Natemamu+TunaKaramtai:Rituals on the Amazon
Last Chance
Natemamu+TunaKaramtai:Rituals on the Amazon
Yankuam, Macas, Ecuador
Up to 20 in group
July 15 - 24, 2025
A preparation course valued at $109 is included with the retreat at no extra cost
Retreat Highlights
- Natemamu (purification ritual with ayahuasca)
- Ayahuasca ceremonies
- Jungle hike and encampment
- Tunakaramamu (purification at the waterfall)
- Inipi ceremony (sweat lodge)
About this Retreat
Your Guides
The Uwishin are the traditional healers of the Shuar people in the upper-Amazon of Ecuador. ‘Taita Hilario’ is a descendant in a long line of Uwishin shamans. Uwishin is the Shuar spiritual tradition of health, wisdom, art and science that has been passed down from generation to generation, preserving a millenary knowledge that has developed into a very accurate art of healing with sacred plants such as Natem (ayahuasca). Taita Hilario aims to keep the origin and essence of Ayahuasca healing alive, through preservation, practice, transmission and dissemination of the ancestral wisdom. Through intelligent and heartfelt prayers, Hilario shares the knowledge about a path of remembering, helping us to recall our place as relatives and family of our Mother Earth, the Great Spirit and the Universe. He has been invited to international meetings and universities in the fields of ethnoscience, art, traditional medicine and spirituality, and represented his people at a unique gathering in the French Alps in 1997, to discuss global concerns with the Dalai Lama and other high-level representatives of the world’s spiritual and healing traditions. This gathering has been recorded in the documentary Fire on the Mountain: [on youtube]. Hilario Chiriap has been leading ceremonies around the globe since the gathering in the Alps. With the increasing criminalization of Ayahuasca in the last years, he has decided to receive individuals and groups in Ecuador rather than traveling himself. Casa Ayamtai in Tepoztlán, Mexico, organizes traditional medicine retreats and ceremonies in Mexico and Ecuador.
Details of this retreat
The 12 day Retreat is offered to you by Shuar medicine man and teacher Uwishin
Hilario Chiriap and his son Uwishin Nase Chiriap, welcoming you at Centro Yankuam,
in Macas, Ecuador, and Ayamtai + friends’, with organizational support and translation.
It is offered to you in spirit of a millenary knowledge of cultural, spiritual and therapeutic
practices of the Shuar in the Amazon, to deepen our connection with the plants and life
in the jungle. To work with powerful plants safely and traditionally, as a first-step
initiation into the Shuar’s medicine path. The complete program can be found on
www.ayamtai.com/natemamu
We will be staying at the Centro Yankuam, just outside of Macas most of the time. It is
a modest place where a warm water shower and beds in a shared dorm/cabin will be
available. This is not a luxury retreat: you may have to cope with occasional discomfort
or ‘jungle style’ situations. The weather is usually warm, humid or rainy, and chilly at
night. It’s a 15 min. ride to Macas centre, where internet café’s can be found, a
hospital, cashpoints, Western Union, launderettes, restaurants, a market and
handicrafts. Other than buying our rubber boots there, we won’t be seeing much of
Macas during the program, to keep focussed on our work with the plant medicines. We
will be hiking in the pristine, sometimes rainy jungle and visiting one or more
indigenous communities in the province of Morona-Santiago. These are not ‘tribes’ in
the classical sense. It can be nice to have a few dollars on you.
The currency in Ecuador is US Dollars. The contribution for this retreat is of $1900 USD
per person, or $1800 early booking (until Jan 25 2024). It does not include your own
travel costs to Yankuam, nor additional lodging. A longer stay after the retreat, before
returning to urban life, is beneficial for your process and can be arranged at USD $35
per day for lodging and all meals. Individual healings, ceremonies and treatments can
also be planned. It is recommended to purchase a travel insurance to protect yourself
from any (material-) loss due to unexpected itinerary changes, weather delays, (health-)
contingencies or otherwise.
Hilario Chiriap and his son Uwishin Nase Chiriap, welcoming you at Centro Yankuam,
in Macas, Ecuador, and Ayamtai + friends’, with organizational support and translation.
It is offered to you in spirit of a millenary knowledge of cultural, spiritual and therapeutic
practices of the Shuar in the Amazon, to deepen our connection with the plants and life
in the jungle. To work with powerful plants safely and traditionally, as a first-step
initiation into the Shuar’s medicine path. The complete program can be found on
www.ayamtai.com/natemamu
We will be staying at the Centro Yankuam, just outside of Macas most of the time. It is
a modest place where a warm water shower and beds in a shared dorm/cabin will be
available. This is not a luxury retreat: you may have to cope with occasional discomfort
or ‘jungle style’ situations. The weather is usually warm, humid or rainy, and chilly at
night. It’s a 15 min. ride to Macas centre, where internet café’s can be found, a
hospital, cashpoints, Western Union, launderettes, restaurants, a market and
handicrafts. Other than buying our rubber boots there, we won’t be seeing much of
Macas during the program, to keep focussed on our work with the plant medicines. We
will be hiking in the pristine, sometimes rainy jungle and visiting one or more
indigenous communities in the province of Morona-Santiago. These are not ‘tribes’ in
the classical sense. It can be nice to have a few dollars on you.
The currency in Ecuador is US Dollars. The contribution for this retreat is of $1900 USD
per person, or $1800 early booking (until Jan 25 2024). It does not include your own
travel costs to Yankuam, nor additional lodging. A longer stay after the retreat, before
returning to urban life, is beneficial for your process and can be arranged at USD $35
per day for lodging and all meals. Individual healings, ceremonies and treatments can
also be planned. It is recommended to purchase a travel insurance to protect yourself
from any (material-) loss due to unexpected itinerary changes, weather delays, (health-)
contingencies or otherwise.
Schedule
March 23: Arrivals to Macas, Centro Yankuam, +/- 8 hrs from Quito by bus).
March 24 Temazcal (sweatlodge), Opening Ceremony (night, ayahuasca) Full Moon
March 25 Chonta Festivities: UWI IJIAMA, music & dance, preparing chicha, night ritual for chonta deity.
March 26 Harvest and planting of medicine plants
March 27 Shuar dances and traditional teachings
March 28 Visit to Shuar community, stay-over
March 29 TunaKaramtai: tobacco and waterfall ritual, and nightime medicine ceremony
March 30 TunaKaramtai waterfall bath, return to Yankuam, rest
March 31 Day 1 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 1 Day 2 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 2 Day 3 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 3 Day 4 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 4 Temazcal and Closure of Natemamu, Night: San Pedro medicine ceremony
April 5 Closure of the retreat, Departures or additional stay
March 24 Temazcal (sweatlodge), Opening Ceremony (night, ayahuasca) Full Moon
March 25 Chonta Festivities: UWI IJIAMA, music & dance, preparing chicha, night ritual for chonta deity.
March 26 Harvest and planting of medicine plants
March 27 Shuar dances and traditional teachings
March 28 Visit to Shuar community, stay-over
March 29 TunaKaramtai: tobacco and waterfall ritual, and nightime medicine ceremony
March 30 TunaKaramtai waterfall bath, return to Yankuam, rest
March 31 Day 1 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 1 Day 2 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 2 Day 3 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 3 Day 4 of Natemamu ritual: Early rise, preparation of Natem medicine, Ritual
April 4 Temazcal and Closure of Natemamu, Night: San Pedro medicine ceremony
April 5 Closure of the retreat, Departures or additional stay
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Centro de Saberes Ancestrales Yankuam, Yankuam, Macas, Ecuador
Directions
From Quito airport take the bus (USD 6) or taxi (USD 40) to the Quitumbe land terminal.
From the Quitumbe land terminal take the bus to the Macas land terminal (USD 14).
From Macas take a taxi to Yankuam, Nueva Jerusalem neighborhood (USD 4).
The local currency in Ecuador is the US dollar. It is advisable to have 20 USD bills. Those of greater denomination are not accepted everywhere.
From the Quitumbe land terminal take the bus to the Macas land terminal (USD 14).
From Macas take a taxi to Yankuam, Nueva Jerusalem neighborhood (USD 4).
The local currency in Ecuador is the US dollar. It is advisable to have 20 USD bills. Those of greater denomination are not accepted everywhere.
Accommodation
You can choose whether to sleep in a private tent or in a straw hut shared with other people.
Program Price
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
The Yankuam center is located on an ancient Shuar necropolis overlooking the Rio Upano.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
The diet is based on local organic products.
On some days we will fast or eat light for ceremony or ritual purpose.
What's Included
- Everything is included:
- Ceremonies
- Rituals
- Meals
- Drinks
- Accommodation
- Local transport between event locations
- Jungle hike
- Translator
What's Not Included
- The journey to Yankuam. From Quito airport to Macas the bus costs 20 dollars (change at the Quitumbe terminal). From Macas to Yankuam the taxi costs 4 dollars.
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