Ayahuasca Retreat Reviews — Helping You Stay Safe with 5,000+ Independent Reviews
While living in the Southeastern Peruvian Andes and Amazon for 22 years, the co-founder leading practitioner Jessica has been trained and is working with Ayahuasca in the Shipibo tradition. She is certified as an “Onanya” (Ayahuasca master) by the School for Traditional Shipibo Medicine in Pucallpa and member of its advisory board.
A former Manu National Park rainforest guide, she does ongoing healing work requested by the indigenous people of the region. As a traditional practitioner she regularly participates in international conferences.
As a woman and mother, she is highly experienced in assisting people in bringing about positive life change by very practical and down-to-Earth means. She organizes and takes small groups of Westerners (2 to 5 persons) on 7-day-long retreats to “Parign Hak” (Grandma´s Home), a unique initiative of Manu´s indigenous Harakbut people to host her retreats, located in the mountain rainforest adjacent to Manu National Park, where she provides a culturally adapted healing and cleansing process that consists of traditional plant baths and three ceremonies in Ayahuasca´s natural home, combined with an intimate immersion into Harakbut culture.
Other local healer are usually on site and participants may be brought together in ceremony with Harakbut community people in an attempt to not only facilitate integral healing for all ceremony participants, but also to foster mutual cultural understanding.
As recommended by the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS), all participants go through an integral process of selection, preparation, ceremonies and integration. This process includes a pre-ceremonial information package, a previous personal interview, traditional dietary restrictions, integration circles, further one-to-one integration interviews in between ceremonies and availability for further consultations for as long as necessary after the third ceremony.
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Sarlote
September 11, 2025 at 8:56 amIt has been two months since the retreat in July 2025, and I still can’t believe how fortunate we were to spend that week at Parign Hak. The whole experience was made even more special by the kind, wise, and loving people who took care of us. Vicky, Alberto, Jessica, and Steve are the heart of something truly unique, and I will be forever grateful that our paths crossed at this small, authentic retreat center.
Trust was built quickly, and Jessica’s support throughout the week was deeply professional and always came at exactly the right moment. She is a genuine person who provides tools that not only guide you through the ayahuasca ceremonies but also help you integrate your new self into everyday life long after returning from the Amazon.
I would recommend Parign Hak to anyone seeking an authentic experience—raw, real, safe, fun, and truly transformative.
Upset USA
February 1, 2025 at 11:41 amParign Hak is not a safe place. I went in April of 2023. I should have made my review sooner to warn others, but it is honestly so hard to write something negative about an indigenous-owned business. I also wanted to see if they would stop operating after the disaster of my retreat so I could avoid bashing them on the internet, but since they are still operation, I do feel an obligation to give people warning.
Essentially, Jessica [the co-founder] had a complete mental breakdown about 24 hours after the first ceremony. It was very frightening. She made animal sounds, different voices, yelled about how Ayahuasca ruined her life, said that the people who run the center were hypocrites, etc. When I tell this story, sometimes people think “Oh, that’s just Ayahuasca”. But this was truly something else.
Her breakdown was mostly in English when she was speaking words. which Vicky (the retreat owner) and her family cannot speak, so they didn’t know she said any of that. No one was able to handle her breakdown, so the only other participant on the retreat had to. So Jessica was yelling and screaming and venting to another participant!
I went to sleep that night at the center because you have to cross a river to get there and it was nighttime. It was the scariest night of sleep I have ever had. Then the next day, the other participant and I took a walk in the woods and saw Jessica trudging along with a knife in her hands! Vicky or one of her family members gave her the knife because she said she wanted to cut some artwork down. Who gives someone who just lost all sense of reality a weapon?
Luckily everyone was safe in the end, but that was more due to luck than safety protocols. Jessica is a knowledgeable person, has a good heart, and is a true spirit worker. I did do one ceremony with her, and it was very good. So, it is awful that she is experiencing these challenges which she cannot adequately address. And it is also awful that a center which integrates indigenous struggles into a retreat should not be in business.
I do not think there is any level of recovery Jessica can achieve to safely facilitate Ayahuasca ceremonies anymore. It is my opinion that she needs to move on to the next stage in her life, because it is unethical to keep putting people in danger. While she might be able to run the ceremonies well, there are a million other things happening with her that make her unqualified to run retreats. The owners of the retreat know this as well, and they continue to hire her.
If you go, you might have a great experience with the medicine. But you also might lose your life or at least need more plant medicine to work through the trauma of the retreat.
Note: This review was edited to note that Jessica is a co-founder of this retreat center, but it has otherwise been left in its original form.
Rachel M
October 15, 2024 at 5:07 pmParign Hak is a wonderful place. Before posting this, I read down through the first page of reviews, and found my experiences being echoed again and again,
The ceremonies were exquisitely conducted by Jessica, supported by other members of the team. I felt that I was in the presence of a truly gifted healer and “transducer” of the spirit of ayahuasca. The power and sweetness of the icaro were key to the ceremonies, full of mystery yet incredibly grounding. I found the ceremonies both challenging and hugely rewarding. I was very very glad that my first meeting with ayahuasca was taking place in a place where I felt absolutely safe and fully trusting of the ayahuasquera. Out of ceremony, the next morning debriefs were kind and detailed and very helpful.
The Parign Hak atmosphere is warm and familial. My fellow participant and I were welcomed with gracious friendliness. There was lots of time just to hang out with people and Jessica and Vicky created many opportunities for exchange and laughter. In the most natural way imaginable, we were taught so much about the Harakbut people. Their fantastic sense of humor, kindness and sensitivity made the hours fly by. Hearing about some of their experiences with ayahuasca was fascinating.
The food was delicious, and eating all together at the long dining table felt like being a family member.
As everyone has said, Jessica and the others have a wealth of knowledge about the plants and other living creatures with whom they share the land and its waters.
Highly highly recommended.
mpugh323
July 17, 2024 at 7:49 pmI had such a wonderful experience at Parign Hak. This was my first time out of the United States and my first time traveling solo, and they made me feel so well taken care of, safe, and comfortable. Vicki, Alberto, Jessica, and the rest of the family are truly committed to their retreat center and providing a once in a lifetime experience to their guests. It was an honor to participate in three ayahuasca ceremonies and heal in the jungle with plant medicine. I loved being in the jungle, hearing the nature sounds, and seeing so many cool animals. The excursions were fun and the food was so good! I definitely recommend partaking in ayahuasca at Parign Hak.
MaryS
June 6, 2024 at 9:04 pmI’m just home from this amazing experience. I’m still feeling the transformations happening as I ease back into reality. I can’t say enough positives about this whole experience. Jessica is committed to teaching, supporting, integrating, and facilitating a transformational ayahuasca experience. I was a bit nervous. Jessica was attentive every step of the way. These ceremonies are intense and for serious life-enhancing introspection. For me personally, it was a lot of deep work.
The 3 ceremonies include Icuros and ceremonial tabaco, which are very traditional and I loved.
Vicky and her family are lovely, and warm, and made every effort to make us feel welcome and like a part of her family. We laughed, explored, ate, and visited every day. It’s camping in the jungle – so cool.
It was also nice to unplug totally. No electricity or phones.
A truly amazing week. I miss it!