Ayahuasca Foundation | 5-Star Healing Ayahuasca Retreats with Authentic Shipibo Care

I took part on the 8 week curandero initiation course at Keston Rono in October and November 2026, when asked by others how it was i have summarised by saying it was the hardest, (at times) but the most amazing experience of my life. I hadn't attended an extended retreat of this nature before, Grandmother Ayahuasca and my plant dietas and plant treatments gave me profound healing and insights. This was held with firm direction, compassion, wisdom and love by the fab facilitation team, who have a wealth of experience working with plant medicenes, they walked their talk, undertaking the ceremonies and plant dietas alongside the group. I learned much from the Shipibo plants and other healing and cleaning modalities and experiencing holding a ceremony. The Maestro Don Enrique is the real deal, a true master healer, powerhouse and fountain of knowledge of the plant medicenes, and the community and familia that help look after us were great. The centre is basic but you have all that is needed, my bed was really comfortable. I found the process tough at times, especially initially, but surrendering and having faith and trust enabled me to experience a profound transformation, a rebirth. I am still in a post integration process, which has also been well supported by the course and vital to take seriously. If you feel the call to this path then i highly recommend.

An important warning, especially for women, about Ayahuasca Foundation retreats. I attended several of their retreats, so I know what's going on there incredibly well. Funny enough, leadership loves to point out that I attended multiple times as if that somehow discredits this review. But here's the thing... It was only once I saw what was going on behind the scenes that things became very, very disturbing. Obviously there's the matter of the participant who recently died at the center. I'm not going to speculate on the cause. However, multiple participants, myself included, over many years warned leadership that they didn't have defibrillators, didn't have EpiPens, had no visible CPR training among staff, let alone any emotional or therapeutic training for facilitators who were frankly junior and shouldn't have been in their positions in the first place. Time and time again, we raised these safety issues with leadership, and we were blown off again and again and again. To me, this is negligence and I said then that I believed it was only a matter of time before something bad happened. This has been detailed in many articles and threads at this point. But it highlights a greater issue, how the leadership of this center still does not take concerns seriously and blames victims. Myself and other participants have also said the screening process is a joke. There are participants who have no business being there, people with deep psychological problems. I've seen people drowning in unresolved trauma to the point that it destabilizes everyone. Many participants have been admitted despite serious mental health histories or physical issues that should have been automatic disqualifiers. It's hard to take anything away from this except that leadership wants the revenue, and the money will always trump the well-being of participants. But really, what led me to write this review was watching their facilitators on repeated instances have very fuzzy boundaries. I had my own confidentiality broken by facilitators. There was a female facilitator that flirted with me in ways that made me deeply uncomfortable. There was a male facilitator who showed signs of serious emotional problems, showed favoritism toward younger female participants, and behaved in ways that me and other participants, including the women themselves, found wholly inappropriate. That same facilitator disclosed a serious mental health condition to everyone, which combined with his conduct made me question whether he should have been anywhere near vulnerable people in the first place. Now, that said, these things happen. I'm very sympathetic to the fact that running a business is difficult. However, what really is the cherry on top of all this is how leadership responds. Both myself and the women who were victimized raised these concerns over the phone with leadership repeatedly. I personally warned leadership about the lack of emergency protocols for a year before the participant died. And the thing is, it would have been very easy for leadership to make these changes. These were not big asks. But leadership dug in their heels again and again and again and offered up nothing but polished reassurance, performative damage control, and frankly, playing the victim. Even now, in responses to this review and other complaints, the response is not to make substantive changes but to dismiss criticisms by calling out how many retreats I attended, by saying I should call them (when we’ve spoken many times), by promising changes and sweeping things under the carpet, or by soliciting as many positive reviews as possible to reduce fallout. It is gross. In one instance, leadership promised the problematic male facilitator would get fired, told people he had been fired, but secretly kept him on staff despite knowing of his inappropriate flirting and psychological diagnosis. At this point I believe the issues with the Ayahuasca Foundation are terminal. Buyer beware. And don't take my word for it. There's plenty of information out there on the problems around this center.

It’s the first time that I’ve seen this Google referral for this amazing place. I thought it was best to write a review. I first went to this foundation in 2015. It wasn’t the building that you see today. It was one further into the jungle but in the same property. I have the most wonderful experience in 2015 a day before I got on the plane I smashed my car up because of substance abuse, I had not slept for three days.., when the ambulance arrived, they put an ECG on me. I had a heart murmur and they said that I had to go to hospital. I refused and said that I needed to get on the plane the following day to go to Peru. This was my wake up call. On the plane from Lima to Iquitos I was started talking to a girl about my experience over the past week.. A man in the seat in front of me turned around and asked me my name I said yes and the gentleman said my name is Carlos Tanner. I am coming to meet you at the airport…, The synchronicity was beautiful.. A very powerful start to a wonderful healing journey.. Subsequently, I went back to the jungle over the next six years every year… I was in a deep process of healing.. You hear stories when you visit the Amazon as many times as I have sad stories not always good… So if you’re thinking about going on this healing journey and the medicine has called out to you then you cannot be better hands than the foundation… I’m truly blessed and honoured to experienced so many wonderful facilitators and people that I’ve met along the way Carlos is an amazing person like all of us been on a challenging journey… He knows many times I’ve said thank you, but this is the first time I’ve said it on here.. The Retreat Centre is a beautiful place surrounded by a beautiful river and beautiful people.. The accommodation is very comfortable with hot water. And very comfortable rooms. What’s really important? Is the teacher and the family lineage of these wonderful healers.. RONO LOPEZ SUCH A WONDERFUL SOUL…!! And I watched everybody develop over a period of time.. This is a very important journey for you and if you read this review, please understand that you are incapable, professional, and ethical hands . You will be looked after and cared for. I have nothing but gratitude and respect for the foundation and everything that it stands for and what it has developed into over the past 20 years.. Once again, thank you, Carlos, My brother and teacher ! You gave me my life back ! Well, definitely a new one . 💜🌈. Alex x The first x2 photos show me before the last retreat and the other photos are 8 weeks after the retreat.. I was in the foundation for 21 day retreat

Though the 28 day retreat is not for the faint hearted, everyone in my group had very strong characters and guts. It takes a serious type of person to undertake this retreat. We made deep and meaningful friendships. I had some powerful, and in some ways, transformative spiritual experiences, which continue, weeks later, being a reference for my ongoing spiritual seeking and growth. The program is run incredibly professionally. The participants are taken extremely good care of. No detail is missed. What Carlos, his backers and colleagues have put together and operate is a world-class institution. It is worth it in spades!

In December of ‘24 I attended the 10 Day retreat with Ayahuasca Foundation. I had 1 major breakthrough during that process. However when I returned home I saw vast improvements in other seemingly unrelated areas of my life. I was able to walk away from unhealthy attachments like an abusive work environment I was heaving invested in, I quit drinking alcohol after 25 years. Patterns of anxiety I had not been able to relieve just seemed to evaporate after years of effort that seemed fruitless. My insecurities in romantic contexts virtually disappeared. So many big and small changes that I could not have anticipated just kept emerging, stacking and reinforcing one another. Seeing this momentum I really wanted to return and build on it. So I committed to the 4 Week Empowerment course of July-August ‘25 and I have been home from for about a week. The 4 week course really allowed for a deeper exploration. Just the time frame was an incredible expansion of the process. The Dieta program was more challenging and illuminating than I could have anticipated. It is still difficult to summarize such a vast and profound experience but I am seeing deep changes at home already. I went to a concert with 10000+ attendees for the first time in over ten years and I had zero anxiety. Crowds have always been a big hurdle for me but I seemed completely transparent to that stress I used to have to battle at shows even a tenth that size. My perspective on how I coordinate my day to day life shows me these giant holes I never saw before. Instead of that making me feel like a failure as it would’ve in the past this just feels like an exciting opportunity to engage my day to day world more fully. I am very excited to continue watching this awakening unfold. The facility once again did not disappoint. I miss the Brian, Mariela, Don Rono, Pancho, Sergio and the rest of the ever-smiling staff. I miss the river. I miss the jungle. I can easily say it was one of the best experiences of my life.