5 Best Ayahuasca Retreats Georgia (Updated 2023)

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For deeper insights into what makes up a safe and quality plant medicine retreat, check out the results from our recent plant medicine retreats survey.
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1. If you’d like a holistic understanding of your opportunities to improve your quality of life, take this self-diagnostic.

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2. If this is your first time with Ayahuasca, this short quiz will help you assess your level of mental, emotional, and spiritual readiness for this powerful and sensitive work.

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3. If you’d like to understand more about the nature of psychedelic healing work, human potential, and who and what you really are, watch the video below.

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Like most things in life, there are a broad variety of Ayahuasca retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the safety, quality, and cost of an ayahuasca retreat:

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1. Safety First: Unfortunately, many small retreat centers are not in a position to make meaningful investments into screening and safety. Even if you're fine, someone else on retreat might not be, which can affect the overall experience. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat provider that does in-depth conversational, medical, and psychological screening to protect your safety and well-being.
2. Legality: Experienced practitioners who have dedicated their lives to plant medicine typically live in locations where the work is legal, so they don't have to live in a state of uncertainty about their work Our recommendation is to travel to legal locations where you can benefit from legitimate healers who operate above the radar, so you can truly relax on retreat.
3. Size of the group: It's common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which can be chaotic to say the least. In such large groups you are less likely to receive a sufficient level of attention from the facilitators. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat with an intimate group, in the range of 8-15 people.
4. Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats feel rushed, do not support the cultivation of meaningful relationships, and can limit what can be achieved in time available. We recommend you spend at least a week for an ayahuasca retreat to give your mind, body, heart, and soul the attention it deserves.
5. ‍‍Comfort: We recommend you choose a retreat where you are confident that you will be physically comfortable and have your own private bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time. Go for the full jungle mosquito immersion another time, your future self will thank you later.
6. Alignment: Select a retreat that feels aligned with your values and allows your own subjective experience to unfold naturally. There are many different worldviews out there and having a different worldview pushed on you through the retreat may not be in your highest healing interests. This is also particularly relevant for first-timers.
7. Holistic approach: Work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with plant medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution alongside a retreat. If a provider implies that "medicine will solve all your problems", proceed with caution.
8. ‍Service: Select a retreat that you believe can meet your individual needs. Are you being treated as a human, or as participant #22 in their fourth retreat this month? Consider whether or not they've taken the time to get to know you and understand you, or it's more of a take it or leave it retreat center.
9. Booking process: Take the time to speak with the provider before finalizing your booking. If the provider does not have a screening process in place during the booking process anyone could be sitting next to you in ceremony. Some people are not in the right place to work with this powerful plant medicine, and it is the responsibility of the organizers to ensure that only people who can handle ayahuasca are accepted onto the retreat.
10. Expertise: Find an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has the breadth and depth of expertise to guide your transformation. Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes. Healing work is all about the transmutation of energy, so you are looking for people who have the energy you aspire to. If they aren't able to keep their energy right, that tells you quite a bit about either where they are at and their capabilities.
11. Reputation: At a minimum, Google the provider, you may be surprised by what you find. If there's not much information, that is also information. A reputable retreat center will have a professional online presence with testimonials from previous retreat attendees. This is essential for you to see that they are a legitimate organization who you can trust to contain this powerful experience.
12. Volunteers: Please support ethical plant medicine work by selecting an organization that pay their team. Unfortunately, it is common practice for retreat centers to cycle through young, eager, and worn out volunteers and/or not pay healers fairly. If the people supporting your retreat aren't living their best lives , they're not going to be able to lead you to yours. Don't be shy to ask this question directly when you speak to prospective centers.

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‍Looking for a little more guidance for one of the most important decisions of your life? Watch this video.

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The use of Ayahuasca as a healing tool or as an integral part of religious ceremonies and tribal rituals dates back over thousands of years through human history.  Often used to treat physical and mental ailments as well as spiritual and ego crises too, the master plant has received increasing attention and research in recent years as modern man seeks to find answers and solutions to timeless questions and quandaries. 

International drug and narcotic laws often view the sacred plant and the chemicals contained within as harmful or dangerous for the general public, and therefore ayahuasca and its use is prohibited in many places.  Contrary to this, through study and practice we know that it is safe and can be extremely helpful for the right people, when administered by trained specialists in the right environment.  

While the United States is one of these aforementioned countries with strict control over ayahuasca, South American countries have a much closer connection to plant medicine and as such there are multiple options available to explore should you wish to visit an ayahuasca retreat.  The following are some of our top recommendations. 

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1. Behold Retreats, Mexico, Costa Rica

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Just south of the border lies one of the best ayahuasca retreats in North America. Behold Retreats offer an all inclusive ayahuasca retreat experience where group sizes are limited to a maximum of six to eight people, to assure a personal and intimate healing experience.  All guests are thoroughly vetted to ensure everyone is there for the right reasons and their ceremonies run smoothly.

At this retreat center, many healing activities are offered, including plant medicine ayahuasca ceremonies, a traditional Temazcal ceremony, breathwork, meditation, yoga, energy work, massage, acupuncture and reiki.  All of which are supported by their experienced facilitator and on-site therapist to combine in a truly healing experience for mind and body.

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2. Healing Center Shanayoy, Sibundoy, Colombia

In the southwest of Colombia we find the Shanayoy Healing Center.  The indeginous Kamëntsá people of the Sibundoy Valley have generations of experience working with plant medicine to cure ailments of the mind and body.  At this retreat center you have the once in a lifetime experience to connect with these sacred people

Here, novice and experienced guests are all welcome to participate in plant medicine ceremonies, detox and healing programs guided by an authentic Amazonian master healer and supported by a team of experienced apprentices who can also assist in translation where required. 

On the penultimate day of this ayahuasca retreat, there is a hike to El Salado National Park with a visit to the natural hot springs.  Proving to be a gratifying way to connect once again with mother earth after the healing ayahuasca ceremonies of the previous days.

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3. Pisatahua Ecolodge, Aquicuana Reserve, Bolivia

The Bolivian Amazon is the location for the third ayahuasca retreat on our list.  As the 800,000 sq meter site is surrounded by incredibly beautiful landscapes, it is easy to see why the retreat’s facilitators and healers believe this to be a particularly conducive environment to reap the benefits of medicinal plants and ayahuasca ceremonies.

Set deep in the Amazonian rainforests of Northern Bolivia, guests will experience an incredible array of natural biodiversity, and see where the master plant comes from.  To aid this immersive encounter with mother earth, canoe and boat river rides and guided hikes through the jungle are other highlights of this retreat center. 

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4. Akasha Retreats, Orellana Province, Ecuador

This all inclusive ayahuasca retreat is perfect for guests with time constraints as it comprises of just 3 days and 2 nights. 

A stay here includes transportation to and from the capital city, Quito, and vegan meals specially tailored to an ayahuasca diet to get the most from their master plant ceremonies. 

Alongside 2 Ayahuasca ceremonies, other healing activities are provided, including a demonstration of how to prepare ayahuasca, yoga, meditation, massage therapy, sauna therapy and spiritual teachings, as part of the retreats package.

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5. Residencial Bosques del Eden Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic

Last place on our list takes us to the beautiful Dominican Republic.  This Ayahuasca retreat specializes in teaching beginners how to use plant medicine to reconnect with mother earth through use of the master plant.

Highlights include 3 yoga classes, 3 meditation sessions, 2 ayahuasca ceremonies and a meditation reiki session. Other optional activities include excursions, massage, kambo, rapé and if your local laws permit, micro doses of Ayahuasca to take home with you as well.  Enabling you to continue your healing journey after you have left the retreat center.

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