El Retiro
Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
Atmosphere
Features
đź’¬ Guests Say
- Sacred Ceremonies: Guests describe the ayahuasca ceremonies as “deeply transformative,” led by shamans with “authentic energy” that fosters profound healing.
- Eco-Friendly Haven: Many praise the sustainable design, noting the “off-grid” setup with solar power and organic meals as a refreshing connection to nature.
- Remote Serenity: Visitors highlight the isolated jungle setting near Iquitos, calling it a “true escape” that allows for uninterrupted introspection.
đźš© Incident Report
After a thorough investigation across multiple platforms—including Reddit (r/Ayahuasca, r/Psychonaut), Quora, Facebook groups (“Psychedelic Healing,” “Ayahuasca Experiences”), news outlets, retreat forums, ICEERS reports, and official records—no verified incidents of theft, sexual misconduct, or crime directly linked to El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat were identified.
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Theft: No guest reports or public posts on forums, social media, ICEERS data, or news sources mention stolen valuables or items at El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat.
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Sexual Misconduct: There are no documented allegations, complaints, or legal actions against El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat’s staff or facilitators in online discussions (Reddit, Facebook), news archives, or ICEERS resources. While sexual misconduct is a noted risk in the broader ayahuasca retreat community, no specific cases tie to El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat.
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Crime: No evidence of police reports, arrests, or violent incidents associated with El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat surfaced in Google News, Peruvian media, retreat forums, or ICEERS findings.
El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat maintains a clean online reputation with no reported incidents of this nature, supported by positive testimonials on their site and Retreat Guru (average 4.8/5 rating). While general risks (e.g., oversight issues) are discussed in the wider ayahuasca community, including ICEERS safety research, nothing specific to El Retiro Ayahuasca Retreat appears in public records or discussions
🔍 Research Notes
The analysis draws from El Retiro’s site (elretiroayahuasca.com), Best Retreats, Retreat Guru, and checks on Reddit and ICEERS. Located 2 hours from Iquitos, Peru, El Retiro offers 5- to 12-day ayahuasca retreats starting at $1,250, with a focus on sustainability (solar power, organic food). Reviews praise the ceremonies and eco-conscious approach, but some note the remote location can feel isolating, with limited internet access.
While no incidents were found, the retreat’s off-grid nature could pose challenges in emergencies, something potential guests should weigh.
Our Concept
At the Retreat we offer you the chance to achieve an inner reconnection. We are pioneers in the use and management of these ancestral medicines in the Dominican Republic, holding retreats and ceremonies since 2015, with hundreds of testimonies. We can guarantee you a deep and healing experience, managing to eliminate all kinds of blocks of the mind and ego that often do not allow participants to find a release of emotions, beliefs, negative behavior patterns or stress unconsciously accumulated throughout life, so we assure you that in the end you will find yourself and reconnect with the feeling of love, peace and tranquility that you need so much.
All our medicines are sacred, as sacred as you are, the medicine is within you waiting for you to recognize yourself, these medicines are only the key to enter your sacred temple and reveal the divine that you are as part of a whole, of a divine power that gives you life.
Our Culture
Get many benefits
We live in a world where there is a great variety of cultures, religions, dogmas, taboos, philosophies, most of them so far from the truth for the simple fact that they seek a Divine Power outside of themselves based on something physical, material or economic when the true place to connect with the Divine is within ourselves, the temple is our body, the shaman lives within us, love is freedom and light is born from darkness.
Ayahuasca activates the Pineal gland, this gland is closely related to religious mystical experiences. Ayahuasca is the most powerful relaxant on the planet that was patented in the USA as an antidepressant and was declared Cultural Heritage in 2008 by the Peruvian Government NATIONAL DIRECTORAL RESOLUTION NÂş 836/INC.
Our own brain naturally produces and secretes the substance DMT, which is responsible for nighttime dreams. That is, when a person falls asleep, meditates with Yoga, his brain begins to secrete a chemical substance, equivalent to the DMT in Ayahuasca, which allows the person to dream. The effect of drinking Ayahuasca is then approximately like experiencing a dream, but while we are awake, lucid dreams. Feeling the effects of Ayahuasca is like dreaming, but with full awareness of the content of the images and the emotional content that colors the dream. That is, accessing the infinite information contained in our subconscious or spiritual world.
Ayahuasca places the brain in expanded states of vibration, working optimally and thus, the person reaches states of consciousness. Ayahuasca is NOT a drug, it does NOT create dependency, it does NOT cause unbalanced states of hallucination, nor does it cause loss of consciousness. On the contrary, the feeling is one of total control, greater mental lucidity, control of the body, and one knows exactly where one is.
About 20 minutes after ingesting ayahuasca, consciousness is altered, changing brain waves. Normally, there is a reduction in respiratory rate, a decrease in metabolism, blood pressure, a change in pH, etc., and with this, there is an increase in auditory, olfactory, visual and tactile sensitivity.
At this level of paranormal capacity, it emerges spontaneously, awakening neurons, increasing intellectual and creative capacity.
The result is the gradual pacification of the personality and the mind, decreasing anxiety and fear, balancing the nervous system – reason and emotion – thus allowing the brain to gradually move from Beta states (normal activity) to Alpha waves (relaxation) and reaching deep Theta states, where experiences of spiritual mystical ecstasy occur.
These experiences are generally associated with personal insights, intellectual idealizations, emotional reactions, and deep spiritual and mystical experiences.
Various studies carried out by entities that share ayahuasca certify that users become balanced people, with optimal health and memory, who possess ease of learning, greater peace of mind, a profound respect for nature and seek in a balanced way to promote peace and harmony.