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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (November 2026). They will be updated if Akasha Ayahuasca Retreat submits its own information.

Akasha Ayahuasca Retreat: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats on the Napo River, Ecuador

Akasha Ayahuasca Retreat is a small private ayahuasca center on the Napo River in Ecuador’s Amazon, listed at San Vicente de Puerto Rico in Orellana province, that sells three-day, two-night retreats for one to five people with two ayahuasca ceremonies, a temazcal sweat lodge, yoga and meditation, per its Tripaneer listing. It offers private rooms with hot water and frames ayahuasca as a healing “technological tool” rather than a shamanic tradition. Against that, no owner, healer or company is named, no prices, refund terms, screening, medical staff or emergency plan were found, its listings contradict each other, there are no reviews of the ayahuasca program, and it shows no availability or dated activity. We list it as an unverified operator.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A forest site on the Napo River, listed at San Vicente de Puerto Rico, Orellana, Ecuador, though the same listing tags it as Napo province; no GPS is published.
• Approach: Two ayahuasca ceremonies with an Ayurvedic temazcal, yoga, meditation and spiritual classes, explicitly set apart from shamanic or religious belief.
• Suitable For: No one until the operator and current dates are confirmed. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: No price is published; transfer from Quito airport is $30 extra. No deposit or refund terms were found.
• Overall Assessment: A very small private format, offset by an unidentified operator, no published safeguards, contradictory listings and no sign of current activity. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

No reviews of the ayahuasca program were found on any platform. The listing shares a booking account with a mountain spa hotel in Patate, Tungurahua, that has 8.0 from 16 reviews under the name Nalanda, per Treehouse Rentals, and a single 2 out of 10 rating under the Akasha name from January 2025 with no text, per Hotels.com. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English and Spanish-language news for reports involving Akasha’s Amazon retreat and its Patate sister hotel.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None found.

No owner or healer is named, so no individual could be searched, and this absence offers limited assurance.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. No person, company or tax number is named. The listing gives Catalan, English and Portuguese as the organizer’s languages and sits under the same account as the Patate hotel, which traded as Akasha Yoga Resort & EcoSpa and now appears as Nalanda Casa de Montaña.

Screening and medical support. No questionnaire, contraindication list, medical staff or emergency plan was found, and integration is a single meditation on the last morning. The exact site is unknown, so the distance to a hospital in Coca or Tena is also unknown.

Conflicting details. An independent 2022 Del Amazonas article described the retreat as four days and three nights with transport from Quito included, while the current listing shows three days with transfer extra.

Status. Unknown, possibly dormant; the listing shows no availability and no dated retreat was found.

Legal context. Ayahuasca is not formally legalized in Ecuador but ceremonies are generally tolerated, per TripBase, and there is no permit regime for retreats. DMT is controlled under the 1971 UN Convention, while the plants used in ayahuasca are not, per Wikipedia.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Confirm who will serve the medicine and ask for written screening rules before any travel. ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes it dangerous with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs and that it is contraindicated for people prone to psychosis. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Ayahuasca prepared on site; its source and the person serving it are not published. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Hot Amazon lowland forest beside the Napo River.
• Rooms: Private rooms with mosquito nets, private bathrooms with hot water and terraces over the river.
• Style: A non-shamanic, family-style private retreat with yoga and temazcal.

Practical guidance: Transfer from Quito airport is offered for $30 per person; confirm the route and travel time before booking.

Should You Book?

Not until the operator identifies itself and current dates are confirmed. Ask in writing who serves the ayahuasca and their training, the price and refund terms, the contraindication rules, who on site is trained in first aid, and the emergency plan and hospital route. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Akasha presents itself as a quiet place with a family atmosphere in the middle of the forest. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

The retreat is listed on Tripaneer. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed November 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.