7 Day Open Ayahuasca Retreat in Peru

I have done 20 days Shamanic dieta program with PsychoNauta. Writing this review 30 days after finishing the program, so I had some time to come down and process :) A little background - I’m 42 years old and I have been on the self development path for about 15 years. Long term yoga/qigong practitioner, big on Vipassana meditation (3 x 10 days retreats + daily 1 hour practice for the last 3 years). Working with Ayahuasca for 4 years, did about 40 ceremonies before, including 1 month Shamanic dieta (Samakai) with Yawanawa tribe in Brazil. I’m not a beginner, but still a beginner… ;)

As spoiler, I’m extremely happy with the program and the results. It has totally exceed my expectations. I’m so grateful to the organisers for creating such a great conditions for this kind of work and to myself for taking the time and effort to do it - it requires quite some self-love, but it’s totally worthy and at the end you will thank yourself! But let’s go point by point:

Pre/post dieta support:
Great support, very quick and very good quality replies, super helpful with my special requests and I’m very grateful for it. Flawless pickup from the airport and transport to the place. Same about the way back. We were greeted with an amazing dinner on our arrival, followed by the comprehensive introduction meeting and intention sharing cycle. Very good, positive energy around.

Venue:
I was truly amazed with the location and the quality of the cabin I got! Totally isolated from the rest of the group, I had to go for about 10min deep in the forest to get there. Beautiful cabin, with 360 degrees jungle view, mosquito nets serving as walls, 2 floors, mattress with extra mosquito net, hammock and the desk, very spacious - perfect conditions to do your dieta work. I could sing and play instruments as loud as I want without disturbing others. Please note that the longer you stay, the better cabin you get (at least during this retreat), but I think everybody was very happy with the housing, including people who stayed for 10 days.

Mosquito nets are of high quality with no holes, creating an internal area pretty much free from any insects. There is no electricity in the cabin and you need to use candles after dawn (all provided). This is really great and together with all jungle sounds, it creates amazing atmosphere. Area is safe, there are no dangerous animals around. Also very nice to do the jungle walks during the day.

If you do yoga and/or meditation, great to take a yoga matt and the meditation pillow with you. It’s also very humid there, and it’s good to protect your clothes from getting wet overnight. There is a big plastic box in the cabin, but if you take some extra plastic bags for your clothes, it can help.

Closest toilet was around 10min walk from the cabin, which I liked as it forced me to walk more :) Alternatively you can always go into the bush and do the business there. It’s not easy to build the toilet in the jungle, but they did a great job here. It was clean, no smell as it also had a mosquito nets instead of walls and it was private at the same time. There is also water and soap dispenser to wash your hands just next to it. Top!

Maloka (where ceremonies are taking place) is another great jungle construction. Mosquito nets everywhere, plus anti-mosquito coils at the entrance to not let them in when doors are open. Coils were also available for free for the cabin use. Great ceremonial space, 20 bets arranged in the circle, toilets and shower right outside.
It was about 15min walk from my cabin to Maloka and it was the only shower available on the camp, but it was totally fine. As I said, I appreciated every opportunity to walk a bit more :)

Food:
Food is delivered daily to your cabin twice a day (around 8 and 12 o’clock). It’s a diet food, which is very limited, however I was quite happy with the quality and the quantity, while taking those strict diet conditions into account. What was great - if you need more food, you can just ask and they will increase your portion - they don’t do any problems about that. The diet has many health benefits, including cleansing and potential cancer preventing / cancer removing effects. You will also lose a few kilograms over the course of the diet. Your energy level will be much lower than what you’re used to, however body might adjust over the time and become more efficient - for me around day 15, I was pretty much back and felt quite amazing.

Program:
I truly love the design and the setup of the program. Isolation and noble silence are so important for this kind of work and we had perfect conditions to observe it. Ceremonies are pretty much every second day and they are hold by Shipibo shamans. Very high quality of work in a totally safe environment. You can really feel comfortable and relax there, it’s safe and you can just let go and immerse yourself in the process, guided by the beautiful chants of the Shipibo people. The medicine served is of a very high quality, one of the best I’ve ever tried and its consistent during the course of the diet. It’s very important as after the first ceremony, you have a good idea about the strength of it and you can decide later if you want more or less - it’s always your choice. My personal tip is to aim for a stronger experience, but it’s also okay to measure the challange to your capabilities.

On the day after the ceremony you have an optional consultation with Blazej, who is running the place. He’s very knowledgable, lots of experience, background in psychology - I found those talks extremely useful and they helped me tremendously to build a proper attitude towards the diet and the lessons that appear during that period. He’s giving a really good tips and you can trust him - he really wants you to grow and your progress is the best reward for his work. Amazing guy!

Summary:
It was one of the best and most valuable experiences in my life! 30 days after the program, I can see a lot of positive changes in myself! I feel like I’ve built fresh fundaments of my new me, that I’ll keep working on and evolving further. Those fundamentals contain love, gratitude and compassion for anything that I might be facing in life, regardless how pleasant at first it can be.

The program can be challenging at times, and it needs to be, as otherwise there won’t be much to learn. But you have a lot of space and time to work on whatever might come up from your inside. If you have a right attitude, those lessons might have a long lasting, life changing effects. I found the meditation extremely useful, I was doing 2 hours of meditation daily there and I learnt how practical it is. There are a very few things that I can’t process during one hour of meditation right now, especially if I do it daily. If I realise that something bothers me, I just sit for an hour and once I’m done - my heart is full of love, the problem is transformed into a lesson that I’m grateful for. It was a long way to get there, but every journey starts with a first step and I encourage you to go this path, the path of your heart. I’m also a human and I happen to have doubts, but I’m very happy that regardless of all of them, I decided to do the program and kept working and trying to get the best out of it, till the very last day. Trust the God, trust the process and trust yourself. I can recommend this program to anybody who is looking for a serious work and if you decide to do it, go for at least 20 days. After 10 days it was just a beginning and there were plenty lessons that I would miss - I was pouring lots of value into my diary every day. A lot of golden, life improving ideas, that I’m working on applying daily.

Blazej and Psychonauta Foundation, thanks a lot for everything, you helped me a lot and I hope our path will cross again one day. It’s beautiful what you're doing there, making the world a better place! This program can really help anybody to become a better version of yourself, a better human, a better father, a better son, a better partner, a better brother, a better leader, be better in whatever you’re doing.

Thanks a lot for everything, lots of love, Marcin!

I recently completed my 10 day ayahuasca retreat and master plant dieta with Psychonauta Foundation. It was an absolutely incredible experience, I would definitely recommend this foundation to any seeking a true ayahuasca medicine experience. Our guide, Blazej, was amazing, kind, supportive, and so sincere in his practice. He is there with you for every step. His support staff were reflective in his nature, constantly providing support for participants. The individualized attention received from the shaman were powerful and deeply moving, to say the least. A very powerful experience in the jungles of Peru! I’m very grateful I was able to experience this blessing.

The experience itself was incredible and intense, I learned so much about myself and now I live a fuller life for it. I was truly impressed with how dedicated all the staff was. The shamans were incredible and the facilitators were kind and supportive. When I had difficulties navigating the experience they were there to guide and support me in an instant and I managed to turn a very challenging experience into a very constructive one.

Much gratitude and thanks to everyone at Psychonauta Foundation!

Seriously, this whole experience here was a game changer. I’ve never taken a hallucinate before and God lead me here to do it and now I know why. Blazedj, Sebastian, Eva, Flavio, the cooking staff, the Shamans and the people going through the ceremonies with me…man what can I say? I passed up those expensive money grabbing retreats where you can stay in an a/c room and big queen bed and all that other stuff you can get at home. If you want a truly life changing experience, this is where and how to do it. Our cabins had everything I needed to survive and have an amazing experience. The treks to the Maloca, to go shower, to go out for walks on the trails was awesome! Each morning in cabin 12, I was visited by the most beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly who gave me hope and brought pure happiness to my days. I say wild monkeys and heard birds and other creatures I’ve never heard of in my life! And if you’re scared of taking Ayahuasca, as someone who has never taken a hallucinate before, there’s nothing to be afraid of. The one to fear is you. I learned a lot about me whether I wanted to or not. And though my experiences were challenging, I would never change it. I learned…a lot!

For a truly remarkable and once in a lifetime experience, do your journey here with these amazing people. You will leave blessed!

Mahalo,
Keahi

My experience at the Psychonauta Foundation was incredibly profound and life changing. A true detox of the mind, body and spirit.

I completed the 10-day silent retreat starting on Christmas Eve and ending the day after New Years. The retreat wasn't easy and tested me in ways I never expected. The ceremonies, although a beautiful experience, is a difficult journey to face. The dieta is tough. The silence is difficult, however, the most challenging part for me, was being alone in the jungle. The trek through the great unknowns of the jungle from my tambo to the Maloka / Mundo was a fear I didn't know I needed to mentally prepare for, all while being eaten alive by mosquitos with no cosmetics (mosquito repellent included). But to get to the ultimate form of healing, you need to pay your dues and face your fears and discomforts.

I am incredibly thankful to Bles and Sebastian (mom and dad) for watching over us and guiding us through this experience while we all crawled in the pits of hell together. I wasn't expecting to connect with the people in our retreat as much as I did (in silence), but every small gesture and smile was impactful. The last day of our ceremony as the New Years celebration fireworks were going off, a fire was lit and we were finally able to talk. As we were all coming to, and after hearing everyones intentions, deepest insecurities and struggles there was a bond felt like no other. These people became family.

Some tips: anything you can bring to the ceremonies to keep you comfortable is recommended (ie. warm clothing, socks, etc.). A sleeping bag is comfortable for the evenings to feel like you have your own space, but it's not necessary. I recommend bringing a pack of kleenex on you in a little safety bag nearby for the ceremonies as you will get very snotty. Wear long sleeves and pants when treking through the jungle to reduce mosquito bites. WATER SHOES, bring them. And remember to surrender and let go during the ceremonies. It's hard to fully surrender to the medicine, but once you do, the real healing begins.

I would 100% recommend the Psychonauta Foundation and I am so thankful to have experienced Ayahuasca for the first time here. This retreat has reminded me to start caring about myself again. I have learned the true meaning of self love and will continue shining bright light a diamond.