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

Anahata Ayahuasca: An In-Depth Review for Retreats near Písac, Peru

Anahata Ayahuasca is a small ayahuasca retreat in the mountains near Písac, in Peru’s Sacred Valley, at about 3,000 meters. It is run by a couple, Michael and Sami Love, who host guests in a “mountain home” and bring in Shipibo maestros from the Amazon, whom the center does not name. It calls itself an “ethical, not for profit ayahuasca retreat center.” Its one-week and ten-day programs combine three Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies with a San Pedro (huachuma) ceremony, a sweat lodge, kambo and bufo (5-MeO-DMT), with ceremonies capped at six people. Reviews are strong and recent: 4.9 from 36 on AyaAdvisors, posted through September 2026. We found no deaths, injuries, misconduct or legal action. The concerns are medical and transparency gaps. The itinerary schedules optional bufo on the same day as the third ayahuasca ceremony, a combination with well-known risks; no medical staff, contraindication list or emergency plan is described on its retreat pages; the maestros are unnamed; no prices are published; and the not-for-profit claim is not backed by any registration we could find. Our earlier profile needs correcting on its sources, its price and its lead healer.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A private home “nestled in the mountains near Pisac” in the Sacred Valley, with views toward the Huchuy Qosqo ruins, a cave and forest spaces, according to the center’s location page. No village, address or coordinates are published. Písac is about 32 km from Cusco.
• Approach: Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies with icaros, combined with an Andean San Pedro ceremony and hike, a Native American-style sweat lodge, plant baths, hapé (rapé), yoga, breathwork, one-on-one time with the maestros and integration circles. Kambo and bufo are offered as add-ons or included in the longer program.
• Suitable For: Healthy guests who want a very small, home-style retreat in the Andes with Shipibo ceremonies and a warm host family. Not suited to anyone with heart problems, psychiatric conditions or medications that interact with ayahuasca, or anyone who wants published prices and medical cover.
• Costs: Not published on the center’s retreat pages or its AyaAdvisors listing; booking runs through the center’s website. Our earlier profile listed 1,750 without a currency or source. Lodging in shared rooms, vegetarian meals and Cusco airport transfers are included.
• Overall Assessment: A small, warmly reviewed and active retreat with tiny ceremony groups and included airport transfers, offset by bufo scheduled alongside ayahuasca, no published medical staff, screening rules or emergency plan, unnamed maestros, no published prices and an unverified not-for-profit claim. Directory evaluation: C+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Here is how Anahata Ayahuasca rates across review platforms in October 2026:

The positive picture. AyaAdvisors reviewers describe life-changing ceremonies, feeling safe, including as solo travelers, warm and attentive hosts in Michael and Sami, beautiful music and icaros, a strong sense of family and community, a peaceful mountain setting and careful attention to screening, and several say they want to return. Our earlier profile also cited a 2023 Reddit post calling the retreat “life-changing” and Quora comments praising the icaros of a “Maestro Roberto”; those remain unverified, though a May 2026 AyaAdvisors review mentions a “Don Roberto” singing in ceremony.

The negative feedback. The rating breakdown shows one one-star review, but its text was not visible on the listing’s first page. Visible reviews contain no complaints; one guest describes the process as uncomfortable at times, in a positive context.

Who is writing the reviews. All of the center’s reviews sit on one platform, AyaAdvisors, where 35 of 36 are five stars and the listing carries a “Verified Listing” badge without stated criteria. Our earlier profile attributed a 5/5 rating and praise for Michael and Sami to Retreat Guru; we found no Retreat Guru listing for the center, and that praise appears on AyaAdvisors. We found no review incentives or self-published “best retreat” articles. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms, Peruvian and English-language news, and legal sources, in Spanish and English, for reports involving Anahata Ayahuasca, Michael and Sami Love, and the maestros named in reviews.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found involving this center. Regional context only: in 2016 a tourist died after an ayahuasca session at a different operator in Písac, and prosecutors investigated its owner for manslaughter, as RPP reported; later that year an American woman was found dead at an ayahuasca lodging in Coya, also in Calca province, as Andina reported. Neither involves Anahata.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and crime: No reports found.
• Legal action: None found.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident at Anahata Ayahuasca, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Bufo and kambo on ayahuasca days. The one-week schedule on the center’s retreats page puts optional kambo on the same day as the first ayahuasca ceremony and optional bufo on the same day as the third; the ten-day schedule includes kambo on the first ayahuasca day and bufo the day before the third ayahuasca ceremony. Ayahuasca contains MAOIs, and combining MAOIs with 5-MeO-DMT is a recognized and potentially dangerous interaction. The center does not say who administers bufo or kambo, or how it manages the timing. Ask how many hours separate each medicine, and consider declining bufo during an ayahuasca retreat.

Who is serving the medicine? The center says its healers are Shipibo maestros, “family not employees,” from “the oldest known lineage,” but names none of them on its site. Reviews mention a Don Roberto singing in ceremony and other facilitators by first name, including a guest facilitator who led a San Pedro ceremony. Our earlier profile named a “Shipibo Healer Roberto Matios”; we found no record of that name, and it remains unverified. Ask for the full names and communities of the maestros who will serve you.

A not-for-profit claim without a registration. The site calls the center “not for profit,” but no legal entity, registration number or Peruvian tax ID is published, and none turned up in our searches. Prices, deposits and refund terms are also not shown on its retreat pages. Ask who you are paying and what happens to your money if you cancel.

The legal position. In 2008 Peru declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca part of the nation’s cultural heritage, as Andina reported, and ICEERS describes ayahuasca as legal in Peru, with no licensing system for retreat centers. In January 2025 the US Embassy in Lima warned citizens not to use ayahuasca or kambo, citing deaths, illness and crimes at “healing” centers, as Infobae reported. Our earlier profile called the legal status “ambiguous despite cultural use,” which is broadly fair. See our country-by-country legal guide.

Corrections to our earlier profile. The center is clearly operating: reviews run through September 2026, so our earlier concern about a lack of 2025 dates no longer applies. We found no source for the 1,750 price. Our earlier profile said Michael leads the San Pedro ceremony; the center says he guides the San Pedro hike, and a review describes another facilitator leading a ceremony. The center describes ayahuasca as used “for thousands of years,” not hundreds. Several earlier claims remain unverified: that guests found the breathwork intense, that there were occasional logistical hiccups, and that healers diagnose with the brew and prescribe other master plants.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

The center’s retreat pages describe no medical questionnaire, contraindication list, medication policy, medical staff or emergency protocol; it keeps booking requirements and preparation guidance on separate pages, so ask for its screening criteria in writing. One reviewer praised the center’s attention to screening. Sami Love is presented as a therapist and coach who studied psychology at Minot State University and did postgraduate study at Naropa University, with more than seven years in psychotherapy; no license is listed, and we did not independently verify her credentials. The center sits at about 3,000 meters, and the nearest full hospitals are in Cusco, roughly 32 km from Písac town; the center’s own distance is unknown because its location is not published. ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes combinations with SSRIs and other serotonergic medications contraindicated, and that ayahuasca is contraindicated for people prone to psychosis. Erowid warns of extreme, possibly fatal reactions with some prescription drugs. Ask for the screening questionnaire, the medication exclusions and the emergency plan before booking. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a retreat without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

The center does not publish its recipe. Traditional ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains. The one-week program includes three ayahuasca ceremonies with personal icaros and facilitator music, one San Pedro ceremony held in prayer with a hike to a waterfall, a plant bath and hapé; the ten-day program adds kambo, bufo and an Incan ruins tour. A master plant dieta and women’s retreats are also offered. Ask exactly what is in each cup, who prepared it and how doses are set.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: An Andean mountain home at about 3,000 meters near Písac, chilly at night, with forest, a cave and mountain views.
• Rooms: Rooms shared by two guests, each with a private bathroom; couples share a room in separate beds.
• Style: A family-run, home-style retreat mixing Shipibo ceremony with Andean, Native American and modern wellness practices. Meals are organic, locally sourced vegetarian food from a local co-op, with special diets on request.

Practical guidance: Fly into Cusco (CUZ); airport pickup and drop-off are included. Allow time to acclimatize to the altitude before ceremonies.

Should You Book?

Anahata Ayahuasca may suit you if you want an intimate retreat in the Sacred Valley with Shipibo ceremonies, hosts guests describe as caring, and a group of no more than six. The trade-offs: bufo and kambo scheduled on ayahuasca days, no published medical staff, screening rules or emergency plan, unnamed maestros, no published prices and an unverified not-for-profit claim. If you go, get the price, refund terms, maestros’ names, medication exclusions, emergency plan and the timing between medicines in writing, and read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

The center’s integration page introduces Sami Love, who describes Michael as her partner, met in the Sacred Valley, and says she “co-weaves Anahata Ayahuasca beside him.” She says she has spent about six years with plant medicines and more than two and a half years living in Peru, works with ayahuasca, huachuma, bufo, bobinsana and tobacco, and runs women’s projects. Michael guides the San Pedro hike. The Shipibo maestros are described as family, available to guests for one-on-one time, but are not named. Reviews also mention facilitators and musicians by first name. No founding date or legal entity is published; the center was operating by late 2024. We did not independently verify anyone’s credentials.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Ask for the preparation guidelines and health questionnaire, disclose every medication and condition, and talk with your own doctor well before the retreat. Plan for the altitude. After you return: Group integration is included in every retreat, and one-on-one sessions with Sami Love are included in the ten-day program or available as an add-on. Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home as well. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

Bookings are made through anahataayahuasca.com, which also links to the center’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts. Before paying, confirm in writing the price, deposit and refund terms, the names of the maestros, the medication exclusions, the emergency plan and how far apart any bufo or kambo will be from ayahuasca. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed October 2026.

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