Four ceremonies over seven nights, sung by Shipibo maestros from Ucayali, with a physician awake on site every night. This page is the long answer: what the medicine actually is, what a night is actually like, and who we will not serve.
The short answer: ayahuasca is a brew of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf. The vine makes the leaf orally active; together they produce four to six hours of altered perception, held by maestros who have trained for decades to guide it.
The pharmacology is worth understanding before you sit. The caapi vine contains beta-carboline alkaloids that act as reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors. On their own they do little. What they do is switch off the enzyme that would otherwise destroy DMT in the gut, so the DMT in the chacruna leaf survives digestion and reaches the brain. This is also the reason the three-week dieta removes tyramine-rich foods, and why certain medications are a hard stop rather than a caution.
It is not a party drug, not a plant that gives everyone visions, and not a shortcut. Roughly one guest in six reports a quiet night with little visible happening. We say this plainly because the alternative is people concluding at two in the morning that they have failed at it. The World Health Organization and independent researchers continue to study its effects, and we cite that work with its limitations rather than around them.
Most sites describe ceremony in adjectives. Here is the timetable instead, from the last meal to first light.
You arrive having not eaten since two. Your mat, blanket and bucket are already placed, and you keep the same mat all week. Fifteen minutes of quiet.
Called forward one at a time. The dose is decided per person and changes across the week. Then the lamp goes out.
The maestros sing continuously and move mat to mat, choosing which icaro for which guest. This is the part a playlist cannot replace.
People purge. It is expected and the bucket is there for it. Facilitators move with water and cloths. Some cry, some laugh.
It can be vivid, or cold, dull and long. Not every night delivers a revelation. A physician is awake on site throughout.
The maestros close with a final icaro and the lamp is relit. Nobody is asked to speak. Most sleep an hour where they are.
A fuller account, including what the second night changes, is in our long read on a Shipibo ceremony.
The single clearest argument against one-off ceremonies is that the maestros adjust what they sing per guest by the second night. A weekend gives them nothing to adjust from.
The first two ceremonies, back to back by design. By the second the maestros are working from real observation of you.
No medicine. Plant baths, one-to-one sessions, sleep. Guests routinely call this the most useful day of the week.
The closing two ceremonies, then integration planning for the year ahead before anyone books a flight home.
Integration calls with the same lead who sat with you, included in the price. The year matters more than the week.
Where the other medicines sit: optional Kambo on day two as preparation, and Bufo only on the final morning for the minority both leads clear. The full sequence and the combinations we refuse are on the services overview.
A licensed physician reads every one of the thirty four application questions, and roughly one in five applications is declined or deferred. These are the lines we do not cross.
MAOI medication, a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar I, uncontrolled hypertension or a cardiac event within twelve months, epilepsy, severe liver disease, and pregnancy.
SSRIs and SNRIs must be fully cleared under supervision, which for some medications takes longer than two weeks. Read what a taper actually involves before you assume a date.
Sometimes the answer is to wait: an unfinished taper, a recent bereavement, a life in acute crisis. Deferral is common and it is not a rejection.
Ayahuasca is not a treatment for any condition and we make no medical claims for it. It may not be brought into the United States. Participants report lasting change; we cite the peer-reviewed research with its limitations rather than around them. No list here is exhaustive and nothing on this page is medical advice. Send your file and let the physician decide.
The centers that convert fastest are usually the ones that ask the least. Here is where we sit against the weekend model on purpose.
| Ayahuasca Retreats Costa Rica | Typical weekend retreat | |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremonies | Four over seven nights | One or two in a weekend |
| Who leads | Shipibo maestros from Ucayali, two per night | Often a single facilitator |
| Group size | Twelve guests | Twenty to forty |
| Medical cover | Physician on site, awake every night | Frequently none named |
| Screening | 34 questions, physician-read, 1 in 5 declined | A waiver on arrival |
| Integration | Twelve months, same lead, included | Rarely offered |
| Price | $5,800 all inclusive, stated plainly | Often “from” pricing plus add-ons |
The right-hand column is a composite of how weekend retreats commonly present, not any single competitor. Judge any center by whether it will answer the same questions in writing.
Ayahuasca is a brew of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf, used ceremonially by Amazonian peoples for generations. The vine contains beta-carboline alkaloids that act as reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors, which allow the DMT in the leaf to become orally active. The result is four to six hours of altered perception, held in darkness by Shipibo maestros who sing icaros and work with each guest individually.
Four across seven nights, held on nights three, four, six and seven. Nights two and five are rest and integration. We do not offer one-off or weekend ceremonies, because the maestros adjust what they sing per guest by the second night and a single ceremony gives them nothing to adjust from.
Ayahuasca carries real contraindications. Full stops include MAOI medication, a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar I, uncontrolled hypertension or a cardiac event within twelve months, epilepsy, severe liver disease, and pregnancy. SSRIs and SNRIs require a supervised taper. A licensed physician reads every application and roughly one in five is declined or deferred.
$5,800 for the seven-night Origins retreat, all inclusive: airport transfer, private room, the dieta kitchen, four ceremonies with Shipibo maestros, physician screening and intake, and twelve months of integration calls. There are no add-ons and nothing is charged before a physician confirms a place. Payment plans over three or six months are available.
Purging is common and expected, and a bucket is placed beside every mat. Not everyone purges every night. Facilitators move quietly through the room with water and cloths, and nothing about it is treated as remarkable. The three-week dieta beforehand is partly what makes the purge gentler.
No. Most guests on the Origins retreat have never sat before. First-time guests receive a conservative first-night dose, a full intake with the integration lead, and facilitators beside them throughout. The Deepening retreat in January is the one we reserve for returning guests.
Still deciding between medicines or locations? Compare Kambo, Bufo, or read who runs the house.
Apply and a physician reads all thirty four answers. We either offer a place on a named week, suggest one of our Peru houses instead, or explain plainly why we cannot proceed. Nothing is charged before that answer.