Don Ron Wheelock first traveled to Iquitos, Peru in 1996, at a time when reaching the remote Amazon was still a true adventure. Determined to find a spiritual teacher, he made his way to Tamshiyacu, a small village a few hours upriver from Iquitos by boat, where he met Don Augustin Rivas Vasquez, a local Indigenous shaman of the Mestizo tradition. After that first meeting, Ron arranged a five-month intensive training to become a shamanic healer through the use of the psychedelic plant ayahuasca, becoming one of the first Westerners to fully immerse himself in Amazonian shamanic practices.
Born in Independence, Kansas in 1955, Ron grew up in a small community and developed an early curiosity about how things worked. As a child, he spent time exploring the local junkyard, taking engines apart and putting them back together. That hands-on nature stayed with him, and he remains a skilled carpenter and mechanic today. In his youth, he also developed a strong love for rock-and-roll and Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Ron later entered the underground, and then illegal, marijuana industry, which eventually led to multiple arrests. In 1995, he was sentenced to five months in state prison. During that period, he reflected deeply on his life and decided that he wanted something more. Years earlier, he had seen an ad in Shaman’s Drum about the Peruvian Amazon, and he made a promise to himself that once he was released, he would seek out a spiritual teacher in the jungle. That decision marked the beginning of his path with ayahuasca.
He honored that commitment in 1996, traveling to Iquitos, Peru. After five months of apprenticeship with Don Agustin in Tamshiyacu, including many plant diets, Don Ron began studying with Don Jose Coral Mori, teacher of Pablo Amaringo and Eduardo Luna, the authors of Ayahuasca Visions. After four years of learning from both teachers, he began working independently in 2000.
After more than a decade of working from his home in a small village outside Iquitos, Don Ron purchased 20 acres of land accessible by car and began building a proper camp for travelers seeking healing with ayahuasca and experiences with other master plants. That project became El Purguero. He began offering ayahuasca workshops and master plant dietas there, and welcomed nearly 40 people to his first major event on December 12, 2012. Since then, he has guided thousands more through life-changing experiences.
Today, Don Ron Wheelock is widely known in Peru as the Gringo Shaman of the Amazon. In traditional cultures, a shaman communicates with the spirit world and serves as an intermediary, asking spirits to help heal illness or grant favors. The title was given to Ron with respect, recognizing him as a powerful ayahuasquero and curandero.
As an ayahuasquero, he has trained under a maestro ayahuasquero and knows how to prepare the ayahuasca brew, complete the icaros and prayers during preparation, set up the maloca for ceremony, and guide the experience. As a curandero, he works with a wide range of plant and tree bark dietas, forming strong bonds with these plant allies so they can assist in ceremony and healing. He also works with different energies and spirits, a skill that is especially important in ayahuasca ceremonies, where a person’s energy opens significantly.
Unlike larger ayahuasca retreats with many participants and a team of shamans, Don Ron works with small groups and leads all ceremonies himself, without an assistant. His many years in Peru have given him a deep connection to the people, culture, and language, and as someone from Kansas, he can answer questions about Mother Ayahuasca directly, without a translator.
Following the traditional methods used by Indigenous shamans for centuries, Don Ron prepares ayahuasca by harvesting the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and boiling it for several days. With continual prayer over the mixture, the medicine is then ready for ceremony. In Peru, his medicine is known for being among the strongest and purest available, and it is used by many well-known ayahuasca retreats in the region. Still, it is said to work best when taken with its maker, and especially under his guidance at his jungle ayahuasca retreat in Iquitos, El Purguero.