El Purguero - Ron Wheelock
Atmosphere
Features
Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (October 2026). They will be updated if El Purguero submits its own information.
El Purguero: An In-Depth Review of Ron Wheelock’s Ayahuasca Camp near Iquitos, Peru
El Purguero is a rustic ayahuasca camp on about 20 acres at km 23 of the Iquitos-Nauta highway in Loreto, Peru, owned and led by American ayahuasquero Ronald Joe “Don Ron” Wheelock, who calls himself “The Gringo Shaman of the Amazon.” Wheelock says he was born in Independence, Kansas, trained from 1996 with Don Agustín Rivas Vásquez and Don José Coral Mori, has worked on his own since 2000 and opened the camp in 2012. He leads every ceremony himself, without assistant shamans, in eight-day “ayahuasca workshops” with three ceremonies for $1,400. Guests rate it 5.0 from 44 Tripadvisor reviews through January 2026. Against that, no screening process, medical staff or emergency plan is published, one facilitator in his seventies runs all ceremonies, and in a 2011 interview Wheelock described adding toé (Brugmansia), a toxic plant, to his brew and giving ayahuasca to his three-year-old son. He has said openly that he served a short prison sentence in Kansas in 1995 over marijuana. No legal entity was found. We found no incidents.
🎯 At a Glance
- Locations: Km 23 of the Iquitos-Nauta highway, about an hour from Iquitos, according to its website. No GPS is published.
- Approach: Mestizo-style ayahuasca ceremonies led by Wheelock alone, with an ojé purge, plant baths, sharing circles and guests invited to help prepare the brew; 2018 guests also report San Pedro and kambo.
- Suitable For: Experienced adults who want a basic camp and a long-practicing facilitator and accept that no medical cover or assistant is present. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
- Costs: $1,400 for eight days and seven nights with three ceremonies, or custom retreats at $200 per person per day for three or more, with a $200 deposit, according to its website. The refund policy is not public.
- Overall Assessment: A long track record, strong reviews and an open founder, offset by no published screening, medical staff or emergency plan, a single aging facilitator with no backup, self-reported toé use and dosing of a young child, and inconsistent operator claims. Directory evaluation: B.
💬 What Guests Are Saying
| Platform | Rating | Reviews | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tripadvisor | 5.0 / 5 | 44 | October 2013 to January 2026; one at three stars |
| AyaAdvisors | 5.0 / 5 | 3 | 2014 to 2017; unclaimed |
| Retreat Guru | No rating | 0 | No events listed |
The positive picture. Reviewers describe life-changing healing, Wheelock’s experience, icaros and trustworthiness, a very strong brew, an authentic off-grid camp, down-to-earth staff and lower costs than other camps; several have returned. Our earlier profile also said other centers buy their ayahuasca from Wheelock and that some guests have returned for close to a decade; those claims remain unverified.
The negative feedback. A three-star review from 2016 praised the icaros but said the camp was run down, the mattresses poor and the food average, and that Wheelock gives little help interpreting experiences afterward and admits it. Others note there is little structured daytime program.
Who is writing the reviews. Reviews arrive in clusters after group retreats, and some have promotional titles such as “6 reasons why you should choose El Purguero.” If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.
🚩 Incident Report
We searched review platforms and English and Spanish-language news for reports involving El Purguero and Ron Wheelock.
- Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
- Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
- Theft and fraud: No complaints found.
- Legal action: No police action or lawsuits found in Peru. Wheelock’s own website says he worked in the marijuana trade and served five months in a Kansas state prison in 1995; another of his pages describes a possession conviction. No court record was found. A US tourist died after a ceremony at an unrelated center in the Alto Nanay district in June 2025, as SWI swissinfo reported.
Our earlier profile also found no theft, sexual misconduct or crime at the camp, and noted the past marijuana conviction, which Wheelock discusses openly.
If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.
🔍 Critical Notes
One facilitator, no backup. Wheelock leads every ceremony without assistant shamans. By his own stated birth year he is about 71, and no successor or second facilitator is named. A business partner, Victoria, offers optional counseling; her credentials are not stated.
Brew and practices. In a 2011 interview, Wheelock listed toé (Brugmansia), chiric sanango and chagropanga among his brew ingredients and said he had given ayahuasca to his three-year-old son about six times. Whether toé is still used is not stated. Toé contains potent anticholinergic alkaloids.
Inconsistent claims. His pages give his experience as over 20, nearly 30 and over 30 years, and the camp’s first group as 30 or nearly 40 people, while marketing stresses small groups.
Who runs it. No company or tax registration (RUC) was found.
Peru’s legal picture. Ayahuasca is legal in Peru and its traditional use was declared national cultural heritage in 2008, but retreat centers are not licensed or regulated, according to ICEERS.
Corrections to our earlier profile. The camp is basic, not “luxurious,” and the operator publishes a phone number, email address and Facebook page. It is reachable by road, not remote. We found no source for the ceremony-by-ceremony plant schedule, for non-refundable but transferable deposits, for sexual abstinence in the diet or for a Peruvian partner; those details remain unverified.
🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks
No medical questionnaire or emergency protocol is published; Wheelock’s Retreat Guru profile warns that ayahuasca is dangerous with prescription antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. No medical staff are named, and Iquitos hospitals are about an hour away by road. ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes it dangerous with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs and that it is contraindicated for people prone to psychosis. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.
🧪 Brew Substance
Wheelock says he harvests the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and cooks it for several days; his admixtures have included chacruna and chagropanga, which supply DMT, as Erowid explains, and, by his 2011 account, toé. Ojé resin is used as a purge, and San Pedro and kambo were reported by 2018 guests.
📍 Location, Setting & Style
- Setting: An off-grid jungle camp with streams, fruit trees and medicinal plants, off the Iquitos-Nauta road.
- Rooms: Simple wooden huts for one or two with a bed, mosquito net and small table.
- Style: A traditional mestizo ceremonial workshop with little structured daytime programming.
Practical guidance: Fly to Iquitos; transport from the city or airport is coordinated. Meals are simple local food under a ceremonial diet.
Should You Book?
It may suit experienced guests, with care. Ask which plants go into the brew, whether toé is used, who assists Wheelock if someone needs help during a ceremony, how health conditions and medications are screened, what happens in an emergency and the refund terms, and get the answers in writing. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.
The Team & Story
Ron Wheelock says he first drank ayahuasca in Tamshiyacu in 1996, trained with Don Agustín Rivas Vásquez and Don José Coral Mori, and has lived in Iquitos since 2000. He has appeared in Rak Razam’s book The Ayahuasca Sessions and the documentary AYA: Awakenings. Local staff maintain the camp. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.
Prep & Integration Tips
Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Practicing since 2000; camp since 2012 | One facilitator with no assistant or named successor |
| Strong reviews through 2026 | No screening, medical staff or emergency plan published |
| Published prices; road access | Self-reported toé use and dosing of a young child |
| No incidents found; past openly disclosed | No legal entity; inconsistent operator claims |
Book Your Ceremony
Workshops are booked through the camp’s website, with 2026 dates and custom retreats. Before paying, confirm the screening, emergency plan and refund terms in writing. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.
Last reviewed October 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.