An Amazonian Healing Centre Rooted in Ancestral Plant Medicine
Takinuna is an Amazonian healing centre in Peru. The work with plant medicine is guided with care, attention, and respect for each person’s process. It is rooted in an ancestral tradition developed through direct practice and lived experience. Amazonian shamans lead the retreats, supported by psychological integration. This allows each participant to engage with what emerges, with space to understand and integrate the experience over time.
Rooted in the forest, guided by spirit, held with responsibility and heart.
The Foundation of Takinuna
Rooted in Ancestral Amazonian Plant Medicine
Takinuna was born from a shared intention among the Amazonian shamans who envisioned it, together with those who helped bring it into form.
From the beginning, the intention was to create a place where the work with plant medicine remains guided by those who carry the tradition. This work continues in continuity with their knowledge, their way of working, and the lineage they represent.
Amazonian shamans founded and direct Takinuna, keeping the work closely connected to those who guide it. They remain present throughout the process, accompanying each person with care, responsibility, and respect for the medicine.
This intention continues to shape how the work is held and developed at Takinuna today.
A Vision Rooted in the Amazonian Tradition
Takinuna Healing Centre was founded in 2019 by Amazonian shaman César Vásquez. The vision was shared with the shamans who were part of its beginnings, including Hermana Mari, Don Pedro, and others who helped shape the path of the centre.
From the beginning, the work has remained rooted in the Amazonian tradition. It is carried through ceremonies, plant treatments, and the direct guidance of the shamans throughout the process.
At Takinuna, ancestral Amazonian plant medicine is held within a living tradition, where knowledge is carried through experience, ceremony, and presence.
Integrating a Therapeutic Perspective into Amazonian Plant Medicine
As the work developed, Florencia Ferrari joined the team, bringing a psychotherapeutic perspective to the process. Since then, psychological integration has become an essential part of how we support the process. Learn more about our integration approach .
The retreats now include dedicated spaces for reflection, where participants can begin to understand and relate more consciously to what emerges during the ceremonies.
This integration works alongside the tradition, bringing a complementary perspective that supports the process with care, understanding, and space for integration.
Meet the Team Behind the Work
Amazonian shamans guide the work at Takinuna, working within the tradition of ancestral Amazonian plant medicine and supported by a psychotherapist who holds the integration process throughout the retreat.
The team remains present across different moments of the process — during ceremonies, in integration, and in the daily life of the retreat — offering care and attention at each stage.
César Vásquez
Founder & Amazonian Shaman
César is the founder of Takinuna and comes from a lineage of Amazonian curanderos and vegetalistas. He has worked with plant medicine for over 25 years, following the path of Ayahuasca, Huachuma, and other traditional plant treatments.
During ceremonies , he works through icaros and traditional practices. He guides the process and responds to what unfolds in each moment. His way of working is attentive and protective, with a strong sense of responsibility for the people in his care and for the space where the work takes place.
He brings a deep knowledge of the plants and how to work with them. Close presence throughout the process allows each participant to receive guidance and support when needed.
Outside of ceremony, consultations offer space for participants to share their experience and receive orientation, as well as recommendations for plant treatments when appropriate.
At Takinuna, his presence plays a central role in how the work unfolds, bringing together traditional knowledge with a grounded way of guiding the process.
Florencia Ferrari
Art Psychotherapist
Florencia is an art psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience in psychotherapy. She supports the integration process throughout the retreats.
After the ceremonies, she guides integration sessions where participants can reflect on their experience and begin to understand how it relates to their personal history. She also offers art therapy as a way to explore what may be difficult to express in words.
She remains present throughout the retreat, offering steady support as participants move through different moments of their process, especially when what arises feels challenging or difficult to hold.
In recent years, she has also been training within the Takinuna tradition, gradually deepening her understanding of the work through direct experience.
Her role brings a therapeutic perspective, supporting participants in understanding and integrating what emerges during the retreat.
The Team and Daily Support
Alongside the shamans and psychotherapist, a small team supports the retreat throughout its different moments.
They contribute to the care of the space — both during ceremonies and in the daily life of the retreat — helping to create a setting that feels calm, attentive, and stable.
This allows participants to remain focused on their process, knowing that the practical aspects of the retreat are handled with attention and responsibility.
Honouring the Lineage of Ancestral Amazonian Plant Medicine
At Takinuna, the work is guided not only by the living tradition, but also by the lineage of teachers who have transmitted this knowledge over time.
This lineage remains present in the work today, carried through the way Amazonian plant medicine is practiced and shared at Takinuna.
Some of these teachers were part of Takinuna during their lifetime and contributed directly to how the work began to take form. Although they are no longer physically present, their teachings, icaros, and ways of working continue to guide how the ceremonies are approached.
Don Israel Murayari
Amazonian Kokama Shaman
Don Israel Murayari was a respected healer from the Kokama tradition, with decades of dedication to working with Amazonian plant medicine.
He was known for his optimism and the way he approached each ceremony. For him, every ceremony was meaningful and part of the work. He often expressed his commitment in simple terms — to continue working as long as his strength allowed, giving himself fully to what was needed in each moment.
He lived simply, with very little for himself, yet gave generously through his work with others. His last ceremony took place only a few weeks before his passing, reflecting his lifelong commitment to the work.
During ceremonies, his presence was both protective and attentive. He remained closely connected to the lineage he carried, guiding the process and responding to what was unfolding.
Don Pedro Gutiérrez
Ayahuasca Shaman
Don Pedro Gutiérrez was an ayahuasca shaman deeply committed to his practice, known for the integrity and commitment he brought into his work, always oriented toward care and responsibility.
He was part of the early foundation of Takinuna, contributing to how the work began to take form and to the way the ceremonies continue to be guided today.
During ceremonies, his presence was clear and aligned with the medicine, expressed through his continuous work with icaros. Through his singing, he guided the process with clarity, paying close attention to each person and to what was unfolding in the space.
He worked from a deep respect for the medicine, maintaining a clear and consistent way of working, rooted in a responsible and healing-oriented approach to the plants, which he also shared with others through his example and guidance.
His knowledge of the plants, and the integrity and commitment with which he approached the work, remain part of how the medicine is carried forward at Takinuna.
Hermana Mari
Amazonian Shaman · Medicine Woman
Hermana Mari is remembered for her warmth, her attentiveness, and the way she related to others through the work with the medicine. She was called “Hermana” because she saw everyone as part of the same family within the medicine, relating to others with a sense of closeness and equality.
She brought a close and emotionally present way of accompanying the space, with a deep sense of care for both participants and the team throughout the ceremonies. Her way of being created an environment where people could feel more at ease, especially in moments when greater care and support were needed.
Her icaros carried a deeply maternal quality, with an energy that reached directly to the heart. Through her singing, she helped to calm, center, and hold the emotional process, especially during deeper or more challenging moments.
Many times, her icaros would guide people into a state of calm, peace, and connection, allowing what was unfolding to be accompanied with greater softness.
She also shared her knowledge through plant baths and other traditional practices, which continue to be part of the work at Takinuna today.
Her presence, her songs, and the care she carried into the space remain part of how the work is held.
Carrying the Work Forward with Care in Ancestral Amazonian Plant Medicine
The work at Takinuna continues to be guided by the same principles with which it was founded — a respect for the medicine, for the tradition, and for each person’s process.
It is carried forward through the presence of the shamans, the integration work, and the care of the team, allowing each retreat to unfold with attention, consistency, and a way of working that remains true to the roots of the centre.
This way of working is part of a broader system of traditional knowledge that has been preserved and transmitted across generations, and is increasingly recognised as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage .