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

El Camino Sagrado: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Lamay, Peru

El Camino Sagrado was a holistic healing center in Lamay, in Peru’s Sacred Valley, where the group Ayahuasca Healings booked 9-day retreats with a tobacco purge, three ayahuasca ceremonies and one San Pedro ceremony for up to 16 guests, at $1,800 in 2020, according to the operator’s own pages. Against that, the operator left buyers of its cancelled 2016 US “church” ceremonies unrefunded, per Atlas Obscura, no medical staff or emergency plan was published for a site at about 2,940 meters, guests who left early got no refund, and no Peru retreat is dated after 2020.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Lamay, Calca province, Cusco region, Peru, at about 2,940 meters, per Wikipedia.
• Approach: A tobacco purge, three ayahuasca ceremonies and one daytime San Pedro ceremony over 9 days, with yoga, sound healing, coaching and a 3-month online integration course; named shamans included Carmen Santillan and, from 2019, Josefina Correa and Ignacio Rodriguez.
• Suitable For: No one; no Peru retreat is dated after 2020. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $1,800, or $1,700 when booked early, for 9 days in shared rooms in 2020, with no refund for leaving early, per the operator’s pages.
• Overall Assessment: A screened program in a Sacred Valley house, offset by an operator with a record of unrefunded payments and public disavowals, no medical staff at high altitude and no activity since 2020. Directory evaluation: D.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Trustpilot shows a single 5-star review from 2018. Two Tripadvisor forum threads from about 2017 to 2019 describe a welcoming team, vegan food and good support for first-timers, alongside hard altitude, dorm-style rooms with shared bathrooms and showers that may not be hot; one poster noted that no shaman or facilitator names were given, per the forum threads. The operator’s claim of “4.9/5 based on 54 reviews” names no platform. No reviews of 3 stars or lower exist. 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 El Camino Sagrado, Ayahuasca Healings, Lamay and the named shamans and staff.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found linked to the center. Atlas Obscura reports that a guest on a 2016 Ayahuasca Healings retreat in the same valley became semi-unconscious from altitude sickness worsened by ayahuasca; the property is not named (unverified).
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: After the DEA halted the operator’s Washington “church” ceremonies in 2016, people who had paid were not refunded, the payments having been called “gifts”, and some were offered a Peru retreat instead, per Atlas Obscura and Savage Minds.
• Legal action: The 2016 DEA letter led the US group to pause ceremonies and petition for an exemption, admitting its founders had been mistaken about the law, per Atlas Obscura. No case involving the Peru center was found.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Screening and medical support. The operator required an application and a phone call and published guidelines excluding SSRIs, MAOIs, heart conditions, psychosis and pregnancy, but named no medical staff or emergency protocol; critics said the Peru site had no on-site medical professionals, per Psymposia in March 2020. Hospitals are in Cusco, about an hour or more by road (estimate).

Who runs it. Ayahuasca Healings, founded by a former internet marketer, acted as booking agent for the center; see our Ayahuasca Healings profile. Earlier testimonials name Paul Diamond, who runs Tantraya, as shaman. No Peruvian company was found.

Disavowals. In 2016 the operator’s earlier Peru partner, The Garden of Peace near Lamas, said its only tie had been as investor and booking agent, and a Native American Church leader said the group “ran off with the money”, per Savage Minds and Atlas Obscura.

Status. Psymposia reported postponements in March 2020, and the last listed dates ran to December 2020. The operator later ran retreats in Mexico with kambo, bufo and psilocybin under the name Your Highest Truth, last dated December 2022. Its websites now carry injected spam, so we do not link them.

Legal context. Peru declared traditional ayahuasca use national cultural heritage in 2008, distinguishing it from commercial use, per Bia Labate, and no law licenses retreat centers, per ICEERS.

Corrections to our earlier profile. Our earlier page said the center was potentially closed and being monitored for rebranding; the center shows no activity after 2020, and its operator moved to Mexico under a new name. Our earlier page also carried a memorial line; we found no source for it. Our map pin was in Pasco; the center was in Lamay. The 1500 price matched only a directory range; the operator’s 2020 price was $1,800. Our earlier grade was C; the grade is now D.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

The operator’s guidelines excluded SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs. 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 vine and chacruna, per the operator, plus San Pedro and a mapacho tobacco purge. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: The Andean Sacred Valley at about 2,940 meters, with a waterfall behind the house, per forum posts.
• Rooms: Four shared rooms and no private rooms, per the operator.
• Style: A Western-run program mixing ayahuasca and San Pedro with yoga, sound healing, EFT and coaching.

Practical guidance: Pickup was from Cusco’s Plaza de Armas; there was no airport transfer.

Should You Book?

No; the center is not operating. Before booking with its operator under any name, read our Ayahuasca Healings profile and our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Dated activity runs from about 2016 to March 2020. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

For any ceremony, ask in writing who serves the medicine, what it contains, how medications are screened, what happens in an emergency and what refund applies if you leave, and plan any change with your own doctor. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

No current dates are listed. 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.