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

Phoenix Ayahuasca: An In-Depth Review of an Ayahuasca Retreat near Iquitos, Peru

Phoenix Ayahuasca is a jungle retreat about 25 km from Iquitos, Peru, last documented in 2017, created by Australian siblings Mark and Tracie Thornberry, that sold 10-day intensives with five ayahuasca ceremonies, a tobacco purge and sapo (kambo) for about $1,200, per SBS News and its AyaAdvisors listing. In December 2015 a guest was killed by another guest at the center during a ceremony night, while neither owner nor the master shaman was present. Its guest reviews are uniformly positive and never mention the death, no medical staff was reported, and whether it still operates is unknown.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A lodge reached by highway about 25 km from Iquitos, Loreto, Peru, with no mobile reception; the exact village is not published.
• Approach: Small-group ayahuasca ceremonies with a Shipibo shaman and a mestizo master shaman, plus tobacco purges, sapo, steam baths and, by one account, San Pedro.
• Suitable For: Readers researching the center’s history. Its current operation is unconfirmed. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: About $1,200 for a 10-day intensive in 2015 and 2016, per SBS and Dazed; no refund policy was found.
• Overall Assessment: A homicide on the premises during a ceremony night with leadership absent, no reported medical staff or phone reception, reviews silent on the death and no trace of operation since 2017. Directory evaluation: D-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

AyaAdvisors shows 5.0 from 12 reviews dated May 2015 to July 2017, praising warm, skilled shamans and a family-like team; four fall within five weeks in mid-2017, after the reopening, and none mentions the 2015 death. Reviewers in 2017 call the center “Phoenix Rose”. No other reviews and none 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 international press, review platforms and English and Spanish-language news for reports involving Phoenix Ayahuasca, Phoenix Rose and its owners and shamans.

• Deaths and serious injuries: On the night of 16 December 2015, during an ayahuasca ceremony, a British guest was fatally stabbed by a Canadian guest at the center. Police said the evidence showed self-defence after the British guest attacked with a kitchen knife from the center, and the Canadian guest was released after about a day, per AP. Prosecutors later dropped homicide charges, and toxicology reportedly showed that the guest who died had taken ayahuasca and the other had not, although accounts of the doses conflict, per Dazed. The family of the guest who died sought a conviction; no outcome was found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None against the center was found; it was not charged.

On the incident night one owner was in hospital and the other in Australia, the master shaman was delayed by a blocked highway, a new guard was on his fourth day and staff and guests had a language barrier, per Dazed. The lodge had no mobile reception, so staff walked to a nearby village to call police. The owners said staff physically tried to intervene, per SBS.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who ran it. Mark Thornberry and his sister Tracie Thornberry, a drug and alcohol counsellor from New South Wales, created the center, per SBS. The master shaman was named in the press as Javier Arevalo, with a Shipibo woman as in-house shaman (unverified). Reviews from 2017 call a man named Troy the owner (unverified). No company, tax number or website address was found.

Screening and medical support. The owners said guests completed a standard questionnaire including antidepressant use, per Dazed. No contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol was published, and the nearest hospitals are in Iquitos.

After the incident. The center closed temporarily, and Mark Thornberry said in early 2016 that it would reopen, attributing the event to the guests’ “egos” rather than ayahuasca, per Dazed.

Status. The last dated evidence of operation is a July 2017 review. No website, listing or retreat dates after 2017 were found, and whether “Phoenix Rose” was a formal new name is unconfirmed. Treat it as possibly closed.

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

This case shows why a retreat needs experienced leaders on site, secured sharp objects and a way to call for help. 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 center’s shamans; its source was not published. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Hot lowland rainforest reached by a mud path from the highway.
• Rooms: A dormitory, a ceremony hut and a natural pool, per Dazed.
• Style: Shipibo and mestizo ceremonies with icaros under Western ownership.

Practical guidance: The center sat near Iquitos (IQT), reachable only by air or river from the rest of Peru.

Should You Book?

We cannot recommend it, and it may no longer operate. If a center under this or a similar name contacts you, ask in writing who owns it now, who leads each ceremony, whether a senior facilitator is always on site, how sharp objects are secured, the medical and emergency plan, how to call for help without phone signal, and the legal entity you are paying. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Phoenix Ayahuasca described itself as “a safe and supportive place to experience plant medicines”, per AP. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go anywhere: 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

No current booking page was found; its last listing is on AyaAdvisors. 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.