5 Best Ayahuasca Retreats In Sydney (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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1. Behold Retreats. Costa Rica, Mexico, Portugal

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Behold ayahuasca retreats provide luxury living and modern surrounds to help participants get the most out of their ayahuasca ceremony. Their shaman leads participants through the ayahuasca tea ceremony and a spiritual awakening, drawing on decades of experience in the Costa Rica region and sacred plant medicine. Surrounded in nature, staying at this retreat gives powerful healing for the body and soul. This Ayahuasca retreat center specializes in small groups and its shamanic ceremony experience is the real deal. With retreats in Costa Rica and Portugal with real ayahuasca, Behold is the best ayahuasca retreat.

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2. Soltara Healing Center. Costa Rica and Peru.

Its proximity to ancient Peruvian culture and tradtion, and the world-famous Amazon forest are a big attraction at Soltara Healing Center ayahuasca retreat. Nestled in nature, the ayahuasca ceremony is immersive, and the indigenous Peruvian shaman brings decades of experience and centuries of tradtion to life. With retreats in Costa Rica and Peru, Soltara Healing Center is steeped in the culture of the regions. At this spiritual retreat, private and shared accomodation options are available. Yoga class during the day helps with the healing process. A mix of traditional and western practices towards plant medicine is also on offer here.

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3. Gaia Sagrada. Ecuador.

If you want to get in touch with mother earth then Gaia Sagrada ayahuasca retreat center is for you. Gaia Sagrada retreats focus is on sacred plant medicine. Located in Ecuador a local shaman facilitates the 3 day ayahuasca ceremony here. The experience takes participants close to mother earth and the natural history of the medicinal plants of the region. Gaia Sagrada focus on spiritual awakening and getting in touch with your true nature. Fantastic mountain hiking nearby are part of the profound healing experience here.

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4. Etnikas. Peru.

Located in the Sacred Valley close to Machu Picchu, Etnikas ayahuasca retreats makes guests feel in awe of the rich and ancient history of their traditional ayahuasca ceremony. The shaman healers come from the Andes and Amazon and have decades of experience with plant medicine of this region. Etnikas ayahuasca retreat center also provides a world class clinical team. Their ayahuasca tea ceremonies include ayahuasca vine and psychotria viridis. Their 3 day shamanic ceremony is authentically traditional and their clinical specialists offer services in trauma. This is the best ayahuasca retreat for a mix of tradtion meets west.

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5. Rythmia. Costa Rica.

Rythmia ayahuasca retreats deliver a mind, body and spirit healing experience. This Ayahuasca retreat center is medically licensed and also offers naturopathy. Their ayahuasca ceremony focuses on an individual and private approach. The healing experience is delicate and sensitvely focused to the participants needs. Those with dietary requirments will be pleased to see a great range of vegan options on the menu. Overall this is the best ayahuasca retreat for those seeking a personal touch. Those wanting a spritual awakening will feel at home at this healing and spiritual retreat. The expertise of indigenous herbalists comes to the forefront with a range of plant treatments and plant medicine available here.

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