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

Casa del Sol: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Vilcabamba, Ecuador

Casa del Sol is a plant medicine retreat center in the San Pedro valley outside Vilcabamba, in Ecuador’s Loja province, with cabins beside the Uchima river. It was founded by Ximena Morales Gamarra, born in Lima, and her husband Santiago Ayala, an Ecuadorian who describes himself as a Sun Dancer and pipe carrier initiated by Andean elders, and has hosted guests since at least 2016. Current retreats of 6 and 10 days cost $925 to $2,500 and combine ayahuasca, San Pedro, kambo and temazcal, with past retreats adding yopo and peyote. Reviews are uniformly five stars: 5.0 from 31 on Tripadvisor and 5.00 on Retreat Guru. But the official site claims kambo “sometimes” cures HIV/AIDS and cancer, no contraindications, medical staff or emergency plan are published despite heavy stacking of medicines, and since 2026 Santiago Ayala has led his own retreats on the same road as “Inti Wasi Jaguar,” described as “the newest evolution of the old Casa Del Sol.” Our earlier profile placed it in Peru; it is in Ecuador. We found no incidents.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Via a Sacapo, San Pedro, Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador, about 10 minutes by taxi from Vilcabamba town and 75 minutes from Loja’s Catamayo airport, according to its directions page.
• Approach: Ayahuasca, San Pedro grown on site, kambo, rapé and temazcal, with herbal baths, an Andean oracle, Chi Kung, a Wim Hof river plunge and sharing circles.
• Suitable For: Experienced, healthy adults who want an Andean-style multi-medicine program and will get screening and emergency details in writing. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: The 6-day retreat costs $925 in a shared river cabin to $1,375 for a private room; the 10-day retreat costs $2,100 to $2,500. Image captions on the same pages show other prices. Airport pickup is $30. No current refund policy is published; 2023 and 2024 terms offered full refunds 60 or 70 days out.
• Overall Assessment: Long-running, identifiable founders and consistently warm reviews, offset by cure claims for serious diseases, no published contraindications, medical staff or emergency plan, intensive stacking of medicines and an unclear split between the founders. Directory evaluation: C+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

The positive picture. Reviewers describe careful, safe ceremonies, caring hosts in Ximena and Santiago, small family-like groups, good vegetarian food and riverside cabins, and several say it suits first-timers and solo women. Our earlier profile summarized guests describing “transformative healing,” ceremonies that foster introspection and heart-opening, a “magical” setting of San Pedro cacti and river, and feeling supported by Santiago and Ximena in a small group; the safety and setting themes match reviews, while the quoted wording has no source and remains unverified.

The negative feedback. No review below five stars is visible on any platform. Our earlier profile said some guests found the temazcal intense for beginners; no source was found, and that remains unverified.

Who is writing the reviews. The Tripadvisor listing is business-managed and ranked as specialty lodging, and the site’s 13 testimonials are curated. Uniform five-star pools are not proof of manipulation, but they leave little independent criticism. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English, Spanish and Czech-language news for reports involving Casa del Sol, Inti Wasi Jaguar, Santiago Ayala, Ximena Morales Gamarra and the center’s current facilitators.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: No complaints found.
• Legal action: No police action, lawsuits or regulatory action found, and no ayahuasca or San Pedro enforcement in Vilcabamba or Loja.

Our earlier profile also found no verified theft, sexual misconduct or crime, and no police reports or arrests in Ecuadorian media.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Cure claims. The center’s kambo page lists hepatitis, Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis and Lyme disease and says kambo “sometimes” cures them. Its ayahuasca page lists diabetes, high blood pressure, hepatitis, PTSD and addiction, and its San Pedro page promises “spontaneous and unexplained healing.” None cites evidence. Our earlier profile repeated a list of therapeutic uses (PTSD, addiction, depression, anxiety, diabetes, hepatitis) that mirrors these operator claims; they are unsupported.

Who runs it now. Santiago Ayala no longer appears on the site’s team page, which lists Ximena with two Czech ayahuasca facilitators and kambo, breathwork and cacao practitioners. Since 2026 he has run 9-day retreats from $1,400 for up to eight guests as Inti Wasi Jaguar, on the same road, whose Retreat Guru page calls it the evolution of the old Casa del Sol. The site’s FAQ still says Santiago supervises dosing. Whether this is a split, a rebrand or a second venue is unclear.

Credentials. The FAQ says Ximena is “certified as a shaman by the Ecuadorian government.” We found no government certification scheme for shamans; the Ministry of Public Health’s code of ethics for ancestral medicine ties recognition to Indigenous and traditional communities, according to its 2021 ethics code. The claim is unverified. No company or tax registration (RUC) was found.

Ecuador’s legal picture. Ecuador’s constitution recognizes ancestral medicine and Indigenous collective rights, small personal-use possession has been decriminalized since 2013, and there is no licensing system for commercial retreats, according to a legal explainer. DMT remains scheduled. We found no sourced guidance on peyote, yopo, kambo or psilocybin.

Corrections to our earlier profile. The center is in Ecuador, not Peru. Prices start at $925, not $990. Groups are capped at 12 to 15, not 10. Massage is an extra, not included. Reviews run to July 2026, not pre-2020, and the center ran several programs in 2025 and has dates through March 2027. Our earlier profile said ceremonies follow “ancestral Shipibo traditions” and are held at night around a fire with opening prayers; the site’s ayahuasca page invokes Shipibo, but the facilitators claim Andean Q’ero, Sun Dance and Shuar lineages, and night ceremonies run from 21:00 to sunrise, while the fire and prayers remain unverified.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Guests apply through a form covering medical history and must be approved; a 2023 directory listing said applicants must stop medications and psychiatric treatments at least two months ahead after consulting a doctor. The center’s ayahuasca, San Pedro and kambo pages list no contraindications, no medical staff are named and no emergency protocol is published. Programs stack medicines heavily: the 10-day retreat includes kambo three times, ayahuasca twice and San Pedro twice, and the 6-day retreat puts kambo, San Pedro and ayahuasca on consecutive days; the FAQ says more medicine “can be requested.” Vilcabamba’s public hospital has a 24-hour emergency room, according to the Ministry of Public Health, with higher-level care in Loja. 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

The center says its ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with chacruna and sometimes other plants; a 2023 directory listing says it is sourced from the Shuar. Amazonian ayahuasca chemistry is explained by Erowid. San Pedro (mescaline cactus) is grown on site, kambo is frog secretion applied to small burns, and the 2023 and 2025 special retreats added yopo snuff, described as including raw ayahuasca, tobacco and Wilka, and peyote. A 2021 itinerary and a 2023 directory listing mention psilocybin, which is not on the current site.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: A rural Andean valley with a maloca in a stand of San Pedro cactus and cabins about 15 m from the Uchima river.
• Rooms: Shared bunk cabins by the river, shared and private rooms in the main house and private cabins, with shared bathrooms.
• Style: An eclectic Andean and Native American-influenced program with guest teachers from Mexico, Colombia and the Czech Republic, for up to 15 guests.

Practical guidance: Fly to Loja (Catamayo) and book the $30 pickup or a taxi. Meals are vegetarian, organic and mostly vegan.

Should You Book?

Only with care. Ask who leads ceremonies and serves the medicine now, how medications and health conditions are screened, who on site has first-aid training, what happens in an emergency and the current refund terms, and get the answers in writing. Treat any claim that kambo or ayahuasca cures disease as a warning sign. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Ximena Morales Gamarra says she studied journalism, trained with Q’ero teachers as a Pampamisayoq initiate of the Turpo lineage and has lived in the valley for more than 20 years. Santiago Ayala says he took up the shamanic path at 26 after a serious illness, was initiated by Inca elders and guards one of the last San Pedro and Willka forests in southern Ecuador. Current facilitators include Czech ayahuasca practitioners trained in Mexico and with a Shuar healer. A directory listing quotes the founders claiming more than 30 years of experience serving medicine. 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; ask how kambo and San Pedro are spaced from ayahuasca. 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

Dates run from December 2026 to March 2027 and are booked through an application form and WhatsApp on its availability page. Before paying, confirm the facilitators, screening, emergency plan and refund terms 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.