Psychonauta Foundation

Psychonauta Foundation

Psychonauta is a word play, based on proximity of our home base to town called Nauta. It is older than Iquitos, first port in the region marked on naval maps. Word “nauta” itself is rooted in Latin and means navigator. So “psychonauta” is voyager into infinite depths of own soul, that mystics of humankind recognize as reflection of universe. They have known a great many of techniques and tools for undertaking this journey. In our case we are drawing from indigenous traditions of use of master plants. Teachers and healers from wider circle of life than our limited human world. We are based in Amazon, so our work is based on use of local plants, including most famous of them, ayahuasca. But we also do projects in the Andes and beyond South America, always guided by principle of intentions and right tools to achieve it.

Second part of our name, Foundation, does not only refer to legal or organizational structure, but suggests that to succesfully embark on the journey mentioned above, and most of all, return from it with rich bounty, we should be properly prepared, to avoid getting lost or drowned. To use metaphor from plant kingdom surrounding us, to grow in a stable way, to reach ever higher, stable foundation – deep roots, strong trunk, a network of connections – is simply a must. Plants show us there is no rush, that things should be done step by step, with patience. In current explosion of interest in psychedelics, including therapeutical use of psychoactive plants, this issue will be increasingly important, and we are doing our part by focusing of serious training of future psychonauts, as well as potential captains of their ships – psychedelic guides and healers.

About our place :

Our headquarters is based in the jungle, 100 km and around 2 hours away from Iquitos in northern Peru. It is a quiet, off-grid settlement with permanent residents, including children, and private huts for guests coming to our retreats. The place is rustic, designed with intention of maximum immersion in nature, compromised with need for providing safety for humans. 

We are based at around 30 ha of our private forest that we commited to keep as such forever. Beyond, thousands more hectares of pristine jungle stretch until the horizon. We realize our dream, living and working in the Amazon forest, near plants, close to nature, close to the local healers’ community. 

We came to this piece of land in 2015, slowly and prudently built houses and infrastructure, so as to least interfere with the forest we found at the beginning. We designed the whole resort with the idea of deep work with plants during diets in the Shipibo tradition, as well as more social, group setting of open retreats.

All buildings are fully screened from mosquitoes and other insects. Mosquitoes are not a big nuisance here and malaria risk very low ( no cases ever reported among our guests ), so we do not recommend malaria medication.

We always pick our guests from Iquitos airport, and from that moment you do not have to worry about any logistics. 

We are about 30 minutes away from local clinic, in case of emergency, but it has never been needed in our history.

Some of our guests join our conservation efforts and decide to invest in buying more forest land to keep it in its natural state, and we can help in that process. Some have already settled with us for good.

There are small streams running through our property, and around 20 minutes walk away one of largest tributaries of Amazon called Maranon, where pink dolphins can be seen. 

A few hours away on this river, Pacaya Samiria begins, second biggest protected natural area in Peru and one of the best spots for nature tourism lovers, so you may leave some days after your retreat for extra adventure.