Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual is a family-run plant medicine healing center on the Nanay River in the Peruvian Amazon, near the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve. Founded by Shipibo-Conibo Maestro Ricardo Amaringo in partnership with Dr. Joe Tafur, MD, the center holds 4 ayahuasca ceremonies weekly and runs integration conversations 3 times per week. Dr. Tafur, author of 'The Fellowship of the River,' brings a Western medical perspective to traditional healing, having spent six years living and working at the center. He is also on the board of Modern Spirit, a non-profit supporting psychedelic research. The center offers supplementary healing through skilled huesistas (massage therapists) and individualized plant dietas. An international team of English-speaking facilitators provides on-site support and guidance.
Facilitators
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Focus areas
Depth orientation
Nihue Rao bridges traditional Shipibo-Conibo healing and Western integrative medicine through the partnership of Maestro Ricardo Amaringo (44+ years of practice) and Dr. Joe Tafur, a Colombian-American integrative family physician who lived and worked at the center for six years. Dr. Tafur's work explicitly connects plant medicine to psychosomatic healing, epigenetics, and emotional processing — a depth-oriented medical framework that treats ayahuasca as a clinical tool rather than mere ceremony.
Who it’s for
General public, Individuals seeking healing, Clinicians interested in plant medicine