An Ayahuasca retreat is an opportunity to work closely with an indigenous shaman through a guided journey into another dimension. The natural healing power of ayahuasca and other medicinal plants help ayahuasca retreat participants to reconnect to nature and to their true selves.
The Sanctuary is a shamanic healing center and branch of Oklevueha Native American Church, an Ayahuasca Church, located on the land of the Sacred White Dee, a Bee Sanctuary and certified wildlife habitat and holistic sanctuary with 6 acres of wild forest containing over 100+ fruit trees, edible bushes, and medicinal plants such as the coca leaf. You really will get a chance to connect with Mother Nature here.
The cleansing process involved in treatment coupled with the dietary restrictions during ayahuasca retreats make for a successful weight loss plan. It is very common to lose weight during a program, nearly guaranteed, but especially excess weight. We recently had someone lose 37lbs in three weeks (2lbs per day). Because the digestive system is rebalanced in the healing and the emotional issues at the core of the condition are addressed, weight usually continues to drop and stay off.
El Sol Retreats also has been a leader in providing preparation and integration coaching for the last 10 years, helping you to feel fully prepared for your journey into a deep healing experience with mother ayahuasca. Their approach is holistic and includes ways to prepare your body, mind, and soul for the experience, tools to navigate and ground yourself during the journey, and methods to overcome challenges.
I mentally traveled back in time to meet the first ancestor of my entire lineage, who danced in the woods morphing between two forms—that of a wolf and a man—before being suddenly transported to a cave full of drawings I couldn’t decipher but somehow understood. Next, I was whisked away in flight, sweeping across the snowy peaks of the Andes as the mountain range broke apart below me, almost like a game of Tetris. I saw Machu Picchu spinning on an axis of geometric cubes, twisting and turning as what appeared to be Lego-like warriors jumped in and out of the structure. Then, in a moment of engulfing hilarity, I lay in a fetal position completely consumed by laughter.
– 22 Ayahuasca ceremonies led by Shipibo curanderos– Authentic training in Shipibo curanderismo– Two plant dietas with Noya Rao and another plant– Daily lectures, workshops, and activities– Natural holistic treatment for afflictions– Ceremonial cushma, pomades, mapachos…– Mp3 player & USB with recordings, photos, and video.
This ayahuasca retreat center is under The União do Vegetal (UDV) is a Christian Spiritist religion that originated in Brazil and is recognized for their community and environmental service, and have hosted countless ayahuasca religious ceremonies. União do Vegetal literally means "the union of the plants," and their followers drink Hoasca, which is the sacred sacrament of plants indigenous to the Brazillian Amazon.
My first ayahuasca experience went something like this: After a shaman cleared my nostrils with rapé—a dried, powdered tobacco snuff that’s shot up participants’ noses with a pipe to begin a ceremony—I drank my first of three cups a snake in a pit of other snakes. I even lost all concept of my own appearance—what qualities my face had, from my nose to even the color of my eyes.
For those wanting a comfortable, amenity-rich retreat environment, some centers offer deluxe accommodations and customized support services alongside ayahuasca ceremonies. While more expensive, these can appeal to those wanting an extra degree of comfort, luxury, and personal care throughout the process.
PTSD and the negative effects of emotional trauma are helped tremendously by treatment with the indigenous healing tradition during our ayahuasca retreats in the Amazon. Using a series of remedies that help to release pent up emotions, unlock buried memories, and reroute unhealthy neural pathways, the tradition provides a path towards acceptance, self-love, and optimism for a bright future.
While no two ceremonies are the same, an ayahuasca retreat will typically follow a spiritually-similar thread that’s meant to evoke the utmost calm and protection of participants. If you do feel called to take part in a ceremony, it’s important to do your own research to find the right experience for you: I’ve traveled hours into the rainforest for ceremonies and walked away without participating because it didn’t feel right. Your intuition is often your best guide when deciding whether you feel safe with a certain facilitator or not. Here, a trusted selection of healers and retreat centers to consider for your ayahuasca journey.
El Sol Retreats, also commonly spoken about as Kentucky Ayahuasca, is a Retreat Guru favorite. They approach their ceremonies with a holistic attitude, and do not attempt to recreate Native American traditional ceremonies or maintain any dogmatic style. They are modern shamans and medicine people who are well trained.
Ayahuasca journeys can range from one-night events to multi-day dietas, which usually require a participant to refrain from any intense physical stimulants such as sex, alcohol, and rich foods for a period of time. Most ceremonies are held in a maloca, a wooden ceremonial structure with a thatched roof, and begin at sunset and end the following morning before dawn, lasting around five to six hours. In my experience, a ceremony usually includes fewer than 20 participants and begins with some type of cleansing initiation through the use of tobacco snuff, such as rapé, or mapacho. After ingesting the medicinal tea, most participants will experience a purging reaction, which could include vomiting or even a bowel movement. Participants can drink three cups—each about the size of an espresso shot—throughout the night. Shamans and healing elders usually sing icaros, or prayers through song, to facilitate a sense of calm and tranquility. While some ceremonies observe a practice known as noble silence, many rituals encourage participants to emote as necessary: crying, screaming, and purging included.
The treatment of ulcers goes beyond just the physical. Although the roots of the affliction are similar to acid reflux, the emotional aspects usually go deeper. A complete treatment is necessary. Our ayahuasca retreats have had very good results with the treatment of ulcers, but important lifestyle changes must follow. We assist with the maintenance of those changes.
What I’ve more or less accomplished and what I’m really grateful for is that I had a really strong, firm belief that something was wrong with me which prevented me from fully accepting myself and I really feel that I have been able to get over it so I’ve been able to let go of this limiting belief and replace it with self love. I’m not saying that I’m there, I still have a long way to go as everybody, but that the roots of this negative belief are gone, which opened the way for me to actually love myself.
Allergies are nearly as prevalent in the people who attend our ayahuasca retreats as depression and anxiety, although most cases are not very serious. Our immune systems should naturally be able to defend against natural elements of our environment, but again, when compromised by toxicity, trauma, stress, and diet, there are obstacles in the way of health being achieved. We have had very good results treating allergies, but lifestyle changes are necessary as well.
Along the Ucayali River in the town of Pucallpa in the eastern bounds of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Mexican healer and facilitator Daniela Riojas leads ayahuasca ceremonies in partnership with the Onanya of the region. After first participating in an ayahuasca ceremony in 2015, Riojas, an artist and musician by trade, began her extensive studies of the plant and its medicine during apprenticeships with master healers that included participating in multi-day dietas. The ceremonies she facilitates include holding space through icaros, prayers that embody the healing power of the region’s plants and animals. Each experience is held during the night in a ceremonial maloca to help facilitate each participant’s journey inward.
Our ayahuasca retreats have a very high success rate treating Insomnia, as its causes are typically related to depression, anxiety, and emotional trauma. Simply from a chemical perspective, the effect ayahuasca has on the production of serotonin in the brain is very helpful, but finding balance at the root of the condition is key, and that is often achieved through the combination of several treatment methods.
Located about two hours into the rainforest (by car and then boat) from downtown Iquitos, in Peru’s Amazon Basin, the Temple of the Way of Light is a healing center offering 12-day ayahuasca retreats, with six ayahuasca ceremonies over the course of the experience. In the plant’s region of origin, local Indigenous healers lead the ceremonies at this center’s rainforest setting, many of whom travel by boat from their home communities located further up the Ucayali River—a tributary of the Amazon.Operating according to Shipibo Indigenous tradition, each ceremony is held by a team of four Onanya together, the experience is meant to purge negative, heavy energies from the body, also known as mawa niwe.
We have only treated three patients for AIDS/HIV but each participant benefited tremendously. All three reported that their lives had been completely transformed. One was totally healed and is still HIV negative after seven years, while the other two test negatively, but continue to take medication as a precaution. It is important to note that all three had profound faith in the process and engaged very well with the treatment and medicine.
We provide responsible and sustainable social assistance, holistic healing, and cultural education. We focus our actions on the less favoured and vulnerable people and communities in Peru, having Etnikas as a supporting organisation. Our projects are based on social and community regeneration, animal rescue and environmental conservation and regeneration.
All are welcome to our public gatherings. Most people with sincere spiritual intent are eligible for our sacrament retreats. If you aren’t sure if you can participate in our retreats, look at our Medical Guidelines pages on our website. Nearly 100% are medically eligible for our Magic Mushroom retreats. Certain medications and medical conditions are not compatible with Ayahuasca.
The spiritual investment varies depending on the location, maximum number of participants, and sacraments being offered. Our Ayahuasca and Mushroom retreats can range between $1000 – $2000 and our Bufo Alvarius (5meo-dmt) retreats range between $400 – $1000. To know the exact cost, please sign up for our email list where prices are announced for each retreat.
Yes! You can find more information about our private ceremonies on our retreat page.
A. With proper preparation, integration, and understanding how our Sacraments work, you will see there’s no such thing as a bad trip. Difficult and challenging experiences can be a part of the deep psychedelic journey. We all have skeletons in our psycho-spiritual closets, whether it’s fear, insecurities, our shadow, or repressed memories. Our approach isn’t to try to avoid a challenging experience, but rather to lean into them, since this is where the real productive work occurs. Can you face your demons with curiosity and love? Can you stand at your edge of your comfort zone with strength and courage? Everybody loves experiencing bliss, but by going through challenges we can develop the tools to live a more integrated and empowered life in the real world We’ve got your back, just breathe.
Our approach does not require you to convert or have faith of any kind. Faith can be an impediment to understanding. Our approach is to facilitate direct mystical experiences so that people can come to their own conclusions.
We don’t give medical advice. As evidenced by high quality research, our spiritual sacraments in the right setting can be very powerful healing tools. This is because much spiritual dis-ease manifests also as physical dis-ease. When spiritual dis-ease is discovered and addressed, many transformations happen downstream.
. A shaman is generally considered a healer or an initiate of a lineage. We are not healers or following any one particular lineage. Our philosophy is that the only healer is you, through proper integration of what you learned in your journey. We also do not follow any one particular lineage or tradition in choosing how we lead ceremony. Our ceremonies are guided by icaros, music, and prayers
Currently we’re serving a maximum of 20 people per ceremony.