How To Find The Right Ayahuasca Retreat For You
You’ve heard the call. You know it’s the right time. You want to drink ayahuasca tea. Now what?
First of all, congratulations on reaching this point. It takes courage to commit to the decision of drinking ayahuasca. Now, you’re tasked with finding a retreat center where you feel safe and comfortable enough to surrender to the medicine and have the transformative experience you’re seeking.
Ayahuasca tourism has taken off in recent years, with more and more ayahuasca retreats popping up and indigenous communities opening up their doors to Western visitors.
However, not all retreat centers are created equal.
The kind of experience you have will depend on things like the tradition that the ceremony leaders come from, the location of the center, the level of luxury of the center, and much more.
Deciphering all of the options and understanding how they differ (and which are trustworthy) can be a difficult process — especially for someone who may be new to the world of plant medicine. This is a decision that requires careful consideration, and there are plenty of factors to weigh up before settling on your destination.
For this reason, we’ve put together this article on how you can find the best retreat center for you. But first of all…
What Exactly Is An Ayahuasca Retreat?
The global interest in ayahuasca experiences has steadily grown over the last couple of decades, and the industry has experienced a boom in recent years. While many Amazonian populations would traditionally hold ayahuasca ceremonies in a ceremonial maloka or center in their communities, the interest in the medicine from Western visitors has sparked the emergence of purpose-built retreat centers.
These retreat centers have been built for tourists looking to experience spiritual healing with ayahuasca and offer all lodging, food, and of course — the ceremonies.
Here are the top things you need to consider when choosing a retreat.
Do You Want To Stay At Home Or Go Abroad?
One of the first things to think about when deciding whether to attend an ayahuasca ceremony or retreat in your own country or abroad is legality. If you’re based in the U.S. or another country where ayahuasca is (for the most part) illegal, you may have to locate an underground practitioner that’s holding ceremonies.
For obvious reasons, this poses a few risks, and could land you in legally murky waters should something go wrong. Not to mention, because of the underground nature of these ceremonies, they are usually held during a single night or weekend rather than at a fully-fledged retreat center over an extended period of time.
This takes away many of the benefits of going to a retreat — such as the opportunity to integrate the experience and connect with fellow participants between ceremonies.
In the U.S., the Brazilian-originating ayahuasca churches Santo Daime and União do Vegetal (UDV) have legal permission to hold ayahuasca ceremonies, so these are also an option if you prefer to stay at home and do things above ground.
If choosing to go abroad to a country like Peru, Brazil, or Costa Rica where ayahuasca is legal, you can find fully legal ayahuasca retreats in beautiful, authentic settings and often with indigenous shamans. Staying at a retreat center for a week or longer allows you to go deeper with the medicine and remain in a supportive environment that’s conducive to your integration.
What Is The Background And Experience Of Ceremony Leaders?
It’s estimated that around 130 indigenous groups from across the Northwest Amazon use ayahuasca in a ceremonial setting.
You may choose to drink with healers from the Shipibo-Conibo peoples of Peru, the Inga of Colombia, the Huni Kuin of Brazil, the Cofán of Ecuador, or one of the many other ayahuasca cultures that originate in the Amazon rainforest.
The tradition you choose can greatly influence the experience you have.
For example, traditional Shipibo ceremonies are accompanied by the icaros (traditional chants) of the curanderos and curanderas and tend to go until the early hours of the morning, whereas yagé (the name of the medicine in Colombia and Ecuador) ceremonies often incorporate multiple instruments, including harmonica, guitar, flute, and singing, and tend to last until sunrise.
You may also find retreat centers whose ceremonies are led by mestizo or non-indigenous healers, many of whom have trained in a certain lineage or with an indigenous maestro. In any case, it’s important to understand who the ceremony leader(s) trained with, which lineage they come from, how long they have been drinking ayahuasca, and crucially — how long they have been leading ceremonies.
It’s vital to make sure that those holding the ceremonies have the necessary experience and training. Many untrained and charlatan shamans have emerged in recent years as a result of the ayahuasca tourism boom, and attending ceremonies held by these false healers can be dangerous for participants’ physical, mental, and spiritual health.
“It’s not enough to have drunk ayahuasca a few times, or for a year,” explains Taita Alexander Mutumbajoy, an indigenous healer from the Inga community of Putumayo, Colombia. “The knowledge starts to come after 15 years of drinking the medicine. It’s a life of a lot of discipline,” he says.
It’s also worth enquiring how many people are on hand to support the participants during the ceremony and at other points during the retreat, and what kind of experience do these facilitators have.
“It’s very important that the team of facilitators that support the taita (shaman) during the retreat have experience with the medicine and that we are committed to our own healing process,” says Catalina Munar Guerrero M.D., founder of PAMI and integration guide. “It’s important that we have empathy for others and coherence and order in our lives. This is what allows our support to be well-received by the medicine and effective in our role for the participants.”
Is The Retreat Center Engaged In Ethical And Sustainable Practices?
Unfortunately, there are retreat centers out there whose primary motive for holding ceremonies is making money, and social and environmental responsibility often comes last — or not at all.
It’s important to enquire with the retreat center about the ways in which they engage in ecologically and ethically sound practices.
For example, the ceremony leaders should know exactly how the brew is prepared, what it contains, and where it came from if they didn’t prepare it themselves. It’s also worth asking about whether or not the plants that make up ayahuasca (the ayahuasca vine and the chacruna or chagropanga leaves) were grown with sustainable methods that don’t deplete resources.
Particularly if the retreat center is owned or run by Westerners, you might want to enquire into how they engage in indigenous reciprocity. This is essentially giving back to the indigenous communities that have safeguarded the ayahuasca tradition for millennia by supporting their self-determined needs. This might entail support for things like community educational initiatives or reforestation projects.
For example, the team from Soltara Healing Center raised considerable funds and completed educational projects for the Libertad community in the Peruvian Amazon before settling in Costa Rica, where they continue to give back to the local ecosystem.
What Kind Of Comfort Level Do You Require?
Would you prefer to go to the depths of the Peruvian jungle to drink ayahuasca or stay in a stylish retreat center on the beaches of Costa Rica? Are you willing to pay for luxury or would you rather stay on the budget end of the spectrum?
Many retreat centers offer private rooms or bungalows for a higher price for guests that would like some privacy during the retreat, and shared rooms or communal sleeping areas for a lower cost.
Generally, the higher the price, the more of a comfort level you’ll get.
Expect to pay at least $1,500-$2,000 for a good, multi-day retreat that has all of the amenities you may need, as well as bilingual facilitators who can translate if necessary. For something more luxury, you’re looking at upwards of $3,000 per retreat.
What Is The Intake Process Like?
If the retreat center accepts visitors to participate in ceremony with 0 questions — that’s a red flag. Every good retreat center should have a proper intake process where they vet guests and verify that they’re in the right place, physically and mentally, to drink ayahuasca.
This vetting process should include gaining information on any history of mental illness, physical health conditions, whether or not the guest is taking any medication, as well as their intentions for drinking ayahuasca.
For example, The Temple of the Way of Light, a Shipibo healing center located in the Peruvian Amazon, states on its website that it has “developed the most stringent health and safety protocols available on any ayahuasca retreat in Peru.
The Temple’s commitment to guests begins with in-depth medical and psychological screening during our booking procedure and continues after the retreat through our integration support.”
A good retreat center should also provide guidelines and resources to help you prepare for the ceremonies, especially when it comes to dietary requirements and spiritual preparation.
It’s crucial to properly prepare for an ayahuasca retreat, and having some support from the retreat facilitators ahead of time can make a huge difference in how much you get out of the experience. And whatever other questions you may have that aren’t answered during the intake process should be well received by retreat organizers during the intake process.
What Kind Of Support Is Available During And Post-Retreat?
The support offered during retreats at Hummingbird Healing Center, for example, includes lifestyle coaching, help with setting intentions, circle meetings, and natural cleansing processes such as plant baths and tobacco purges.
“Sharing circles in particular allow people to express what they’ve experienced and to learn from the healing paths of others. They also allow us as guides to better support participants and understand their process,” says Dr. Munar Guerrero.
Additionally, Ivaylo Govedarov — the founder of Colibri Garden, an ayahuasca retreat facilitator, and an integration coach — says the following.
“Activities such as workshops and 1:1 coaching sessions help to build connections amongst the group of participants and allow them to draw more meaning from their experiences. Outdoor activities like hikes and time spent in nature also help forge bonds between participants, which often go on to last much longer than the days or weeks spent at the retreat.
“Some centers may also be able to offer post-retreat 1:1 integration coaching or therapy as an add-on. This is a great opportunity to get the support you need to turn the insights you received during the ceremonies into long-term, sustainable changes in your life,” he explains.
If you’re new to ayahuasca and are looking to maximize the benefit you get from the medicine, it’s worth checking with the retreat center what kind of activities and coaching they offer to support your integration.
Whatever retreat center you choose, the most important thing is that you are safe and properly looked after while journeying with the medicine. Once you’re assured on the safety front, other factors such as location, comfort level, and integration support also come into play.
Hopefully, this guide will help you make this decision and find the right ayahuasca retreat for your needs.
Words by Magdalena Tanev. Follow Magda on Twitter and Instagram, or check out her website.
