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

AyaCenter (formerly Ayahuasca and Alternative Healing): An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca and San Pedro Retreats near Antigua, Guatemala

Former name. This center previously traded as Ayahuasca and Alternative Healing, with a different Shipibo healer. Our profile under that name, Ayahuasca and Alternative Healing, keeps the earlier record.

AyaCenter, which our directory lists under its former name, Ayahuasca and Alternative Healing, is a small ayahuasca and San Pedro (huachuma) retreat in a gated community in San Pedro Las Huertas, about 15 minutes from central Antigua. It is run by two facilitators who publish first names only, Sasha (Alexsandra), a self-described “medicine woman” and “energy surgeon,” and Ana Sofía, a musician and meditation teacher, with a Shipibo healer, Maestro Demer, who has replaced the Maestro Marcial named in our earlier profile. Retreats take up to about five guests and in 2026 cost $350 for a one-day San Pedro ceremony, $999 for a four-day San Pedro retreat and $1,300 for a five-day ayahuasca and San Pedro retreat. It has a single review, five stars, on Retreat Guru; the other reviews our earlier profile cited have no traceable source. No medical screening, contraindication list, medical staff, emergency plan or refund policy is published, although its programs are marketed to people with depression, anxiety and trauma. The compounds in ayahuasca and San Pedro are controlled in Guatemala with no ceremonial exemption, though we found no enforcement against retreats. We found no incidents.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: San Pedro el Alto, San Pedro Las Huertas, Sacatepéquez, in “a quiet, green, gated community” about 15 minutes by taxi from downtown Antigua, according to its Retreat Guru profile. The house has a ceremonial room, a fireplace, a sauna, a garden and guest rooms.
• Approach: Ayahuasca ceremonies led by a Shipibo maestro with icaros, outdoor San Pedro ceremonies, a vomitivo (purge), herbal sauna, integration circles, meditation and workshops, with yoga, massage and San Pedro microdoses as add-ons.
• Suitable For: People who want a very small, private-feeling ceremony close to Antigua and are prepared to ask in detail about screening and safety themselves.
• Costs: A one-day huachuma ceremony is $350 and a four-day huachuma retreat $999 (private retreat 30% more), with an integration session ($100), massage ($50), yoga ($35) and airport transfer ($45) as extras, on its booking page. A five-day ayahuasca and San Pedro retreat was listed at $1,300 in April 2026. No deposit or refund terms are published.
• Overall Assessment: An intimate setting close to Antigua with a Shipibo healer and integration support, offset by no published screening, contraindications, medical staff, emergency plan or refund policy, marketing to people with mental-health conditions, health claims, first names only, a changed maestro, a single review and controlled substances under Guatemalan law. Directory evaluation: C+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

The positive picture. The single Retreat Guru review, from February 2026, praises the energy of the place, the hosts and the personal support. Our earlier profile said guests on safeceremonies.com called the ceremonies “amazing” and praised the maestro’s loving guidance, that Retreat Guru reviewers called the setting “perfect” with a 4.8-star average, and that a member of the Facebook group “Ayahuasca Experiences” felt “truly supported.” We found no safeceremonies.com listing or Facebook post, and Retreat Guru now shows one review, so those reviews remain unverified.

The negative feedback. None found. Our earlier profile said Reddit users raised concerns about the lack of on-site medical staff and unclear maestro credentials; that remains unverified.

Who is writing the reviews. Almost no one, independently. The Retreat Guru amenity checklist lists a pool, hot tub, spa, gym and restaurant that its own description of a small house does not support, and the center page shows “0 Guides” despite three teacher profiles. 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 AyaCenter, Ayahuasca and Alternative Healing, Sasha (Alexsandra), Ana Sofía, Maestro Demer and Maestro Marcial, and for retreat-related incidents in Antigua and around Lake Atitlán.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found involving this center or ceremony retreats in the area.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and crime: No reports found.
• Legal action: No police action, raids or lawsuits found.

Our earlier profile also found no theft, sexual misconduct, complaints, legal action, police reports or violence. Without surnames, searches cannot rule out incidents.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Guatemala’s legal picture. Guatemala’s drug law, Decreto 48-92, controls substances listed in binding international treaties, and possession for personal use carries four months to two years in prison. DMT (in ayahuasca) and mescaline (in San Pedro) are Schedule I under the 1971 UN Convention, and no ceremonial or religious exemption exists, according to Living in Guatemala, which found no Guatemalan ruling on ayahuasca itself. We found no enforcement against retreats near Antigua or Lake Atitlán. Our earlier profile called the legal status “ambiguous,” which understates it, and quoted the view that ayahuasca is “not a drug,” which is an opinion, not a legal position.

Who runs it. No surnames, owner or company are published, and we found no registration. The maestro has changed since our earlier profile. Contact is through info@ayacenter.gt and a Guatemalan phone number listed under Ana Sofía.

Status. The latest dated programs were a five-day retreat in April 2026 and San Pedro programs in July 2026; no later dates appeared on Retreat Guru in October 2026. It is probably operating on demand.

Corrections to our earlier profile. The center is in San Pedro Las Huertas, outside Antigua town, and now trades as AyaCenter. The current maestro is Maestro Demer. The five-day retreat was $1,300 in 2026, not $1,200, and our earlier price range of $650 to $1,800 did not match its own top package of $1,650. Meals are mostly plant-based with occasional eggs or chicken, not strictly vegetarian. An airport transfer is available for $45. The San Pedro retreat checks in at 2 p.m. and out at noon. We found no current source for the following details our earlier profile gave, which remain unverified: Sasha as a Russian-American artist and “Onsite Retreat Integrator” who founded the center after her own healing because “Mother Ayahuasca” asked her to share it; Ana Sofía as Guatemalan, with a 2.5-year mentorship and training in Christian prayer, Kabbalah, Vipassana and Dzogchen; Maestro Marcial as a third-generation Shipibo shaman taught by grandparents and cousins who found the location’s energy very good; a first ceremony focused on release and later ones on earth and sky; drinks available at nearby spots; and the package details, including a $650 three-day retreat with a $325 deposit, two ceremonies, two integration sessions, a flower ceremony and supportive plants, a five-day option with a mindfulness coach and a 60-minute massage, and a $1,650 seven-day retreat with acupuncture by a Japanese energy healer.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

We found no medical questionnaire, no contraindication list for SSRIs, MAOIs, heart conditions or psychiatric history, no named medical staff and no emergency protocol on any of the center’s pages. The four-day San Pedro program is marketed to people with “anxiety, depression, trauma,” burnout and grief, and Sasha’s profile says her “energy surgery” addresses hormones and digestion, according to her Retreat Guru page. The pre-retreat diet asks guests to avoid red meat, processed food, alcohol, caffeine “and other substances” for three to five days but says nothing about medications. Antigua is about 15 minutes away by road. 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. Integration circles and individual integration sessions are offered. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a retreat without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Maestro Demer, who describes himself as Shipibo-Conibo and the son of an ayahuasca maestro, works with icaros and master plant dietas, according to his profile; the brew recipe is not published. Traditional ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf, as Erowid explains. San Pedro is a mescaline-containing cactus served in daytime outdoor ceremonies, and San Pedro microdoses are sold as an add-on.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: A garden house in a gated residential community in the hills near Antigua, surrounded by flowers and mountains, with a ceremonial room, gazebo, porch and sauna.
• Rooms: Private rooms, with en-suite bathrooms according to our earlier profile.
• Style: A Shipibo maestro alongside Western facilitators offering meditation, energy work and integration, for up to about five guests (eight people including staff).

Practical guidance: Fly into Guatemala City; the drive to Antigua takes 45 minutes to two and a half hours. Meals are simple dieta food such as tamales, beans, tortillas and fruit.

Should You Book?

AyaCenter may suit someone who wants an intimate ceremony near Antigua. Before paying, ask for the full names of everyone serving medicine, the screening questions and exclusions, the emergency plan and the refund terms in writing, and understand the legal position in Guatemala. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Sasha (Alexsandra) describes herself as a medicine woman devoted to emotional, physical and spiritual healing who channels spirit guides and draws on Amazonian plant-medicine traditions. Ana Sofía, according to her profile, has been a musician since age 12, began her inner journey at 19 and has practiced meditation for more than seven years, drawing on psychology, mystical traditions and Buddhism. Maestro Demer says he was born into the Shipibo-Conibo people, learned from his father and has worked at retreats across Peru. None of them publishes a surname or credentials, and we did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Follow the pre-retreat diet, disclose every medication in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Use the integration sessions and arrange a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

No dates after July 2026 appeared on Retreat Guru in October 2026; bookings are through its Retreat Guru pages or by email. Before paying anything, confirm the dates, the price, the deposit and refund terms, the people serving medicine and the emergency arrangements in writing. 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.