Atmosphere

Features

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

Madre Verde Aya Ceremonies & Retreats: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats near Puerto Morelos, Mexico

Madre Verde Aya Ceremonies & Retreats is a small jungle retreat at about km 20 of the Ruta de los Cenotes near Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico, founded by a facilitator named Rubén with co-host Mila, offering five-day retreats with a tobacco purge and two ayahuasca ceremonies for up to 10 guests from $1,800, per its Retreat Guru program page. Against that, its listings promote Dr. Hamer’s “New Germanic Medicine”, including the claim that diseases “are not malignancies, as conventional medicine claims”, it publishes no contraindications, medical staff or emergency plan, the hosts give no surnames, and it has no reviews anywhere.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Ruta de los Cenotes km 20, next to Cenote Kin-Ha, between Puerto Morelos and Leona Vicario, Quintana Roo, Mexico, per its Retreat Guru page.
• Approach: An Amazonian tobacco purge, one night and one daytime ayahuasca ceremony, rapé, tobacco paste and optional sananga, plus a talk on Dr. Hamer’s “Five Biological Laws”, sound healing, a massage, flower baths and a cenote visit.
• Suitable For: Experienced adults who want a small, simple jungle setting and do not need medical guidance. Not suitable for people with serious illness, people taking antidepressants or anyone with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $1,800 shared cabaña, $2,300 private double and $2,500 private single for five days in 2026; a November 2024 event was a $150 contribution. One page says the deposit is refundable until a day before and full payment until 30 days before; other pages show no terms.
• Overall Assessment: Small groups and an application form, offset by promotion of a medical theory that tells guests disease is not malignant, no published medical safeguards, an anonymous operator and no track record. Directory evaluation: D+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

No reviews were found: Retreat Guru shows none on its center or event pages after at least two years of listings, and no listing was found on Google, Tripadvisor, BookRetreats, AyaAdvisors 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 and Spanish-language news for reports involving Madre Verde, Rubén and Mila.

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

The hosts publish no surnames, which limits this search.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Rubén says he has led ceremonies at Madre Verde since 2019 and worked with ayahuasca for more than 15 years, with Shipibo, Mexican tobacco, Venezuelan and Colombian influences, but names no teacher or lineage, per his profile. Mila hosts, cooks and gives rapé, per her profile. No website, social account, company or tax number was found.

Medical claims. A 2024 listing promoted Dr. Hamer’s “New Germanic Medicine”, saying diseases “are not malignancies, as conventional medicine claims” and offering personalized talks based on it, per its 2024 event page; the 2026 schedule still includes a Hamer session. Guests with serious illness should not rely on this framework in place of medical care.

Screening and medical support. The 2026 application form asks about health, medications and mental health history, but no contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol is published. The 2024 event listed no screening and offered “up to four” doses of ayahuasca. The nearest 24-hour facility is Costamed in Puerto Morelos, about 20 to 25 minutes away (our estimate), per a local guide.

Listings. Event titles end in “Copy Copy Copy Copy”, dates appear twice, and the amenity list shows a pool, spa, sauna and air conditioning that the program pages, which describe simple cabañas with fans and shared eco-bathrooms, contradict.

Status. Retreat Guru lists retreats through November 2026; no independent evidence confirms that they run.

Legal context. Ayahuasca’s plants are not named in Mexican law, but DMT is controlled, and healers have been arrested importing ayahuasca since 2022, per DoubleBlind; Peruvian healer José Campos was acquitted in 2023, per ICEERS. The center does not say where its brew comes from.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Without a published contraindication list, guests must screen themselves. 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, or any treatment for a serious illness, to attend a ceremony without your doctor’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Ayahuasca of undisclosed source and recipe. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Lowland jungle on the cenote road inland from Puerto Morelos, with a maloka and open-air integration space.
• Rooms: Two shared cabañas for up to four, with fans and mosquito nets, and two private rooms sharing a bathroom, per its program page.
• Style: Eclectic neo-shamanic ceremonies with medicine music and Hamer-based talks.

Practical guidance: Travel to Puerto Morelos; pickup from there is included, but not from Cancún or Tulum.

Should You Book?

Not recommended for anyone with a serious illness. Others should ask in writing for the hosts’ full names, the contraindication list, who on site is trained in first aid, the emergency plan and whether Hamer’s theories are presented as an alternative to medical treatment. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Rubén describes more than 20 years leading singing circles and ceremonies at Madre Verde since 2019; the first dated retreat listing found is from 2024. 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. 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 are listed on Retreat Guru. 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.