Atmosphere

Features

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

Heart of Pachamama (Pachamama Shamanic Healing): An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Mallorca, Spain

Heart of Pachamama is a Mallorca-based group led by a Bolivian-born curandera named Mariela and a retreat leader called Tao that runs four-day ayahuasca (yagé) retreats with three ceremonies, rapé and optional kambo and bufo (5-MeO-DMT) at a private finca in central Mallorca from €850, per its Retreat Guru program page, with retreats also listed in Switzerland and Putumayo, Colombia. It appears to be the same operator that, as Pachamama Shamanic Healing, held ayahuasca, kambo and bufo retreats in Dublin from 2021 to 2024 (inferred, unverified). Guests rate it 5.0 on BookRetreats. Against that, it uses first names only, names no company, publishes no contraindications, medical staff or emergency plan for programs that combine ayahuasca with bufo, kambo or mushrooms, and its Irish events involved substances banned in Ireland.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A private family finca in central Mallorca, Spain, listed variously as Sencelles, Sant Joan and Palma and about 35 minutes from Palma airport, per its BookRetreats listing; earlier events were held in Dublin, Ireland.
• Approach: Three night-time yagé ceremonies with live music, rapé before each, a fire ceremony, breathwork and art therapy, with kambo and bufo offered as extras; other programs add psilocybin mushrooms.
• Suitable For: Adults in Europe wanting a short, affordable ceremony weekend who can screen themselves and accept sharing one room. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: €850 for four days on Retreat Guru and from $837 with a $279 deposit on BookRetreats; a New Year retreat with ayahuasca and mushrooms was €1,300, private kambo is €120, and a Swiss three-day retreat is €600. BookRetreats refunds the full deposit 30 or more days out, half at 15 to 29 days and nothing after; no other refund terms are published.
• Overall Assessment: Affordable small retreats with warm reviews and a month of integration support, offset by anonymous facilitators, high-risk medicine combinations without published medical safeguards, an undisclosed rebrand and past events in a country where the medicines are banned. Directory evaluation: D+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

BookRetreats shows 5.00 from eight reviews dated July to October 2026, and the German directory calmbase.de shows three positive reviews from 2024 and 2026, per its calmbase.de page; both Retreat Guru pages have none. Guests describe strong support, guidance and integration. No reviews of 3 stars or lower were found, and none on Google, Tripadvisor or Trustpilot. 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 German-language news for reports involving Heart of Pachamama, Pachamama Shamanic Healing, Mariela and Tao.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None found.

The facilitators publish first names only, which limits this search. Spanish police raided unrelated ayahuasca retreats in Yecla in 2023, Pedreguer in 2025 and Sagunto in 2026, per Moncloa; none is linked to this operator.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Mariela is described as a Bolivian-born curandera who has lived in Mallorca for more than 20 years and has worked with close to 10,000 people; Tao, the retreat leader, says she was initiated by Siona elders in Colombia but “does not follow one lineage strictly”; and Julian supports integration, per its listings (unverified). The website reads as if Mariela and Tao are one person, while Retreat Guru lists two. No surnames, company or tax number appear. The older brand ran four-day ayahuasca, kambo and bufo events in Dublin from 2021 to October 2024, per its event listings; its old Retreat Guru page now shows a Mallorca address with no programs.

Screening and medical support. BookRetreats mentions a health screening and call before the retreat, but no contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol is published, and Retreat Guru program pages mention no screening. Ayahuasca is combined with kambo and bufo in the same four days, and with mushrooms in some programs. The nearest hospital is not stated.

Listings. Retreat Guru lists a spa, sauna, hot tub and gym, while BookRetreats describes a single shared sleeping room, a garden and a pool; airport transfers are listed as both €25 and not provided.

Status. Operating, with Mallorca retreats in November and December 2026, Swiss dates through 2027 and a review from October 2026; no Irish events were found after October 2024.

Legal context. In Ireland, police say DMT is controlled and the medicines regulator calls ayahuasca “a banned substance here”, per Extra.ie. In Spain, sale of ayahuasca to the public is prohibited and possession is controlled, per Wikipedia’s summary.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Offering bufo, a serotonergic drug, in the same short retreat as ayahuasca with no published contraindications or gap is a serious concern. 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

Yagé served by Mariela and Tao; its source is not published. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: A forested family finca in the Mallorcan interior with a saltwater pool.
• Rooms: One shared sleeping room for all guests, heated by a fire in winter.
• Style: Colombian-influenced yagé ceremony with live music, combined with kambo, bufo and therapeutic integration.

Practical guidance: Fly to Palma de Mallorca (PMI); confirm in writing whether the €25 pickup is available or arrange a car or taxi.

Should You Book?

Only with caution. Ask in writing for the facilitators’ full names and the company you are paying, the screening questions and contraindication list, the gap between ayahuasca and bufo or kambo, who on site is trained in first aid, the emergency plan and nearest hospital, and the finca’s exact location. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Heart of Pachamama says its facilitators have worked with master plants for more than fifteen years and describes itself as family-rooted; its documented public events date from April 2021 in Dublin. 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 decide in advance which extra medicines you will decline. After you return: Use the month of integration support offered and 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 are listed on Retreat Guru, BookRetreats and its website. 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.