Ayahuasca Retreat Iquitos, Peru
El Purguero is an Ayahuasca Camp situated 23 km from the jungle city of Iquitos, Peru. It is owned and operated by Ayahuasquero Ronald Joe Wheelock, affectionally known as The Gringo Shaman of the Amazon. Don Ron has been serving the community as an Ayahuasquero for nearly 30 years.
As his reputation as a strong healer and expert brewer led Don Ron to buy land at km 23 Iquitos and build El Purguero Ayahuasca Retreat. The camp has been open since November 2012 and hosted its first private group of 30 people in December 2012. El Purguero is dedicated to healing. El Purguero serves the most mature ayahuasca, prepared and cooked by Don Ron. El Purguero’s ayahuasca is considered the purest and strongest in Iquitos and Don Ron provides his ayahuasca to many of the retreats in the area. The camp is set in a lush jungle with natural streams and an abundance of fruit and medicinal plants.
About Iquitos, Peru
Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest and is known as the Ayahuasca capital of the world. Ayahuasca tourism is now a vital part of the Iquitos economy with Westerners seeking traditional shamanic experiences and healings using the visionary Amazonian medicine. Besides, bringing “spiritual tourism” to Iquitos, Ayahuasca is also being used in three new religions in Brazil. It has been credited with curing thousands of alcoholics and drug addicts and is being studied by pharmacologists around the world.
Iquitos is hot and humid (90 percent), year round. The population is very diverse: there were many periods of big wealth in Iquitos (mainly two with rubber and oil) that brought people from around the world and made it the most important fluvial port in the Peruvian Amazon. The city still has a lot of houses which were built during that age. ‘Iquiteños’ (or ‘Iquitinos’) are usually very friendly and like to party.​
As a city not accessible by road, motorcycles, and motor cars dominate unlike anywhere else. Imagine if an American style biker-gang had taken over a city. This makes the city a bit more manic and loud. Other results include remarkably fluid (if chaotic) traffic, a preponderance of motorcycle ads and repair shops, and a sub-industry of people who agree to guard your motorcycle while you shop (even placing the cardboard on the seat to keep it cooler during the day).
Travelers should be aware that Iquitos is located in the region of Loreto, one of the poorest regions in Peru. Though there are remnants of houses from glory days past, it is easy to observe the poverty and struggles of many Iquiteños in everyday life. Unfortunately, the government’s solution has been to give the people economic incentives to use the rainforest for income without ecological supervision or constraint.
The region has long suffered a deeply entrenched illegal logging and wood laundering system which supplies raw material for several international corporations, including the most popular international manufacturer of compressed wood furniture.
Visitors to Iquitos should choose their activities, shopping and jungle trips carefully to avoid contributing to further destruction of this fragile region.