1pm (2pm on Sundays), from the Puerto Publico (Public Port) in the centre of Pucallpa city, near to Mercado Uno (Market no. 1). The journey takes around two hours and costs 30 soles (about US$8). Once you arrive in Nueva Betania, Don Pedro’s land is directly next to the river on the left-hand side.

It depends what you want. The rainy season lasts from late November to March and there is always intermittent flooding (you will be high and dry in your cabin however). It’s cooler and more conducive to the task of dieting in isolation. The ‘summer’ months of June through to September (which is strictly speaking winter here in the Southern hemisphere) are dry and hot. We have dieted all seasons, and to be honest, it doesn’t really matter. Each season has its gifts and its challenges. Whatever the weather, we come here to concentrate and put our full attention into dieta. The best attitude is to simply accept and enjoy whatever the season or circumstances throw your way with a smile.  

This is the jungle, so alas, you are going to have to get used to at least a few bitey critters! There are fewer mosquitos outside of the rainy season (April to October), but there are other flies which are keen to have a nibble when you are not looking! We don’t recommend bringing chemical repellents to put on your skin. The best ways to keep the bugs away is to cover up and light mosquito coils, which you will find to be very effective. (The ancestors used manati fat, but good luck getting hold of any of that these days!). The mozzies also keep quite a regular schedule, and tend to come out at dusk for an hour or so – a good time to dive inside your mosquito net for a lie-down.

You’re also going to come across a few spiders and the occasional snake (usually at a comfortable distance!), but you get used to them pretty quickly. You can expect a whole bunch of other beautiful animals to show up… hummingbirds, butterflies, eagles, monkeys and lizards are common… and if you are lucky, you might even spot the odd sloth or anteater!

It’s not a deal-breaker, but of course it helps if you speak a little bit of Spanish. But you can get by on very little. Remember, the plants don’t speak Spanish! We have had people come with no Spanish at all, and they got by okay.

Yes, We recommend you say your goodbyes and don’t be in contact with family and friends while you are in dieta, to get the most out of the experience. But if needs must, Pedro recently had satellite internet installed, so brief messages can be easily sent from his house.