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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (October 2026) and vary by site. They will be updated if Paititi Institute submits its own information.

Paititi Institute: An In-Depth Review for Sessions in Peru

Paititi Institute is a long-running ayahuasca and indigenous wisdom program founded around 2010 by Roman Hanis, with Cynthia Robinson named as co-founder in our earlier reporting. It has worked from several sites in Peru: a remote reserve in the Mapacho Valley near Manu National Park, a base in the Sacred Valley near Cusco, and an Amazon center about an hour from Iquitos, which is where its only in-person retreat currently on sale takes place. The Institute blends Amazonian and Andean indigenous practice with Tibetan wisdom traditions, Jungian transpersonal psychology, Daoist QiGong, breathwork, dreamwork and permaculture, and it has a long record of strong reviews and returning students. It also has one publicly disputed allegation of sexual misconduct dating to a 2017 incident, posted publicly in 2020, which the Institute’s board of directors has formally responded to in a written statement provided directly to Best Retreats. This listing presents both the long operational history and the disputed allegation so prospective guests can decide for themselves.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Paititi’s current in-person retreat, the 16-day “Embodying True Nature” immersion, is held at an Amazon center about one hour outside Iquitos, reachable only by boat, according to its booking page. Roman Hanis’s bio describes a 1,516-hectare biocultural reserve near Manu National Park stewarded by the Institute; our earlier profile described this Mapacho Valley land as roughly 4,000 acres with no road access. Paititi has also run shorter retreats in the Sacred Valley above the village of Lamay near Cusco. No Mapacho or Sacred Valley dates are listed as of October 2026.
• Approach: A multi-tradition synthesis the Institute describes as “ancestral wisdom traditions of Peru and Tibet supported by Jungian Transpersonal Psychology.” Plant medicines include ayahuasca, San Pedro (Huachuma), coca and cacao, with individual medicinal plants added as needed. Supporting practices include breathwork, somatic and Daoist QiGong, dreamwork, integration circles, yoga, healing diets, nature immersion and, on the Mapacho land, permaculture. The booking page says “we do not predetermine a fixed number of ceremonies.”
• Suitable For: People prepared to commit serious time and effort to a structured, application-based program rather than a drop-in ceremony, especially those with existing meditation, breathwork or contemplative practice. Less suited to anyone seeking a quick first-time ayahuasca experience, anyone unwilling to complete the 3-month Distance Healing Program when it applies, or anyone for whom the disputed 2017 allegation discussed below is itself disqualifying.
• Costs: The December 21, 2026 to January 5, 2027 Amazon immersion is priced on a sliding scale of $2,333 to $2,777, covering food, instruction, ceremonies, plant medicines and lodging, with a 30% deposit due at registration. Our earlier profile listed $170 per day for Mapacho stays with a one-month minimum and about $1,111 to $1,300 for 10-day Sacred Valley retreats; we could not find a current source for those prices.
• Overall Assessment: A long-running, multi-tradition operation with a substantial positive review history, an unusually structured intake process, and one publicly disputed sexual misconduct allegation that the Institute has formally responded to in writing. Directory evaluation: B- (notable for operational longevity, the strong positive review base and the formal organizational response on the record; flagged for the unresolved disputed allegation and the vulnerability concerns that apply to long, remote retreats generally).

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Here is how Paititi rates across review platforms in October 2026:

The positive picture. Paititi’s positive review base is consistent across many years. Reviewers describe Roman Hanis by name, often praising his depth of experience, his ability to weave Amazonian, Andean and Tibetan traditions, and his role as a long-term mentor rather than a one-off ceremony leader. Many guests describe returning several times. Reviewers also praise the preparation, the curriculum and the food. Our earlier profile cited a 2021 episode of The Universe Within Podcast in which Peru-based facilitator Jason Grechanik said it is rare to “only hear good things” about a place, and a 2017 Numundo blog post describing a 33-day permaculture course on the Mapacho land in glowing terms; we could not relocate either in October 2026, so treat them as unverified.

Reddit. A public Reddit account posted in August 2020 is described in the Incident Report below.

Who is writing the reviews. All 41 Retreat Guru reviews average a perfect 5.00, with only five displayed. The Third Wave directory offers a “ThirdWave” 10% discount code and lists one reviewer who also appears as a team member. A widely shared 2018 first-person account on The Good Men Project, by a writer who volunteered at Paititi for seven weeks, includes a discount code, so it is not independent. We found no formal affiliate program. If you have direct experience at Paititi, we encourage you to share it through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

Across our April and October 2026 reviews, our searches covered Reddit references, Quora, community forums, Facebook groups, news outlets, retreat discussion boards, ICEERS safety reports, court records, Chacruna Institute publications and review platforms. We found no reports of a guest dying at a Paititi ceremony, and no theft or violent crime tied to the Institute. One disputed allegation of sexual misconduct involving a 2017 incident has been posted publicly, and the Institute’s formal response appears below in this section.

• Sexual Misconduct (Disputed 2017/2020 Case): A former participant posted a public account on Reddit in August 2020 describing an incident she said occurred during a month-long retreat in the Sacred Valley in 2017. In her account, she alleges she was molested and sexually assaulted by a man she identifies online as the brother-in-law of someone connected to the retreat, in a vulnerable state following ceremony. She further alleges that when she brought the matter to leadership, she was told the man was not technically staff and that the Institute therefore did not bear responsibility, and that she was denied a partial refund when she sought to leave early. She describes significant psychological fallout in the years following. Paititi Institute disputes this characterization. In direct communication between Paititi’s board of directors and the Best Retreats team, Paititi’s leadership maintains that the situation involved a consensual personal relationship between two adults, that the person in question was not staff and not acting in any professional role, and that the public account is inaccurate. Best Retreats is not in a position to adjudicate what happened in 2017. We treat this as a publicly disputed allegation rather than a substantiated finding, and we present both the survivor’s public account and the Institute’s formal written response so prospective guests have the full picture. The Institute’s verbatim statement is reproduced below.
• The Sacred Science (2011): Roman Hanis was featured in the 2011 documentary The Sacred Science, by filmmaker Nick Polizzi, which followed eight people with serious illnesses through 30 days of treatment by indigenous healers at a center run by Hanis in the Amazon. According to a Video Librarian review, five patients went home symptom-free or nearly so, two did not respond, and “One man with advanced cancer believes he’s improving but dies.” The film predates or coincides with Paititi’s founding, and we have not established where or when he died or what role, if any, the treatment played.
• Theft and crime: No verified accounts of theft, arrests, police action or violent incidents linked to Paititi appeared in any source reviewed.
• Pattern: No additional allegations of sexual misconduct, ceremonial misconduct or other serious incidents involving Paititi were identified. The 2017/2020 case is the only allegation of its kind on the public record we found.
• Update as of October 2026: No new safety incidents identified. Reviews continue to accumulate on Retreat Guru. The disputed 2017/2020 case continues to be referenced in some community discussions, and the Institute’s formal response remains on the record below.

Statement from Paititi Institute. The following statement was provided directly by Paititi Institute’s board of directors to Best Retreats and reflects the organization’s official position regarding the 2017 allegation. We reproduce it verbatim:

“Paititi Institute is aware of a publicly posted allegation concerning an event from 2017. The situation involved a consensual personal relationship between two adults, neither of whom were facilitators, staff members, or acting in any professional capacity at Paititi Institute. Both individuals communicated to our facilitation team at the time that their relationship was consensual. No assault, misconduct, or criminal wrongdoing took place. The allegation circulating online is unverified and reflects one individual’s later interpretation, which we respectfully dispute. In over fifteen years of operation, Paititi Institute has had no substantiated complaints of misconduct and remains committed to safety, integrity, and the preservation of Indigenous healing traditions.”

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident at Paititi, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Structured intake. Paititi’s intake is among the most prerequisite-heavy in this directory. Applicants complete an application and health screening, must disclose all medications, supplements and health conditions, and may be directed to a 3-month Distance Healing Program (a personalized nutritional protocol, Jungian and shamanic dreamwork, and one-on-one coaching) before being considered for an in-person retreat. The Institute reserves the right to decide that an in-person retreat is not the right next step. The willingness to turn applicants away appears to be real rather than rhetorical.

Medicine handling. Paititi says many of its plants are grown in its own gardens, that other plant material comes from trusted relationships using organic and sustainable practices, and that all medicines are prepared by the Institute rather than bought from third parties. That claim is repeated on the Third Wave directory but has not been independently verified.

Remoteness. The Amazon center is reachable only by boat, and our earlier profile described the Mapacho land as having no road access, with a roughly four-hour drive from Cusco, a steep hike in and supplies carried by mule. For some participants this is the right setting for serious, extended work. For others, particularly first-time guests with significant trauma, the same remoteness means there is no quick way out if something goes wrong.

Weighing the disputed allegation. On one hand, it is one publicly posted account, never legally adjudicated, that the Institute’s leadership disputes in writing. On the other, Chacruna Institute research on sexual abuse in ayahuasca settings, along with academic and journalistic reporting, has documented that “consensual” framings of sexual contact in retreat settings are contested because of the power imbalances between healers, facilitators, retreat-adjacent figures and participants in altered states. None of that work names Paititi. We present the allegation, the Institute’s response and the broader context so readers can decide for themselves.

Organization and legal context. Hanis’s bio describes Paititi as “a nonprofit organization dedicated to Indigenous cultural preservation.” Charity directories list it as a US-linked nonprofit project, but we could not confirm a registration in Peru or the US. In Peru, the National Institute of Culture declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca by Amazonian native communities part of the nation’s cultural heritage in 2008, as Andina reported; that recognition is not a licensing or safety system for retreat centers.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

For its current Amazon program, Paititi requires an application and health screening, “stable health,” and disclosure of all medications, supplements and conditions, including any started after registration. Its booking page says many medications are contraindicated with the plants and may require a discontinuation period, assessed case by case, and it advises against stopping prescribed medication without a physician’s guidance. Vaccinations must be completed at least four weeks before arrival. The current program page does not mention medical staff; our earlier profile reported that visiting health professionals attend longer retreats when participants’ conditions warrant it. No emergency protocol is published. Ayahuasca and San Pedro both carry real psychological risk. The Global Ayahuasca Survey of more than 10,000 users found that 55.9% reported adverse mental health effects in the weeks or months after drinking, and around 12% sought professional support. ICEERS notes that combining ayahuasca’s MAOI component with SSRIs or other serotonergic medications is contraindicated, as is ayahuasca for people with severe psychiatric disorders, particularly those prone to psychosis, and DanceSafe notes a higher risk of distress for people with a personal or family history of mood or psychotic disorders. At remote sites, emergencies cannot be handled quickly, so consult a healthcare provider familiar with your history and with ayahuasca’s pharmacology before applying.

🧪 Brew Substance

Paititi works with ayahuasca, brewed from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and chacruna (Psychotria viridis) according to our earlier profile; San Pedro (Huachuma), from the Trichocereus pachanoi cactus; coca; and cacao. Its Amazon program places ayahuasca in its Amazonian context and San Pedro and coca in their Andean contexts, and may add individual medicinal plants for specific needs. As Erowid explains, the vine’s MAO inhibitors make the DMT in ayahuasca orally active, which is why medication interactions matter. We found no kambo or rapé on the program.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Peru: The Amazon center sits about an hour from Iquitos by boat. Guests stay in traditional stilt huts with wooden frames and mosquito-net walls, sharing with one or two participants of the same sex, with attached bathrooms; private rooms are first come, first served. Our earlier profile described the Mapacho land as a remote valley between cloud forest and Andean foothills reached by mountain road and hike, with personal huts or tents, and the Sacred Valley site above Lamay as more accessible, with shared rooms and camping. Climate ranges from hot and humid in the Amazon to cool and high in the Andes. Jungle and Mountain Rustic.
• Style: Structured and teaching-heavy. Programs have ranged from 10 days to a month or more, with ceremonies woven into daily QiGong, breathwork, dreamwork, integration circles and individual healing protocols. The current Amazon immersion runs 16 days with Roman Hanis and a Yahua elder. Groups have typically been around 8 to 15 people, according to the Third Wave directory.

Practical guidance: For the Amazon program, fly into Iquitos by December 19 and plan to leave no earlier than the evening of January 5; Paititi says not to book travel until you are accepted, about a month before. Transfers are not listed as included. For Andean programs, fly to Cusco and allow a day or two to acclimatize to the altitude. Bring crisp, undamaged US dollar bills if paying any balance in cash.

Should You Book?

Paititi is a defensible choice for someone looking for a structured, multi-tradition program that blends plant medicine with sustained contemplative practice. The screening rigor, the long operational history and the consistently strong reviews are real. The trade-offs are also real: a publicly disputed sexual misconduct allegation that the Institute contests in writing, remote settings with no quick exit, no published emergency protocol or named medical staff on the current program, and a review base concentrated on one platform. If you are considering it, read both the positive reviews and the disputed allegation in full, read the Institute’s statement, ask Paititi directly about its current safeguarding and complaint-handling procedures, and decide whether you are comfortable with that level of ambiguity. Our guide to verifying retreat facilitators covers what to ask.

The Team & Story

Roman Hanis is described on his current bio as co-founder of Paititi Institute. He says he arrived in the Peruvian Amazon in 2001, recovered from a severe, life-threatening period of Crohn’s disease in 2002, and was “formally recognized as a curandero by Yahua elders” in 2004 after a long apprenticeship with Yahua, Huitoto, Ashuar, Shipibo and other traditions. The bio adds that he has studied Jungian psychology, Tibetan Buddhist and Bön traditions, Daoist internal arts and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Our earlier profile, drawing on a previous bio, reported that he is a certified TCM practitioner in Peru who trained under Myriam Hacker, holds a degree in medical massage therapy from the Swedish Institute of Health in New York, has facilitated breathwork since 2003 and speaks Spanish, Hebrew, Russian and English; we could not confirm those details on his current pages. He is the author of Beyond Ayahuasca: Unlocking the Evolutionary Science of Indigenous Amazonian Wisdom to Access Your Highest Potential, published by Hay House in 2025, and says author proceeds support the Yahua Ancestral School and Cultural Heritage Center. Our earlier profile named Cynthia Robinson as co-founder; current booking pages list her as a guide and facilitator. It also named Andrew Jones (permaculture), Robin (Somatic QiGong) and Rodrigo as team members, whom we could not find on current pages.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Start any dietary protocol Paititi gives you well before arrival, disclose every medication and supplement, and do not stop any prescription without your prescriber’s guidance. If you are directed to the Distance Healing Program, treat it as a real prerequisite. Pack light, breathable clothing and a headlamp for the Amazon, or layers, broken-in boots and rain gear for the Andes, plus a refillable water bottle and a notebook. After you return: integration circles and dreamwork are built into the program, and the Distance Healing framework can continue afterward when it applies. Outside the program, rest, journal, talk with a therapist familiar with psychedelic integration, and avoid major life decisions for a few weeks. The period after a long, remote retreat can be vulnerable, especially if you arrived carrying significant trauma.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

Applications are handled through Paititi’s Retreat Guru booking site and paititi-institute.org, by email at info@paititi-institute.org. The December 21, 2026 to January 5, 2027 Amazon immersion costs $2,333 to $2,777 on a sliding scale. A 30% deposit is due at registration and is refunded if you are not accepted; otherwise deposits are non-refundable except for COVID-related cancellations, and earlier cancellations can be transferred to a future program minus a 10% administrative fee. The balance can be paid by card with a 3.9% fee or in crisp US dollars on the first day, and the retreat is canceled with a full refund if a minimum group size is not met four weeks out. Before applying, read both the review history and the disputed allegation in full and ask the Institute about its current safeguarding protocols. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed October 2026.

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