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

Mountain Wind: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Manu and Cusco, Peru

Mountain Wind is a new retreat organizer founded by Shane Parks that sells a nine-day program with three ayahuasca ceremonies at an unnamed jungle center in the Manu area, kambo, and a San Pedro ceremony near Cusco, for up to six guests at $1,998.99, per its program page. Groups are very small and the founder lists wilderness first-responder training. Against that, it has no reviews or track record, the jungle site is unnamed and a day’s drive from Cusco, no screening, contraindications, medical staff or emergency plan are published, and its listing has conflicting addresses and stock photos.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: An unnamed jungle center in the Manu area for the ayahuasca days, then a “mountain house” near Cusco; the listing gives an address in Taray, near Pisac, and another in Cusco.
• Approach: Three ayahuasca ceremonies, kambo, plant baths and energetic cleansings in the jungle, then a San Pedro (Huachuma) ceremony near the Temple of the Moon.
• Suitable For: Experienced travelers wanting a small, adventure-style trip who can screen themselves. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $1,998.99 for nine days including meals, ceremonies and transport from Cusco, with dates in April, May, October and November 2027. The deposit is refundable until a day before and full payment until 30 days before; whether medicine is paid separately is unclear.
• Overall Assessment: Very small groups and a first-aid-trained founder, offset by no track record, an unnamed remote site, no published medical safeguards for kambo and ayahuasca, and an unreliable listing. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Mountain Wind has no reviews on any of its Retreat Guru pages, and none were found on Tripadvisor, Google, BookRetreats or AyaAdvisors. 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 Mountain Wind, Shane Parks, Alonso Rafael Gaitán and Flor Araceli Díaz.

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

A tourist death reported after a ceremony in Taray, covered in our Etnikas listing, involved a different center and is unrelated.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Shane Parks says he founded Mountain Wind, has facilitated for more than five years, holds wilderness first responder and CPR certificates and trained in kambo with Robinson Reyna and with curandera Borka Cafuk, per his teacher profile. Alonso Rafael Gaitán and Flor Araceli Díaz are described as musicians and healers based in the Sacred Valley, per their profile (all unverified). No website, company or tax number is named.

Screening and medical support. No medical questionnaire, contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol is published, although kambo and ayahuasca are given at a jungle site a full day’s drive from Cusco. The program then moves to Cusco’s altitude without published guidance.

Listings. The center page and program pages give different addresses, the itinerary skips a day and repeats another, and the gallery includes stock images, one of a cathedral in Mexico. A separate “Mountain Wind Huachuma Retreat” listing under another Retreat Guru account may be related (unverified).

Status. Taking bookings for 2027 only; no evidence shows a retreat has run under this listing, which appears to date from September 2026.

Legal context. Ayahuasca is legal in Peru, its traditional use is national heritage, and there is no licensing regime for retreats, per ICEERS.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

With no published screening and a remote site, 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 to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Ayahuasca served by the facilitators; 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: Warm cloud forest and jungle in the Manu area, then the cool Cusco highlands.
• Rooms: Lodging is described only as “comfortable and safe”.
• Style: Foreign-founded adventure format with curandero-trained facilitators and a Q’ero San Pedro cleansing.

Practical guidance: Fly to Cusco (CUZ); transport from Cusco is included, and you should confirm the jungle center’s name and location in writing.

Should You Book?

Only with caution. Ask in writing for the jungle center’s name and location, the screening questions and contraindication list, the emergency plan and evacuation time, the kambo schedule, whether medicine costs extra, and the legal entity you are paying. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Mountain Wind presents its program as an adventure from the Amazon to the Andes with a small, music-led team. 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 buy insurance that covers evacuation. 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

The program is 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.