Ayahuasca Retreat Reviews — Helping You Stay Safe with 5,000+ Independent Reviews
Private Ayahuasca & San Pedro Retreat in the heart of San Pedro de Vilcabamba, in Loja, Ecuador. Casa Del Sol works with small groups to optimize the quality of your experience, and share the space as a family. Blessed with a beautiful location within the Valley of Longevity, we integrate ourselves with its powerful medicine; our retreats include walking through its mountains, cleansing ourselves in the waterfalls and in the river in front of our home. We make offerings, meditate, practice yoga, hold sweat lodges and plant medicine ceremonies to encourage this integration.
Add Review
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
d70x25
March 14, 2019 at 11:06 amOut of the 4 retreats I’ve done so far, this was by far the best! Originally I was solely looking for a San Pedro experience and wasn’t prepared for the ayahuasca ceremonies, but I’m very happy Ximena guided me into staying for the full program. As they decide to only do a limited amount of retreats, Santiago and Ximena give you their full energy, attention and guidance and are always accessible. The group is small (8-12 people?) and personal and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Their formula of the retreat is very balanced and thought out; I love that there is a nice build up with varied activities (mountain treks, waterfall cleansing, sweatlodge, etc) and proper pre- and post briefings of your experiences.
Their house (where you eat, relax and gather before and after) is beautifully located next to the river and the accommodations are clean and comfortable. The food is always delicious.
It took me a couple of weeks to write this review just to make sure I would be ‘sober’ and ‘objective’ 🙂 … Every time I think or talk about my 8 days with Santiago and Ximena at the Casa del So, it has brought a smile on my face and I still carry a warm heart to everybody I met at the retreat. Once I’m ready for further exploration, I know I’ll travel to Vilcabamba again! (Please let it be the same!)
Darlene
March 13, 2019 at 11:44 pmCasa Del Sol holds a special place in my heart since I attended the 12 day retreat in February 2019. This was my second time using plant medicine in the past few years. I chose Casa Del Sol by the many recommendations for Santiago & Ximena because they are true Shamans and indeed they are. As well I wanted to work with a few different plant medicines & be apart of a smaller group. It was also important for me to experience nature’s powerful healing energy in a lush green mountain setting, which they have created a wonderful comfortable home by the river & powerful healing ceremonial spaces on their property.
I felt safe & comfortable the moment I arrived but I have to be honest, my experience during the first ceremony was not what I hoped for and was quite difficult for me. The day after I thought maybe plant medicine wasn’t for me and I should leave the retreat. I spoke with Ximena about this and thanks to her I stayed experiencing strong transformative healing throughout the remaining ceremonies. I left the retreat having gotten more than I EXPECTED & EXACTLY what I needed. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve returned home with the first few days being extremely challenging for me but since then with daily integration of the lessons I learnt & more being revealed, life continues to unfold for me in the most beautiful magical ways I used to only dream about.
I was HUMBLED, HONORED & filled with BLISSFUL GRATITUDE to have had the opportunity to sit in ceremony and work with Santiago & Ximena. Thank you so much for sharing your teachings, traditions, wisdom & love with All my Relations.
I look forwards to returning January & February 2020.
marieke
March 13, 2019 at 9:24 pmInspired and humbled by Santiago and Ximena’s teachings.
Their sacred land alone is pure medicine.
My experience during and after the ceremonies and their loving, open and honest guidance is more and more trust and awareness moving inside and things connecting in new ways. It also showed me where I wander off and dance around my fears and pain. Further integration of what I have experienced and learned will be my challenge and responsibility.
Ximena and Santiago provide a safe place for you to travel and explore. To deepen the connection to your path, to your heart, to earth, spirit and ancient wisdom. I am sure that I will meet them again and I am already looking forward to learn so much more from them.
SilvanaXG
March 11, 2019 at 3:56 pmI had the wonderful opportunity to go to casa del Sol at the beginning of this year and it was definitely a life transforming experience. I am writing this review almost two months after going to Casa Del Sol because I wanted to be done with my integration process to truly look at the impact the retreat had on me. Throughout the course of the retreat, I felt an immense amount of support and love from Santiago and Ximena. They created a safe space for everyone’s process and also spiritual security around all ceremonies. The ceremonies were particularly difficult for me, even though I have taken the medicine multiple times before, and I couldn’t have done the deep inner work I did if it weren’t for Santiago and Ximena and their actual energetic work while I was healing and releasing. Their son, Mateo also assists them in the ceremonies and he is just absolutely wonderful. He was very helpful, kind, compassionate and a beautiful soul in its full expression. There was a perfect balance of masculine and feminine energy in the ceremonies and throughout the whole retreat which created a very nurturing environment and set the tone for my personal journey. This particular retreat was the most healing experience of my life because I got at the root cause of a trauma I’ve been carrying all my life and it felt as if I opened a Pandora box of trauma after another. The food, the land, the river and the retreat in general was absolutely magical and beautiful. I connected deeply with the land during the ceremonies and when I was in the actual medicine I could see the love and deep shamanic roots of both Santiago and Ximena. The energy was very ancient and grounded and I felt as if I was in the presence of divinity, there was pure love radiating from the altar and from both healers. The integration process has been extremely difficult for me and in those moments of darkness, I can still feel their prayers, advice and protection… is as if the ceremony goes on in the higher realms. I have been telling everyone I know how much I recommend going to Casa Del Sol and will be sending my little sister down to Ecuador soon so she can also experience this divine healing. The heart always knows the answer and I am grateful I followed mine by going to Casa Del Sol and having this life-changing experience.
With much love,
Silvana Garcia
Rose
March 4, 2019 at 10:12 amI was blessed to first meet Santiago in 2016 at a large San Pedro ceremony he was holding near Cuenca . Following health issues that had been getting steadily worse over six months, going from a super fit Gym Manager , Trainer and Marathon Runner of over twelve years , fitness was my life , to someone who could hardly leave the house some days due to increasing unexplained physical pain and general lethargy . I have often been able to heal myself of minor illnesses in the past but this time I needed some help. I was guided by my Spirit helpers to find a true Shaman who could assist me which thankfully led me to the Cuenca Ceremony. Since I have visited Santiago and Ximena five more times for San Pedro & Ayahuasca ceremonies at their own beautiful sacred land Casa del Sol , Vilcabamba . I can definitely say fate has led me to meet a true Shaman Teacher and Healer. Santiago and his beautiful wife Ximena make you feel like part of their family from the first day you arrive , this is much more than just a retreat experience, both working with such integrity and passion for sharing their traditions and healing gifts in a beautiful safe space. Also ensuring to only work with smaller groups so that you will always receive the personal attention that is needed. From Santiagos beautiful hillside Maloka where the San Pedro ceremonies are held to the traditional Sweat Lodges plus Holy Mountain hikes to make sacred offerings everything is always done with pure attention and integrity. If you have been feeling drawn or desire to meet true family Shamans working with the sacred plants in a traditional way with pure hearts then Casa del Sol is the place for you. I know I will be returning again in the future for more teachings as my journey continues as am now back to full physical health and also following my true soul path thanks to Santiago, Ximena and the Sacred Medicines .
Rose Roker London , UK 2019
Close