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

Esikaro: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca and Bufo Retreats in Cox, Alicante, Spain

Esikaro, also called Centro Holístico Afinando el Alma, is an ayahuasca and Bufo alvarius retreat run by Juan Diego Rodríguez Dorado and his wife Daiva Kurgonaite through a Spanish association, with a venue at Calle Granada 8 in Cox, Alicante, Spain, and a second base in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica, per its Bufo ceremony page. Its four-day Spain retreats cost 650€ to 690€. Against that, Spanish police raided its association in 2021 and arrested its president and secretary, one weekend stacks seven or more substances with ice baths and a pain exercise, it says a Bufo overdose is “not possible”, it sells an addiction retreat with no medical detox, and it never refunds.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A house with a pool, sauna and gardens in Cox, Vega Baja, Alicante, Spain, marked “temporarily closed” on every page; a house and a land project near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica, marked open.
• Approach: Two ayahuasca nights with yopo, optional kambo, a San Pedro ceremony, “Shamadi” with breathwork, a “Sadhu” pain-dissociation exercise, 7°C ice baths, sauna and a Bufo alvarius ceremony, all within four days, per its May 2026 retreat page.
• Suitable For: Very few people, given the medicine load and missing safeguards. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: 650€ to 690€ for four days in Spain plus 70€ for kambo, 890€ for a five-day addiction retreat, and 880€ to 1,290€ in Costa Rica. A 210€ deposit is paid by PayPal and the balance on arrival.
• Overall Assessment: A named couple and a well-equipped venue, offset by a 2021 police case, extreme combinations of substances, dangerous safety claims, addiction treatment without clinicians and a no-refund policy. Directory evaluation: D-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

No reviews were found on Tripadvisor, Retreat Guru, BookRetreats, AyaAdvisors or Trustpilot. The only reviews are 17 testimonial videos and three screenshots of Google reviews on Esikaro’s own site. No reviews of 3 stars or lower were found. 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 Esikaro, Afinando el Alma, its association, Juan Diego Rodríguez Dorado and Daiva Kurgonaite.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: In July 2021 the Guardia Civil raided the Asociación Española de Medicinas Ancestrales Internacionales in Cox, the association named on Esikaro’s site, and arrested two of its managers for an alleged public health offence, per Cáñamo. Press reports described a couple aged 42 and 38, the association’s president and its secretary, and listed seized ayahuasca, 50 g of Bufo, about 840 kg of San Pedro and other plants, per El Independiente. Citing investigators, the reports alleged that clients fell with convulsions and that the woman blocked their breathing to hold in the smoke (unverified). The press did not name the two people. Esikaro’s site names Juan Diego Rodríguez Dorado as the association’s president; Daiva Kurgonaite’s published age and role do not match the woman described. The association told Cáñamo the case was archived (unverified).

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Juan Diego Rodríguez Dorado, “el Dorado”, says he has worked with plant medicines since 2014 and studied Shipibo, Mexican and Bribri traditions, per his bio; no maestro is named. Daiva Kurgonaite co-leads ceremonies and cooks. The site names the association as Reg. 619016 in Spain and a sister association in Costa Rica (unverified).

Safety claims. The Bufo page says an overdose of Bufo alvarius is “not possible”. The addiction retreat claims every addiction disappears “if the body is prepared”, with no medical detox or clinician. A team bio says San Pedro can cure “any disease”. These claims are unsupported.

Screening and medical support. No medical questionnaire, contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol is published; its recommendations page gives a meditation test for readiness. Phones are taken away except for emergencies.

Money. Its booking terms say no refunds are given in any case, only credit with two weeks’ written notice. It also sells 2,400€ presales for an unbuilt Costa Rica center due in March 2027, per its project page.

Misleading claim. A page headlined “with the support of the Government of Spain” hosts a document saying production and distribution of listed substances would fall under the Penal Code.

Status. Spain retreats were advertised for May and September 2026 while the Spain center is marked temporarily closed; no evidence shows they ran. Costa Rica is marked open.

Legal context. Ayahuasca is not specifically prohibited in Spain, DMT is controlled and most cases end in acquittal, per ICEERS; the Madrid High Court of Justice upheld an acquittal in July 2025, per Plantaforma. Police still raid ceremonies.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Kambo, cold plunges, San Pedro, a pain exercise and smoked 5-MeO-DMT around two ayahuasca nights add physical and psychological strain. 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. Alcohol, benzodiazepine and opioid withdrawal need medical care. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Ayahuasca the operators say they cook in Pucallpa, Peru (unverified). Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Mediterranean lowland town in the Vega Baja, inland from the Costa Blanca.
• Rooms: Shared rooms and a dormitory, with a pool, wood sauna and hot and cold tubs.
• Style: Intensive multi-medicine weekends mixed with cold exposure and breathwork.

Practical guidance: Fly to Alicante (ALC); no transfer is offered for Spain.

Should You Book?

We cannot recommend it. If you are considering it anyway, ask in writing which substances you will receive and on which days, who is medically trained on site, the emergency plan and nearest hospital, the outcome of the 2021 case, and why no refunds are given. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Esikaro presents itself as a holistic center bringing ancestral medicines to Spain and building “the largest ayahuasca center in the world” in Costa Rica. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing, plan any change with your own doctor, and do not use a retreat in place of medical addiction treatment. 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

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Last reviewed November 2026.

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