Much of what can go wrong at an ayahuasca retreat depends on the organisers. Whether they screen for medication, whether there is sober help during the night, how far the nearest hospital is, and whether participants are protected from the people leading the ceremony: these decide how a bad night ends. This page lists what to check, without recommending any retreat. We do not have a list of good ones, and we do not trust anyone who sells one.
Before anything else, check the law. In most European countries, a ceremony with a DMT-containing brew is illegal for organisers and participants, including when it is held in a private house or a church. The legal chapter covers the main countries.
The official warning from Peru
In January 2025 the US Embassy in Lima advised US citizens not to use ayahuasca or kambo. Its health alert said that several US citizens had died or become seriously ill in 2024 after taking ayahuasca, that visitors had reported being sexually assaulted, injured or robbed while under the influence at retreat centres, and that many of these places are remote, with limited connectivity and access to emergency care.
That warning is the baseline for anyone considering a retreat in the Amazon region.
Sexual abuse and consent
Sexual abuse in ayahuasca settings is a documented problem. The Chacruna Institute, which works with researchers and practitioners in this field, published a community guide on sexual abuse in 2019. Its main points (MAPS Bulletin, 2019):
- Abuse and misconduct towards female participants are described as common, while exact numbers are unknown because most cases never come to light.
- Whether a person under the influence can give meaningful consent at all is doubtful. “Consensual” sexual contact between a ceremony leader and a participant usually involves a large power imbalance and often deception.
- Private ceremonies alone with the ceremony leader are a common setting for abuse.
- Nudity is not typical of the ritual, and ceremony leaders do not customarily ask participants to undress. Consent requires a shared language in which the word means the same to everyone involved.
What follows from this for anyone attending: no private sessions alone with the leader; no touching without clear agreement made beforehand, while sober; a trusted person in the room who is not drinking; and the freedom to leave at any time.
Questions to ask before booking
| Ask | A reassuring answer | A warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Do you screen for medication and health conditions? | A written questionnaire, follow-up questions, refusals for people at risk | No questions, or “the plant knows” |
| Who is sober during the ceremony? | Several named helpers who do not drink | Only the leader, who also drinks |
| How far is the nearest hospital? | A specific answer and a transport plan | Vague answers, no vehicle, no phone signal |
| What else is offered? | Ayahuasca only, nothing in the same week | Kambo, 5-MeO-DMT, tobacco preparations or other substances alongside |
| How many participants per helper? | A small group with enough sober help | Large groups, few helpers |
| What happens if I want to stop or leave? | Clear, without pressure | Discouraged, or no way out of the location |
| Who prepared the brew? | A known person who can tell you what is in it | Unknown or “secret recipe” |
Red flags in how retreats sell themselves
- Promises that the ceremony will fix a health problem, an addiction or a trauma. No evidence supports such promises, and they target people in a vulnerable position.
- Advice to stop prescribed medication on your own.
- Discounts for booking now, packages with several “medicines”, or pressure to commit before you have asked your questions.
- No clear information on who leads the ceremony and where it takes place.
- Reviews that only exist on the retreat's own website.
Afterwards
If something happened during a ceremony that you did not agree to, it is not part of the ritual. It can be reported to the police in the country where it happened and to your embassy. Write down what happened, with dates and names, while you still remember the details.
Read on about the law and about the ethics of ceremony tourism.