17 Days in the Peruvian Amazon · 7 Ceremonies · 3 Master Plant Brews · Shipibo Lineage
Led by Shipibo Elder Maestro Gilberto Mahua · with Maja Vučenović & Marco Gonzalez
Photo © Jack Anderson A Master Plant Dieta is a profound opportunity to cleanse, learn and heal through the power of the teacher plants — expanding our awareness so that we can live in greater alignment with our higher purpose, releasing that which does not serve our lives through this ancient healing tradition.
Unlike a single ceremony, a Dieta is a sustained immersion. The plant works with you over weeks, revealing teachings through dreams, visions, and the body itself. In the Ucayali — the place where the medicine was born — the jungle itself is the medicine.
We wholeheartedly invite you to be a part of this transformative experience that brings much deep healing and grace to our lives.
Papa Gilberto has learnt from the plants and his ancestral lineage of curanderos. His first dieta was at the young age of 11, lasting for approximately 12 months. He has since been committed to a path of dieting and curanderismo.
Now, at age 77, he continues to transmit and share the grace of the grandmother medicine. He is an exceptional Maestro of the Palos, embodying a very strong connection with different plant doctors that have the power to heal us on many different levels.
Papa Gilberto Mahua works with the medicine in an impeccable manner. His icaros — the language of the spirit of the plants — are powerful chants that clean, align and harmonise our whole being. He is a very humble man and lives his life supporting his family and community.
The resources generated through this program are invested in optimising the infrastructure of the village of Paohyan — held in partnership between Casa Arkaana and Casa Yage Solar, the centre operated by Maestro Gilberto and his family.
Maja and Marco have been dieting and apprenticing alongside Maestro Gilberto for many years. Together they hold the container around each participant — preparation, integration, and the daily life of the Dieta.
In a 1:1 consultation on arrival, Maestro Gilberto Mahua identifies which plant is right for your healing — based on your history, intentions, and what he sees. Available plants include:
Princess of the Jungle
Emotional body. Grief, loss, trauma. Heart-opening. Heightens empathy and compassion. Spiritual grounding. Not recommended if you are trying to conceive.
Fire of Purification
Central nervous system. Strengthens spirit. Enhances the dream world — teachings can appear long after the Dieta is complete. Arthritis & joints. Inner fire.
Cannon Ball Tree
One of the strongest Palos. Deep protection and understanding of all other teacher plants. Works through the dream world. Usually for those with prior Dieta experience.
The Tree of Light
Beyond classification. Almost extinct — hides itself, reveals only to those who are ready. A direct energetic transmission from the Maestro. Highly purifying, illuminating, deeply transformational.
Wind Tree
Available on consultation with the Maestro. Works through breath and the subtle body.
The Bone Healer
Physical trauma — broken bones, structural injuries, long-standing structural pain. Heals what the body holds long after the visible wound is gone. Only in particular circumstances with prior dieta experience.
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is a powerful Amazonian brew used for centuries by indigenous peoples. It works in synergy with your Master Plant — deepening the healing process and offering guidance through direct insight. In ceremony, Maestro Gilberto's icaros — the sacred medicine songs of the plant spirits — guide, protect, and direct the experience.
Photo © Jurriën Mikael van der Waals
The Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet — a vast, living jungle threaded by the powerful Ucayali River, home to pink river dolphins, macaws, jaguars, and countless medicinal plants. To diet in the Ucayali is to diet in the place where the medicine was born.
The plants you drink grow in the jungle outside your tambo. The icaros that guide you at night are the living, trans-generational voice of this land and lineage.
We will be dieting in the village of Paohyan — a Shipibo indigenous community situated on the banks of the Ucayali River, approximately 6 hours by motor boat from Pucallpa. The Ucayali region has been home to the Shipibo-Konibo people for centuries — one of the great guardians of Amazonian plant medicine.
The ancestral knowledge of the jungle, of art and of healing traditions still remains alive. Visiting Paohyan offers the rare privilege of encountering this living culture in its own territory.
Photo © Jurriën Mikael van der Waals
The centre in which we will be dieting, Sama Nete Xobo, is held by Gilberto Mahua and his family. It sits in the heart of the village. This space has held decades of plant medicine work, fully immersed in the Shipibo tradition, the Mahua lineage and the ancient energy of the Amazonian master plants.
Each participant is assigned a tambo — a small, basic wooden hut with mosquito nets, simple furnishings, and a small patio for hanging a hammock. Shared ecological bathrooms are located close to the Maloka (ceremonial space). The tambos are a great place to relax and to have time for introspection and integration during your dieta.
We will spend one night either side of our time in Paohyan at Manish Eco Hotel in Pucallpa — Green Key certified, a recognition of excellence in environmental sustainability.
With lush gardens, a swimming pool, and an Amazonian restaurant with a dedicated dieta-friendly menu, Manish serves as the ideal base for arrival and return. We help with currency exchange (Soles), the visit to the Pucallpa market, and transportation between airport and hotel.
Each element of the programme is woven into the rhythm of the Dieta — ceremonies at night, integration in the morning, the daily life of the Shipibo village around you.
At the heart of the programme are seven Ayahuasca ceremonies — expertly guided by Shipibo Elder Maestro Gilberto Mahua. Held at night in the Maloka, his powerful icaros guide, protect, and heal each participant. He leaves no stone unturned.
The plant you will be dieting is macerated, in a liquid form, and taken on alternate days between ceremonies — three times. These macerations open a direct relationship with your plant teacher, whose healing continues to unfold throughout the Dieta and long after.
A safe space to land and make sense of your experience. These circles support the essential work of integrating the medicine's teachings into your life and help you understand the plants and the technology of dieta.
Gentle Yoga and Meditation will support the work in the physical, mental and emotional body. Designed to ground and stabilise the sensitised nervous system during Dieta, these sessions support inner listening, emotional release and embodied integration. All levels welcome.
A living relationship with the Shipibo icaros — the sacred medicine songs at the essence of this tradition. Learn how icaros work, their energetic structure, and begin opening your voice as a channel for healing, learning and cleansing.
An ancient Amazonian healing practice using flowers, herbs and aromatic plants gathered from the surrounding jungle. Prepared by Papa Gilberto's family, the infused waters are poured gently over the body — cleansing the energy field, restoring softness and protection.
Guided by members of the Mahua family into the living pharmacy of the Amazonian forest. Encounter Master Plants in their natural habitat, learn their traditional uses, and begin to see the jungle as the Shipibo do — a community of intelligent healing spirits.
A creative integration practice using images, colour and intuitive composition. Participants give form to the visions and intentions received during the Dieta. No artistic skill required — only openness. Vision Boards often become powerful guides for the months that follow.
A heart-opening circle to celebrate the closing of the Dieta. Cacao — a sacred medicine of the meso-american cultures — brings warmth, connection, clarity and gratitude into the field. A sweet, bitter and earthy bridge from the depth of the jungle into the fullness of the heart.
An invitation to understand the cultural and spiritual framework from which the Mahua Lineage emerges. This talk illuminates the Shipibo understanding of the world and the plant spirits. Hear stories that expand what we might already know about the plants and the tradition.
Women from the community gather to share their handmade artesanía — intricately embroidered fabrics encoded with medicine vision patterns, jewellery and weavings. Purchasing here is a direct act of support for the women's economy and the families of Paohyan.
Two nights bookend our jungle time — one before, one after — at Manish Eco Hotel. The evening before Paohyan: currency exchange, market visit, a good rest. After the Dieta, a soft landing before departure. Green Key certified — sustainable hospitality.
A draft program — subject to minor changes. The container holds firm; specific timings honor each day's energy and what the medicine asks.
Please note: this is a draft program subject to minor changes.
Early Bird pricing closes May 15, 2026.
A Dieta is an ancient Amazonian apprenticeship practice where a participant enters into an intimate relationship with a specific plant teacher through isolation, dietary restrictions, and direct ingestion of that plant over a sustained period. Unlike a single ceremony, a Dieta is a sustained immersion — the plant works with you over weeks, revealing teachings through dreams, visions, and the body itself. And then it stays. It is like planting a seed in your inner landscape. The way you nourish it is through acknowledging it, seeing into it, entering the frequency of this plant — long after you leave the jungle. It is an invitation to heal and to study with the plants.
This program is for those who feel a genuine call to work deeply with the plants — whether it is your first time or you have sat in ceremony before. The 17-day commitment, the dietary restrictions, the simplicity of jungle life — these are not hardships to endure but the precise conditions under which the plants do their deepest work. Come if you are ready to be changed.
The plant is chosen in consultation with Maestro Gilberto Mahua based on your intentions, history, and what he sees as most appropriate for you. Plants available include Bobinsana, Chiric Sanango, Noya Rao, Huaira Caspi, Ayahuma, and Machinga. Each plant works differently — on the emotional body, the nervous system, the physical body, the dream world. Machinga (deep physical trauma) is only available in particular circumstances with prior dieta experience.
The Dieta asks you to avoid salt, sugar, spices, pork, alcohol, sexual activity, and strong external stimulation. These are not arbitrary rules — they are the conditions under which the plant relationship is established and protected. Food is prepared ceremonially and is plain but nourishing. Some restrictions extend beyond your return home. Maja and Marco will walk you through everything before and during the program.
You will stay in a tambo — a small, basic wooden hut in the heart of a living Shipibo village. Mosquito nets, basic furnishings, a small patio for a hammock. Shared ecological bathrooms nearby. Intermittent power in the evening hours. This is not a luxury retreat center. The simplicity is intentional — it creates the quiet, the presence, and the grounding the plants need to work. Many guests describe the tambos as unexpectedly peaceful.
Many guests come for their first time. The container is held with care, lineage, and safety at the foundation. Maestro Gilberto has over 60 years of experience dieting people. Maja and Marco have been apprenticing with Maestro Gilberto for many years. You will not be alone. That said, certain medications (especially SSRIs and MAOIs) are contraindicated. Maja will walk through your medical history with you personally before any deposit is made.
Pucallpa (PCL) has its own airport with connections from Lima (approximately 1 hour). We suggest arriving the afternoon before the program (August 3rd) or the morning of August 4th. We arrange transportation from Pucallpa airport to Manish Eco Hotel and help with currency exchange (Soles) before heading into the jungle.
The work does not end when you leave the jungle. One month after the Dieta concludes, a virtual integration session is included. The dream world often continues to deliver teachings for weeks — sometimes months — after the Dieta is complete. The plants are patient teachers.
All payments are non-refundable. Your spot is fully transferable — to a future date or to another person. The $1,000 USD deposit secures your place. The balance is due upon arrival.
Tell us about yourself. Maja will reach out personally to walk through medical readiness and answer your questions before any deposit is made.
Maja
Lead Facilitator · Casa Arkaana
17 days. 7 ceremonies. A living Shipibo village deep in the Peruvian Amazon. Maestro Gilberto Mahua, Maja, and Marco. One date in 2026 — August 4 to 20.
Or write directly: connect@casaarkaana.com