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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (November 2026). They will be updated if Pachamama Temple submits its own information.

Pachamama Temple: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats near Pucallpa, Peru

Pachamama Temple, or Rao Niwe Nete, is a Shipibo ayahuasca center founded in 2016 by Dominik Janus with the family of Rosa Pinedo Vasquez, known as Mama Rosa, at Yarinacocha outside Pucallpa, according to its website. In 2024 it announced a move to a jungle site about three hours by van and boat from Pucallpa, near Curimaná, with a 12-day, five-ceremony program for up to 20 guests listed at $3,950. It rates 4.7 from 36 AyaAdvisors reviews and 4.8 from four on Tripadvisor. Against that, a 2021 review alleged a facilitator’s sexual contact with a guest that began during a ceremony, a 2018 review said facilitators drank ayahuasca in ceremonies, no medical staff is named, no legal entity was found, and its website now says the center is for sale, with no retreats available.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Originally Yarinacocha, outside Pucallpa, Ucayali, Peru; the 2024 program starts in Pucallpa and moves to a jungle site near Curimaná District, per its program page. No GPS is published.
• Approach: Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies with Mama Rosa’s family, plus rapé, plant drinks, flower baths, a tipi vapour bath, yoga, breathwork and consultations.
• Suitable For: No one until it confirms it is operating and names its medical cover. Not suitable for people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, heart conditions or hypertension, per its own guidelines, or anyone taking antidepressants.
• Costs: 12 days $3,950, with a $1,580 soft-opening rate advertised for August 2024; older 7 and 12-day programs cost $950 to $1,950. Its terms require a 75% deposit; within eight weeks of a retreat, refunds apply only if the spot is resold, and if the Temple cancels, payment becomes credit.
• Overall Assessment: Shipibo family healers and a published contraindication list, offset by unverified sexual-boundary and staff-drinking allegations, no named medical staff, no legal entity and a center that appears dormant and for sale. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

The positive picture. Reviewers describe a warm Shipibo family atmosphere, personalized icaros, caring facilitators, clean and simple rooms, healthy food, culture workshops and good value.

The negative feedback. A February 2018 review described loud music from a nearby bar, a cement mixer running for about three days, cramped grounds, thin mattresses, and facilitators and volunteers drinking ayahuasca in ceremonies. An April 2020 review said the owner denied a refund during COVID and reported bed bugs and fleas. A Tripadvisor review says a guide began a romance with a participant. Unverified.

Who is writing the reviews. About 11 AyaAdvisors reviews were posted within four days in May 2017, one by a disclosed former volunteer, and one Tripadvisor review was collected in partnership with the business. No reviews appear after July 2021. 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 Pachamama Temple, its founders and the Marquez Pinedo family.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: A July 2021 AyaAdvisors review alleged that a male facilitator made sexual advances during a ceremony around 2017 or 2018 and that sexual contact followed, said another woman reported a similar experience, and asked the Temple to publish a staff-guest conduct policy. The facilitator is not named, and no response is visible. Unverified.
• Theft and fraud: None found. An April 2020 review alleges a denied refund. Unverified.
• Legal action: None found.

A 2020 post on the Temple’s own blog advises guests to leave any center where a guide makes advances. No written staff-guest policy was found. Our earlier profile noted a review describing cement-mixer noise and facilitator issues.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Screening and medical support. Its guidelines list contraindicated medications and conditions in detail, and a medical professional who is not on site reviews medications at registration. No medical staff is named; the site mentions unnamed first-aid certified personnel, a kit with snake antivenom and an air ambulance to Pucallpa clinics taking 1.5 to 2 hours, while its about page still says a hospital is within 20 minutes. Its waiver releases the Temple from liability for “injury, illness, or death.”

Who runs it. Founder Dominik Janus and Dutch partner Erik Hendriks started the temple with Mama Rosa, her sons Feliciano, Luis and Genaro Marquez Pinedo and later her daughter Adelina, per its team page. Its terms name no company, tax number (RUC) or address, no legal entity was found, and the current owner is not stated.

Legal context. Ayahuasca is legal in Peru, where traditional use is national cultural heritage, but retreats are not formally regulated, according to ICEERS. The center also ran paid ceremonies in the Netherlands in 2017 and 2019.

Corrections to our earlier profile. The center has moved, per its website, from outside Pucallpa to a site near Curimaná, though programs still start in Pucallpa. The 2024 program has five ceremonies, not four to eight. Stated prices were $950 to $1,950 and later $3,950, not our $1,500 to $2,500 estimate. The cement-mixer review is on AyaAdvisors, dated February 2018, and its facilitator issue was staff drinking in ceremonies. The Shipibo center outside Pucallpa, Mama Rosa, Western facilitators, 7 to 12-day retreats, the planned Shipibo school, later run as the SOI KANO school, dated Tripadvisor reviews, the AyaAdvisors listing and the $3,950 price are confirmed.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Its guidelines ask guests to stop SSRIs six to eight weeks before a retreat. 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

Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains. Older programs added a vomitivo, and the 2024 program lists rapé and the plant drinks Tanti rao and Marika. A 2018 post promoted a European tour that included peyote.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: The new site has a private waterfall, lagoon and river beach in lowland Ucayali rainforest; the old site was in a lakeside suburb.
• Rooms: Single-occupancy wooden tambos with queen beds and mosquito nets; shared flush toilets near the maloka.
• Style: Shipibo family ceremonies with yoga, breathwork and sound healing.

Practical guidance: Fly to Pucallpa; the 2024 program included airport transfers and two hotel nights.

Should You Book?

No, unless the operator confirms it is running and who owns it, and puts named medical staff, a staff-guest conduct policy, an evacuation plan and refund terms in writing. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

The temple opened to guests in July 2016 and toured the Netherlands with Mama Rosa’s family. Its blog stopped in July 2020, and a “grand reopening” announced for late September 2024 has no evidence of a retreat having run at the new site. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go anywhere similar: 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

Book Your Ceremony

No retreats are available on its website. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed November 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.