A Month in the Jungle, Part 4: Doing a Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Retreat

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My impetus for spending a month in the Amazonian jungle of Peru was to further my studies to become a shaman by doing a plant diet and ayahuasca retreat with my teacher’s teacher at a place about 20kms outside of Iquitos.

There are many such retreat centres in the jungle, and each one has a different flavour and system, largely according to the presiding shaman. Here is a general overview of the plant diet process, as I experienced it.

This post was originally published in 2015. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.

Isolation

Isolation is a key element to doing a plant diet. Both isolation from communication (such as internet) and society, but also isolation from others. You’re not even supposed to touch anybody during the time that you’re on a plant diet.

I was initially terrified of the idea of having no connection to the outside world and nothing to do and very little interaction with others for a whole month, but after a week or so, I got into a groove and appreciated the experience. I even considered it a holiday. How luxurious not to have to do much of anything, and just to be with myself! This is something we rarely (if ever) afford ourselves in life.

I started off occupying my time as much as possible with books, walks, yoga, and anything else I could find to do, looking often at the clock during the seemingly interminable days; but eventually I took joy in simply swinging on my hammock, listening to jungle sounds, and napping.

The reasoning behind this isolation is not only for introspection, but also because plants are pretty quiet (duh), with subtle energy. When doing a plant diet and connecting with the spirit of a plant, you need to quiet your surroundings โ€“ inner and outer โ€“ to become sensitive to the plant’s wisdom.

ayahuasca ceremony table in the jungle
Ceremony table, with a half-full bottle of ayahuasca in the background


Plant Diet Food

The food during a plant diet is very simple. The specifics vary depending on where you are, but generally there is no salt, sugar, spices, meat, and minimal (if any) use of oil. The only fruit allowed is the occasional slice of lemon squeezed over food or into drinking water. There is also strictly no consumption of alcohol, caffeine, or drugs โ€“ a requirement that should be observed for at least a week both before and after the retreat. (Chocolate is also a no-no after the retreat for at least a week, since it’s hard on the liver).

I expected the diet to be dull and soul-destroying, yet again was pleasantly surprised. Although I regularly fantasized about eating a juicy mango or some delectable sweet, I rarely missed salt and enjoyed a surprising amount of variety.

I was served foods like lentils, vegetables (both raw and stewed), eggs, fried plantains, the occasional piece of fish, a healthy amount of rice, and occasionally pasta. Simple yet delicious, one of my favourite meals (that wasn’t fish) consisted of boiled potatoes, beets, and carrots, with a squeeze of lemon on top served with a tomato salad and hard boiled egg.

Meals were served at 9am and 3pm daily, delivered in a tupperware container to my tambo. Eating just twice a day was another source of concern for me, but quantities were generous and I was rarely hungry. I realized a lot of my prior consumption of food had more to do with psychological cravings and having something to do rather than pure nutrition. Without choice in the matter, I got by โ€“ quite gracefully. (Though admittedly in the last week I was sustained by the knowledge that I’d be enjoying a syrupy hot cinnamon roll at Lima airport as a reward for my jungle diet penance).

Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Ayahuasca ceremonies were held on Tuesday and Friday nights at 8pm (the ceremony lasts 3-4 hours). On these days we only got one meal at 10am; as with any ayahuasca ceremony, fasting is a requirement, not only to increase the plant medicine’s effect, but also because ayahuasca is a purgative and you don’t want undigested food in your system.

ayahuasca ceremony maloca in the jungle
The ceremony temple

Ceremonies were held in an open-air (but roofed) temple in a jungle clearing, with participants having the freedom to move around outside the temple as they wished (though for the most part it’s expected that you stay in the temple, sometimes out of necessity as ayahuasca can be incapacitating).

As with most ayahuasca ceremonies, the owner and presiding shaman guided the ceremony process by singing Icaros (medicine songs), and because of my training and the plant I was dieting, I was given a chance to sing as well โ€“ which, in the throes of an ayahuasca experience, can be quite a feat.

150 year old ayahuasca vine
A 150-year old ayahuasca vine that was recently found in the area (ayahuasca is normally harvested at about 3 years for preparation to drink)


The Plant Diet Process

A major component to doing a retreat at this center (and many other similar jungle retreat centres) is the plant diet. Depending on your state of being, experience, and needs, the shaman will select a plant or tree from the jungle and make a brew with its leaves/flowers/bark/roots (depending on the plant), which you drink about 1/3 cup of twice daily. Though not an entheogen like ayahuasca or san pedro, the subtle effects of this plant medicine can be felt physically and spiritually, especially as the diet progresses. As such, my teacher generally insists on dieting a plant for at least a few weeks.

ayahuma flower
Ayahuma โ€“ a beautiful and fragrant plant that one of the participants at Sachamama was dieting

Ayahuasca is actually a brew of up to nine different โ€œmasterโ€ plants, including ayahuasca, chacruna, altaruna, tobacco, piri-piri, chiri sanango, canelilla, and others. Thus, it’s common to diet one of these master plants, but there are also a variety of others that can be dieted.

Chacruna bush
Chacruna bush โ€“ one of the main ingredients in the ayahuasca brew

I dieted the Altaruna plant, whose spirit helped me to work on self-expression (understanding and expressing my needs as well as knowing my boundaries), opening my heart, understanding subtle energies, and ultimately to be able to capture and express the spirits of plants when I sing icaros in ceremonies that I assist with (and am being trained to eventually lead). Altaruna also works on opening both the throat and third eye chakras. Although altaruna might be prescribed/dieted for other reasons, the above (and more) is exactly what I got from the experience.

altaruna plant
Altaruna

I will likely be doing another plant diet at home in the Sacred Valley (with my teacher) later this year, and I’ll return to the jungle next June for another one. It was a transformative experience that I’m ever so grateful for, and would recommend for anybody who is serious about working with plant medicine to further their spiritual and physical well-being.

Other articles in this โ€œMonth in the Jungleโ€ series:

Part 1: Iquitos

Part 2: Jungle Life: What to Bring and What to Expect

Part 3: Jungle Critters (For Better and Worse)

And Part 5: Excerpts from my Jungle Journal!

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17 thoughts on “A Month in the Jungle, Part 4: Doing a Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Retreat”

  1. Loved reading about your experience Nora, it’s nice to see Ayahuasca being used for it’s intended purpose, we experienced in Colombia. I do hope you’ll be still in Peru when we get there… possibly Sept/Oct, would love to have a chat about your shaman training.

    • Hi Jo,
      I’ve got a few side trips in September, I’ll be around! Please do get in touch when you’re in the area.

  2. Hi Nora,

    I don’t comment much and am just getting caught up on your blogs. All I can say is WOW!! You should be very proud of yourself for listening to that voice inside that guides you with what you should be doing or going. You have not always had an easy journey and I thank you for posting those down times. You are truly healing your soul and I’m sure will do that for others as well. My boyfriend is from Peru, and I hope to one day visit this lovely, magical place.

    I’m reading your past posts, there is never the best time and plenty of “buts” to get in the way, however this is our life. I’m a planner kind of person so it’s hard to take that leap, but being in my mid 40’s just can’t see working the grind for another 30 years or so.

    Take care, you are a great inspiration! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Tina
    Northern CA

    • Hi Tina,
      Thanks for your kind words and all your reading! I’m so glad you’re inspired to take a different path instead of maintaining the status quo for the next 30 (or so) years!
      And who knows -maybe one day, we’ll meet in Peru! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. This is incredible! So glad I found this post. I’m so interested in Ayuahasca, and going to a proper ceremony is definitely on the bucket list. Hopefully in a couple years when I make it down to South America! Thanks for sharing!

    • Hey Jones – awesome! Maybe I’ll meet you one day in Peru when you’re doing a ceremony…. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Amazing! I did a retreat very similar to this about 5 years ago. I almost thought you were at the same place from some of your pictures! I loved reading about your experience and everything you went through. Ayahuasca is incredible isn’t it? I definitely left the jungle a better person than when I went in. Thank you for sharing your story!

    • Hi Sadie,
      I’m so glad you had an awesome experience in the jungle yourself! Yes, ayahuasca is a game-changer for sure. Any plans to return to the jungle?

      • Maybe some day in the future. I have done a couple of ceremonies since the jungle, but I haven’t been able to return to Peru.

  5. I hope to do this one day. I went to Peru for a month six years ago for several ayahuasca ceremonies but unfortunately ended up in the hands of a devious “shaman”. I blame my own naivetรฉ at the time. It’s so important to be in the right company with the right (good) people. I am following your journey and maybe someday I’ll return when you are the shaman!

    • Hi Laura,
      Sorry you ended up in the wrong hands…which can be quite scary when it comes to doing plant medicine ceremonies.
      Stay tuned for my own shamanistic endeavours – and if you find yourself in Peru’s Sacred Valley in the meantime, let me know; I assist my teacher with almost all of his ceremonies.

  6. Hello Nora,

    I’ve been researching centers that offer dieta retreats and while looking for more information about Sachamama, I came across testimonies of sexual abuse by Francisco Montes. I felt it was important to inform you of this since you advertise this center and I believe that sharing this type of information is very important for everyone’s safety.

    Kind regards

    • Thank you for sharing this information, Larry. I’m so sorry this has come up. You may have noticed that I am quite careful NOT to advertise the center; I named it but did not link to it nor did I actually recommend it. However on receipt of this comment, I am now removing the name of the center entirely from my article.

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