Awakenings Ayahuasca Retreat

Name: Awakenings Ayahuasca Retreat
Rating: 5

Santo Domingo Ecuador

5.0 (130 reviews)

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Awakenings Ayahuasca Retreat

A Sacred Journey with Indigenous Roots

Only Retreat Certified by Ecuador’s Ministry of Health | 100% Indigenous-Owned & Operated.

Why Choose Awakenings?

• The only retreat in Ecuador certified by the Ministry of Health

• Located on sacred Tsáchila ancestral land

• 100% Indigenous-owned and operated by the Tsáchila tribe

• Medicine is prepared on-site and you are invited to participate in the process

• Small groups & personalized retreats — you choose your dates

• Your money helps local indigenous and some of the money supports the local elementary school as well; supporting many minorities in need.

Medicine and Ceremony

At Awakenings, we work with authentic ancestral medicines and offer the opportunity to participate in the preparation of Ayahuasca and San Pedro; allowing you to deposit your energy and intentions from the very beginning.

Our healing team includes:

• 4 experienced male Tsáchila shamans

• 1 female Tsáchila shaman (available upon request)

These are four generations of wisdom, born into the sacred path of medicine.

What Makes Us Different

• We live on the land, unlike other retreats that rent properties or hire outside shamans

• We run year-round with flexible dates

• No large groups — we keep it personal and safe

• Confidential integration support before and after ceremonies

• Wi-Fi available, but we encourage you to disconnect and reconnect with Mother Nature

Our Most Popular Package: 8 Days / 7 Nights – $1600 however you can do shorter or longer stays. Every journey is personalized for your needs on your time.

Includes:

• 3 Ayahuasca ceremonies

• 1 San Pedro ceremony

• 1 Kambo, 1 Sananga, and Rapé

• Private accommodations & meals

• Massage, Temazcal, reiki, sound healing

• Cultural immersions, waterfall hike, 1

Massage, preparation of cacao and more.

Additional: Cacao Ceremony, Bufo, Mushrooms, Xanga and Cannabis ceremonies available upon request.

Transport from Quito and laundry service available upon request but are not included on the packages.

Learn More About the Medicines

What is Ayahuasca?

“Ayahuasca” is the Quechua word for both the vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the sacred tea made from it, traditionally combined with Chacruna leaves. It contains harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine. Used by Amazonian tribes for centuries, it opens portals to emotional and spiritual healing. Our vine grows on the property, and we prepare the medicine in the traditional way.

What is San Pedro?

San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi) is a sacred cactus native to the Andes of Ecuador. It carries masculine energy and helps us open our hearts and expand our connection with all life. We also grow this cactus on the land, and ceremonies are done with great reverence.

What is Kambo?

Kambo is a powerful healing ritual that uses the secretion of the giant monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor). Applied through small burns on the skin, Kambo detoxifies the body, boosts the immune system, and clears emotional blocks. It’s used for deep physical and energetic purification.

Your Healing Begins Here

We don’t just host retreats; we offer a path to rebirth, in harmony with Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the ancestral spirits of our land. You will not be asked to share in vulnerable settings, and everything is done with respect and care.

You are not here to escape. You are here to remember who you truly are.

USA: +1 (646) 300-9646

Ecuador / WhatsApp: +593 98 044 0627

Website: awakeningsayahuasca.com

We look forward to walking this sacred journey with you.

You are the medicine. Welcome home.

Reviews (130)

5.0 out of 5

Overall 5.0

splitheads
February 25, 2024 at 9:34 am

i chose awakenings after looking through many, many different options – and they struck me as the most sincere, flexible one amidst all the hypercommercial ones out there. I am super glad i chose this, because they were able to really adjust to whatever my needs were, and juan and the other shamans really took time to integrate me and think about what i needed and push me in that direction. Throughout my 4 days there, i learnt a ton about myself, reoriented around what was important, how to operate in the coming days, and reconcile what is happening to me now with what happened to me when i was very young. overall, you cannot go wrong with awakenings if you want a true, sincere aya experience.
Cesariopizarro
February 23, 2024 at 3:53 pm

The Jaguar Wisdom

During my time in Ecuador, I immersed myself in an unseen world where spontaneity ruled, expectations dissolved, and every experience felt refreshingly novel, yet oddly familiar, with numerous synchronicities. It was like journeying through time, where echoes of my origins resonated—the place where a doula welcomed me, where my umbilical cord returned to the earth, where familiar flavors danced on my palate, and where I grew up in Venezuela.

Simultaneously, as part of my training and healing, I had the opportunity to undergo a limpia—a cleansing of hand and spirit—with @manuelcalazacon and @awakeningsayahuascaretreat, both members of the Tsáchila tribe, indigenous people of Ecuador, “Tsáchila” translating to “True People”.

These true people, during the ceremony, guided me on a journey to meet my ancestors. I encountered familiar Andean ancestral faces that I recognized, scattered throughout the Andes, sharing knowledge, wisdom, an original language, and sadly the struggles imposed by the conquerors.

Faces sometimes appear confused, searching for a sense of belonging to a place, adopting a lifestyle that does not reflect our ancestors’ origins, and speaking a language that does not express our true feelings and meanings from the heart.

The heart to honors our ancestors, our origins, and our mother.

Let’s take the Jaguar medicine and explore the unknown…!

Let’s honor our ancestors…!

Let’s speak from our hearts…!

And most importantly… Let’s honor and care for our mother.

May the Jaguar medicine serve as a remedy for the mental traps that confine us to safe territories and prevent us from exploring the unknown.
deepshah
February 18, 2024 at 2:49 pm

I had an incredible short and sweet time with Awakenings Ayahuasca. Stefanie, Juan, Manuel, Tiwi, and everyone were so incredibly welcoming, thoughtful, and accommodating. They guided me through ayahuasca and san pedro, and you can tell they truly care about helping you succeed. They truly want to do it the right way and teach others the way of the Tsachila.

I learned to be more present, to begin developing my own voice, and the importance of making room for myself without isolating myself from my community. It’s the start of a new chapter in my life. We all still have to put in the work — you don’t change overnight. But the insights and learnings you get are truly life changing.

If you’re looking to learn more about yourself and make some changes, in a warm, caring, authentic environment with folks who truly have your back — this is the spot for you.
Rachel Reid
February 11, 2024 at 8:23 pm

The hightlight of our travel to Ecuador was learning shamanic traditions and experiencing La Limpia with Manuel and Tigui Calazacón from the Tsáchila community, preparing us for Sacred Ceremony. That night, we embarked on the most magical journey of Ayahuasca under their guidance and protection carried aloft their sacred Icaros!
In deepest gratitude!
bjork
February 1, 2024 at 9:33 am

This was the most interesting and authentic experience we have ever had!

Our goal was to find a real shaman to conduct the ceremonies. We got that, plus so much more. We have learned about and experienced firsthand one of the most facinating tribes that are close to extinction, and we even feel that they have become our friends.

We also got so many interesting treatments, cleanses and experiences, so this was not just a beautiful ayahuasca retreat, but a full experience package with the kindest most pure hearted tribe.