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

Sacred Counsel: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Sacred Counsel is a Valle de Bravo, Mexico operator founded by Luke DeStefano and Alexa Iya Soro that sells five-day group ayahuasca retreats with two ceremonies at a venue called Espacio Khungi for up to 15 guests at $4,200, and private ayahuasca, psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT (bufo) and kambo stays at the founders’ homestead, La Fuente, from $2,000, per its Retreat Guru page. It offers small private formats, a psychotherapist on site and structured integration. Against that, it has no reviews anywhere, no doctor or emergency plan is named for a menu that includes bufo and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, credentials and prices conflict across its listings, and some listings say it “does not administer, supply or handle any controlled substances” while selling a 5-MeO-DMT session.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: The outskirts of Valle de Bravo, Estado de México, about 2.5 hours from Mexico City; group retreats run at Espacio Khungi and private stays at La Fuente, and the address is sent only after booking, per its Khungi program page.
• Approach: Two ayahuasca ceremonies with temazcal, cacao, breathwork and psychotherapy-led integration; private formats offer one or two ayahuasca or psilocybin ceremonies, bufo and 5-MeO-DMT retreats, kambo and wellness stays with hyperbaric oxygen.
• Suitable For: People wanting a therapy-framed private or small-group retreat near Mexico City who can verify credentials themselves. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $4,200 for a five-day group ayahuasca retreat ($3,800 in January 2026); private ayahuasca from $2,000 for one ceremony to $5,600 for a couple with two, per its private retreat page; a 5-MeO-DMT day session is $900. The deposit is refundable until a day before and full payment until 30 days before; medicine is paid outside Retreat Guru by an undisclosed method.
• Overall Assessment: Comfortable venues and therapy-led integration, offset by no track record, no named medical staff for high-risk medicines, contradictory credentials and prices, and a disclaimer at odds with what it sells. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Sacred Counsel has no reviews on Retreat Guru across more than a dozen program pages, is not on BookRetreats, and no reviews were found on Google or Tripadvisor; it points to testimonials on its own website and YouTube channel. Its listings appear to date from 2026. 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 Sacred Counsel, Espacio Khungi, Luke DeStefano, Alexa Iya Soro and Amina Tezkatlahuiz.

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

The facilitators have little online presence beyond these listings, so this absence offers limited assurance.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Luke DeStefano describes himself as an integrative health practitioner with more than 20 years of ceremony work, a kambo practitioner trained in 2016 and a breathwork facilitator, per his teacher profile (unverified). Alexa Iya Soro describes herself as a psychotherapist with degrees in psychology and holistic counseling and 5-MeO-DMT facilitation training, per her profile; two listings add “LMHC”, a US counseling license, which her own profile does not mention (unverified). Amina Tezkatlahuiz, who joins the Khungi ayahuasca retreats, is described as a Mexican medicine woman, but her university, lineage and years of experience differ across pages, per her profile. No company is named.

Screening and medical support. The listings promise a “medical and psychiatric safety screening” and publish contraindications for bufo and kambo, but none for ayahuasca or psilocybin. No doctor, nurse or emergency protocol is named; a “psychiatrist” is mentioned once without a name. Luke runs a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at 2.0 ATA with no medical credential stated. The distance to a hospital is not stated.

Listings. Couples prices appear as $1,500, $2,000 and $3,400 on different pages for the same formats; group sizes and retreat lengths conflict; and one live page still shows an internal editing note. Listings state that ceremonies are “held by independent facilitators” while naming the founders as ceremony facilitators.

Status. Operating, with a group ayahuasca retreat listed for 3 to 7 November 2027; it is unconfirmed whether earlier dated retreats ran.

Legal context. Ayahuasca’s plants are not listed in Mexico’s health law, but DMT is treated as controlled, and Indigenous healers were arrested for bringing ayahuasca into Mexico in 2022, per ICEERS; psilocybin remains a prohibited psychotropic, per Infobae.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Offering bufo, a serotonergic drug, from the same small team that serves ayahuasca, without a published ayahuasca contraindication list or medical staff, is a 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

Ayahuasca served by the founders and visiting 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: Cool pine-forested highlands around the lake town of Valle de Bravo.
• Rooms: Private en suite cabins at Espacio Khungi; a garden bungalow at La Fuente for one or two guests.
• Style: Psychotherapy-led psychedelic retreat with Mexican ceremonial elements such as temazcal and cacao.

Practical guidance: Fly to Mexico City (MEX); group retreats include pickup, while private stays charge extra for transport.

Should You Book?

Only with caution. Ask in writing for the facilitators’ credentials and license numbers, who serves the ayahuasca and where it comes from, the screening questions and contraindication list for ayahuasca, the gap between bufo and ayahuasca, who on site is trained in first aid, the emergency plan and nearest hospital, how the medicine is paid for, and the legal entity you are paying. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Sacred Counsel calls itself “Integrative Psychedelic Support” and is run by a couple who host private guests at their own homestead. 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 medicines you will decline. After you return: Use the integration sessions 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

Programs 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.