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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JamesBJJ
May 25, 2015 at 12:00 amCouldn’t have asked for a better experience. From the crew, to the location, to the daily adventures around the jungle, the food, the medicine itself and the shaman… Everything was perfect.
Everyone working there was incredibly friendly and welcoming.
The lodge we stayed in was beautiful.
The food was shockingly good, I anticipated it being rather “blah” but it was actually quite delicious.
We had tons of activities to pass the day. Daily trips out into the jungle to see exotic animals, multiple yoga sessions, and kettlebells on site to work out with.
The medicine and the shaman were both incredible. They both helped me out tremendously…
But, most importantly, they seem to have cured my wife of lupus – an auto-immune disease thought to be incurable in the western world. She stopped taking her medication several days before we arrived and her symptoms began to return the day before the first ceremony. Since our second ayahuasca session, she has been pain free for the first time in two years.
I can’t express my gratitude to these guys enough. Definitely plan to return, 10/10 experience all the way around!
jg
May 25, 2015 at 12:00 amI did a lot of my own research, including email communication directly with several centers before I decided on Pulse Adventure Tours. I encourage everyone else to do the same, picking a center (and more importantly the shaman and team) is a big decision.
With Pulse from the very first email contact the team and experience was outstanding. One of the big reasons I decided on Pulse over other centers was because of the incorporation of jungle trips and activities in the itinerary. I wanted to experience the jungle and it’s medicine, not just lay around in a maloca every day.
I picked the 14 day ?Machu Picchu and Amazon Ayahuasca Expedition? and extended it by adding two more weeks after that at the center (so one week Cusco and then three weeks at the jungle center). The entire Pulse team was amazing and professional. I gained so many new brothers and sisters that I am still in constant contact with five months later. So much love.
Wiler was a great shaman, he interacts with everyone and you can tell he is genuinely interested in helping people. He attended every group share, was always around and available with a big smile, stayed and talked with us after ceremonies, and even went on some of the jungle expeditions. I had the pleasure of spending a few days alone with him at the center, and on his ?days off? he was doing ceremonies and helping out the local village next door. Truly a wonderful human being.
If I can offer one piece of advice it is to stay for longer than seven days if you are able. Through my three weeks at the center people came and went (on one week or two week retreats), and one theme I noticed was some of those that came for one week wished they had a little longer. I believe this is true for any center you ultimately pick.
I will go back to pulse in the future, and I felt safe enough that my wife is going alone (we have a toddler) for three weeks in July.
mauritscornelis
May 22, 2015 at 12:00 amFrom the moment I first arrived at the Pulse Tours retreat I felt totally at home. The beautifully constructed centre sits by the river amongst the pristine jungle. There is a perfect balance between comfort and the necessary connection with nature. The layout of the centre is very well considered and works perfectly. At the heart of the centre is the circular maloca inside which the ceremonies take place. This is an amazing structure which is a marvel in its own right, and during the ceremonies is transformed into a sacred space in which very powerful work takes place.
Wiler and Angela are extemely capable shamans, and radiate a humble wisdom and a genuine desire to gently guide people through the intensive healing process that ayahuasca provides. In combination with the medicine, the beautiful icaros that are sung somehow stimulate a kind of opening of the spirit, leading to profound experiences of self-realization and connection with the universe. At times I found myself wondering how human beings can be the channel for something so perfect. The opportunity to share these experiences with fellow travelers only accentuates the depth of the insights.
The medicine itself is extremely powerful. Before I had experienced ayahuasca I thought I knew roughly what I was in for, having tried other psychedelics previously. I had no idea! It seems strange to call aya a drug. It is more like a doorway, or an agent for the dissolution of boundaries that many of us don’t even realize are there! Wiler’s brew is very potent, and he is good at intuiting the correct dose for each person.
The daily activities such as the jungle trek and meeting the local wildlife are the perfect compliment to the medicine and further cement the feeling of communion with all life that the ayahuasca brings about. It’s also a lot of fun, with much wonderment and laughter! And there is always the perfect amount of down time to just do nothing, maybe take a nap, have a chat with your fellow travelers, write a diary entry or meditate.
The facilitators working at the centre are all wonderful people and are a joy to be around. During the ceremonies there is a sense of love and care, as the travelers are administered to whilst they undergo this most intensive process. There is always a feeling of safety, even in the most intense moments. Outside of the ceremonies the facilitators are always there to have a chat if needed.
All in all my week with Pulse was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. It truly was a blissful period for me. I made some amazing friends and was given insights that will always be there to help me on the rest of my journey through this life. For that I will always be grateful.
shanem2424
May 22, 2015 at 12:00 amI was in the amazon last month for my second time, this last trip i ended up going with pulse tours and i couldnt be more happier that i picked this center. Everything was perfect, The shamans and staff was amazing, they went out of there way for everything. Also you cant forget all the friends i made in just a week. Everyone connected so well and made it a much better experience. Not once did i feel unsafe and for half the price as my first center there was no complaints. There is nothing to fear when you are working with Pulse. All it takes is an open mind and an open heart and you will see. I strongly recommend working with these guys, i saw the changes in every person and that proves itself that there doing something right. personally i will be back for sure. Thank You!
JLD
May 20, 2015 at 12:00 amI am not totally sure where to start with writing a review here. If I were to write about my entire experience in some type of detail I would be here for a couple of days and to most people who have never experienced the medicine it may not make a lot of sense anyways, so I will try to keep it short and focus more on the center itself rather than my specific journey.
After booking, and before even making the long journey to Peru, I had a lot of questions like I am sure most people do and every e-mail I sent and every question I asked was answered quickly and clearly and that alone made me feel I made the right choice in choosing Pulse. The journey starts well before you even get to Peru and it made me feel much more comfortable when getting responses quickly with clear answers to all my questions.
I then jumped on a plane mid April and made the long trip to Iquitos. It turned out that my retreat happened to fall at a time when the river was flooded and the actual center was under water. Dan and the team managed to make other arrangements and find a new place for us to stay for the week and it was all pretty seamless and it didn’t even feel like there was any type of change, even though behind the scenes the team there had to do an incredible amount of work in a short time to accommodate us. They could have cancelled the retreat for the week, but instead put in long hours and lots of work in order to accommodate us which showed me that they really care about the people and the experience.
The week spent in the jungle was beyond anything that I can even try to explain in an online review, but I will sum it up in a paragraph or two as best I can.
I went into the week with almost 0 purpose in my life and for the last 5 years or so lived with depression, anxiety, and anger issues. I was extremely negative and had a ton of dark energy inside of me which made living my life more of a chore than anything else. I also had extreme issues with living inside my head, over analyzing everything, trying to control everything, living in the past, beating myself up over mistakes I made, and generally beating myself up over everything to a point that I felt as if I was going crazy. I was not living a life I was only existing and it was not a good existence.
After I left there that week everything made sense, my anger was gone, my depression and anxiety gone, I am not living inside my head anymore and the dark energies and negativity are now a distant memory. I have been home for a few weeks now and I still can not seem to get the smile off my face!!!
The medicine is amazing and powerful, but a huge part of the journey is also the people, the shamans, the facilitators and the companies vision and how it is run. I can say that I would not change a thing about the way Dan and the team run Pulse. I have never been on a retreat before but having met Wiler (the shaman and as far as I am concerned likely the most incredible human being on earth) I can not imagine a better person in this universe that I would rather have leading me through the journey. The facilitators where amazing and helped me out so much whether it be during a ceremony or just someone to talk to during the day. They were there anytime that I needed them. I can not say enough about the people, the shamans, and the company as a whole.
I know there are a lot of other centers out there, but I can not imagine going to another one after my experience with Pulse. I will be returning to Peru at some point to do some more work with the medicine and without question I will be going back to Pulse!
Dan and the team genuinely care about the people that visit them, they help out in every way they can and they truly LOVE seeing everyone’s transformation from arrival till they depart. They really do everything they can to make sure that every single person has an experience that helps them in whatever way they are looking to be helped. They are all truly selfless and so caring that I will never be able to repay what they helped me accomplish.
If you are called to work with the medicine and you are wondering about places to go, I would recommend Dan and Pulse without question and I can nearly guarantee that when you leave there you will feel like you are in debt to them for the rest of your life as I know after I left there that is what I felt and still feel.
I can’t thank them all enough!!