Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual is a traditional healing center in the Amazionian Rainforest of Peru. Under the guidance of Master Healer and Ayahuasquero Ricardo Amaringo, the center offers ayahuasca healing retreats, traditional Shipibo diets with master plants and ayahuasca ceremonies. The center also provides experiences in integrative healing, medical education and visionary art.
In the spirit of integration, Ricardo Amaringo opened Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual with the help of his partners, Canadian artist Cvita Mamic and Colombian-American integrative family physician Dr. Joe Tafur MD.
The center is located near the beautiful Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve, close to the small village of Llanchama along the Nanay River in the Amazon Rainforest.
Ricardo Amaringo
Ricardo has over 20 years of experience as a traditional curandero and ayahuasquero. He is one of the most skilled Shipibo healers of his generation, having refined his skills through intensive dieting and arduous work.
Ricardo has developed a profound knowledge of medicinal plants, traditional Shipibo ayahuasca ceremony and icaros (traditional healing songs), and he hopes to share traditional Shipibo healing with those who need it the most. In early 2011, he opened Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual in order to share his work with the world.
Ricardo is a master curandero who treats his patients through traditional healing diets, plant medicine and ayahuasca ceremony.
He is a gifted healer and a master of the traditional ayahuasca ceremony. He also trains and educates individuals interested in pursuing this healing path.
Ricardo is known for his powerfully healing icaros. If you would like to listen to Ricardo’s icaros recorded in ceremonies at Nihue Rao, they are available at the following links: Healing Ceremony From The Amazon Volume 1, Healing Ceremony From The Amazon Volume 2, Healing Ceremony From The Amazon Volume 3
Nihue Rao refers to a master plant abundant at the center. It is used in the advanced stages of traditional Shipibo medical training. In the Shipibo language, “nihue” refers to air as in breath or wind, and “rao” is medicine.
The Shipibo culture, originating along the Ucayali River in the Peruvian Upper Amazon, is well known for shamanism and plant medicine. Among the indigenous cultures of the Upper Peruvian Amazon, the Shipibo are one of the few cultural groups that has managed to maintain their language, their art and their mystical plant medicine.
Through ancient Shipibo medicine, people from all over the world are finding profound healing in the Amazon Rainforest.
Integrative Medicine
Dr. Joe Tafur is working to bridge the world of academic medicine with traditional healing knowledge. He works part-time as a physician in the United States and otherwise assists in management and treatment at Nihue Rao. He is also currently apprenticing under Maestro Ricardo Amaringo, assisting in ayahuasca ceremony and other aspects of traditional treatment.
He is at the center for several months throughout the year. He also consults remotely with Nihue Rao staff to address medical concerns relevant to the work at the center.
Visionary Art
Canadian artist and healer Cvita Mamic has developed an art studio at Nihue Rao, the Art Maloka. Cvita’s success in the art world has helped to inspire the Art Maloka, where visionary art inspired during ayahuasca ceremony can be explored and celebrated.
Nihue Rao has hosted a number of visionary artists who have shared their expertise with our guests as they progress through their healing journey. Cvita is a gifted artist and healer. She has apprenticed under Maestro Ricardo and is herself a gifted curandera, traditional shamanic healer, assisting at all levels of treatment at the center, sharing both her creative spirit and her healing gifts.
For more information about Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual or to contact the center please visit their website.