Ayahuasca Retreat Reviews — Helping You Stay Safe with 5,000+ Independent Reviews
Our Program
At Arkana, we create the space for you to get in touch with your truth, opening your path for deeper meaning and greater fulfillment in your life. We work with ancestral medicines such as Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Bufo Alvarius, Rapé , using the traditional practices of the indigenous cultures of the Peruvian Amazon. We currently operate two centers in Peru, one in the Peruvian Amazon and a second one in the Sacred Valley (close to Machu Picchu), and one in Mexico, the choice is yours.
With great respect for the plants and the knowledge and healing that comes with them, our lineage of Shipibo shamans set the stage for truly deep and profound healing. Awaken your inner power through their sacred and powerful icaros (healing songs), and discover your connection to all things by exploring some of the 2.2 million hectare Pacaya Samiria National Reserve which is our backyard. Nourish your body and soul with fresh, clean, delicious meals that promote your Ayahuasca experience, and integrate healthy habits into your routine with our yoga classes and extensive selection of gym equipment for all levels. We believe the health of physical body sets the foundation for the health of the energetic body – Often ignored in this type of spiritual work, we find this to be an important part of the healing process, so you can begin implementing the healthy habits that will carry this work with you into your life back home. Finally, relax your mind and spirit with sound baths, meditations, breathwave sessions, and OM circles, or simply enjoy the tranquil views of both sunrise and sunset from our front porch on the banks of the Ucayali River, surrounded by lush biodiversity and the mesmerizing sounds of the jungle.
Arkana’s exceptional team of highly-trained Shipibo Master Shamans represent an unbroken lineage of plant medicine work. With a combined history of over 70 years of experience working closely with Ayahuasca and other master plant teachers of the jungle, our compassionate healers lovingly share their teachings, healing songs (icaros), capabilities, and knowledge with integrity and honor. We strive to maintain the traditional practices passed down through thousands of years of indigenous Amazonian culture, in order to continue to promote the true purpose and nature of plant medicine work.
Experiencing the medicines with us is a transformative personal journey, and so much more. We also work closely with our local community, the Amazonian village of Libertad, to ensure that our Center can benefit and give back to the people who have so generously let us into their homes and hearts. We create employment opportunities, teach free English classes, provide a space for the ladies to sell their handmade crafts, and assist in construction projects, among other things. Our latest endeavor is outfitting the entire village with free solar panels, so every house can have light and electricity. When you join us, you are helping the rainforest and the Amazon communities that live here.
Guests that come to our Center often say they feel like “part of the family” with us – that’s no coincidence, as we are one big family at Arkana! The people that are with you throughout your experience can simply facilitate your own healing journey or become an integral part of it. Our experienced, loving, and professional team of caregivers welcomes you to join our tribe, where we strive to make you feel at home and at ease, supported and cared for with all the love and compassion that is at the core of the plant medicines and people we work with.
Ayahuasca is a powerful medicine that offers us the opportunity to understand our true nature, by shining a light onto our darkness, and holding a mirror up to our fears, negative thought patterns, and self-limiting beliefs. We provide the environment and expertise of a team of highly skilled, warm, compassionate Shamans and facilitators to guide you through the process of awakening, of choosing differently, healing, and expanding. It is a slow but steady path towards freedom – from fear, from illusion, from self-constructed boundaries – resulting in a lighter, brighter, more authentic self, and the full experience of love. It is our honor to help you on this most fulfilling of all journeys: the journey back home.
We look forward to having you with us!
Lots of Love,
The Team
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Wondernancy
December 3, 2021 at 7:06 amI was at the sacred Valley retreat at the end of October through the beginning of November. My journey led me there for the deep healing that I needed to process and receive. I have never taken Ayahuasca prior to coming to Arkana. I did not know what to expect and I was met by a team of facilitators That have my every confidence.
Everyone who runs this facility puts a great amount of care and detail into what they do. I this journey is not necessarily an easy one to take on but it was made easier by the level of care I received. I was not left wondering if I was going to be OK because I knew I was in very capable hands of the shamans and facilitators. Arkana is a truly healing place. I plan to come back at the very least on a yearly basis.
I highly recommend Arkana for your spiritual and healing journey. Xoxox
jsx408
December 1, 2021 at 5:35 pmI’ve been through a lot in my life, like we all have, and tried all sorts of ways of managing pain. Years of therapy, years of substance abuse, years of carrying a dark weight on my heart and feeling it all the time.
I heard about aya, researched retreats, prepared for the trip. It was hard work preparing, and the ceremonies themselves are hard work. But meaningful work, in a beautiful setting with wonderful compassionate people.
And my trauma is just… gone. Obliterated. Tears well up in my eyes because I love life so much. I can just walk outside, look at the blue sky, the trees, and say, “I like this”. So what about enlightenment? So what about escapism? What’s more profound than this, why would I want to escape from this? Life is the miracle, this world is a wonder, I’m in love and want to and have the capacity to heal and help others, like the shamans and facilitators and everyone at Arkana did for me
alishaforbes
November 17, 2021 at 9:29 amI had tried everything: diet, yoga, meditation, tapping, energy work, crystals, smudging, teas…the list goes on – They all helped significantly, yet none ever seemed to provide the healing and wholeness that I was searching for (even in varying combinations with each other). I even changed my entire life – quit my job as an executive director, changed my social and private lifestyle and started my own business where I could be true and authentic to myself….this helped significantly, but still something was missing…..the physical and emotional pain was more dull and bearable, but still there. So, I went to the jungle for 3 weeks.
The Arkana Shamans, Facilitators, Staff, other patients like myself and Madre Ayahuasca gave me all of the tools and support I needed to change my life. I had gone into this experience with a few intentions, but unsure of what I was truly searching for…..and whether or not my back and gut would truly be healed. I never expected to walk away healed and with exactly the answers I needed – but I did. I received more than I could have ever wished for.
Being at Arkana with the medicine not only healed my body, but it was also the first time I truly felt like I belonged. Arkana’s owner Jose has truly facilitated a space of love, support and healing – changing the world one soul at a time.
Thank you for helping me through my process <3 And for making my 30th birthday one to remember!
Roberto
November 3, 2021 at 10:51 pmI spent a transformational week in the Sacred Valley. Upon arrival at the center from Cusco, my new family of guests was greeted by local Shipibo dressed in traditional Andean clothes and accompanied with flutes, drums and singing. After settling into my large and comfortable private room (king bed, cozy bedding and top floor balcony view of the river and mountains), we all gathered for orientation. I soon realized that the facilitators – Julian, Coleman, Fernanda, Daniella, Julia and Gloria – were genuinely kind and gentle healers, with nothing but our safety, well being and treatment in mind. Each were of great help to me throughout my stay and during the ceremonies, always seeking to make me feel safe and comfortable.
The center’s grounds are beautifully landscaped, with many lovely areas to chill and relax, from hammocks, lounge chairs, a covered/padded pergola and covered picnic tables, all long the banks of the Urubamba river. Meals are prepared from an on-site kitchen from wonderful chefs and staff; the food is healthy, clean and absolutely delicious! My group couldn’t stop raving about it.
My week at Arkana included one Rape treatment, three Ayahuasca ceremonies and one Sapo (“toad”) ceremony, plus several fun excursions. The maestros, brothers Misael and Herminio, are wise and loving healers, not to mention outstanding musicians. The Icaros that the maestros channel through the medicine are extremely powerful and will elevate one’s frequency during the ceremonies, particularly if one is having a difficult journey.
The plant medicines are potent and deeply revered by everyone at Arkana. My memorable week culminated with an excursion to Machu Picchu. I returned to the Pacific Northwest feeling cleansed and rejuvenated, with significantly lower anxiety, an inner calm I haven’t felt in years and an understanding and respect for the spirit world with which I connected throughout my stay. If you are feeling a calling for deep, spiritual healing, I highly recommend Arkana. My biggest advice: trust the medicine and surrender to it. There are very wise teachings and lessons available to us that are difficult to understand until one directly experiences ayahuasca. It’s not easy work, but with the right attitude it is immensely cleansing and rewarding. The work continues upon one’s return to “reality” and the Arkana staff provide many ideas to help one begin the integration process.
Zhi
November 3, 2021 at 5:00 pmTransformative experience. I see this place as a healing facility as opposed to a retreat center. Ayahuasca is sacred medicine and like any medicine, it’s meant to treat an illness. That being said, there’s plenty of fun activities, sceneries, and interactions with kind souls to enjoy.
I’ve detailed my experience in this video:
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I stayed at the retreat in the Amazon Jungle. Remember, it is a jungle so it won’t be as comfortable as back home; though for the healing I received, the jungle was the perfect.
Fantastic food. I can’t believe that such delicious food can be so healthy.
Fantastic facilitators and staff. Everyone was kind, gentle, attentive, and patient.
One word of advice. Allow the medicine to do its’ work. Let go of expectations and definitely don’t try to control the experience. Trying to control your life is what has brought you to a state of illness/imbalance. Let go of control and work with the medicine so that it may heal you.
Much love to all you lovely people <3