Soltara Healing Center Ayahuasca Retreats: An In-Depth Review for Sessions in Costa Rica

Soltara Healing Center is a Shipibo-led ayahuasca retreat center founded in 2018 by Daniel Cleland and Melissa Stangl, operating across three Costa Rican locations under the entity Soltara LP. The center holds a permit through the Costa Rican Ministry of Health for alternative and natural therapies, maintains an exclusive partnership with nine Peruvian Shipibo Master Healers, and runs one of the most institutionally backed advisory boards in the plant medicine industry, including Dr. Gabor Maté, Dr. Dennis McKenna, Dr. Bia Labate of the Chacruna Institute, and Dr. Clancy Cavnar. Soltara consistently appears among the most-discussed ayahuasca retreats in the Americas, with extensive positive reviews and a small but documented set of operational concerns prospective participants should evaluate.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Three properties in Costa Rica. Playa Blanca (Paquera, Puntarenas, on the Nicoya Peninsula overlooking the Gulf of Nicoya) operating since 2018. Goddess Falls (Diamante Valley, mountain setting). Scarlet Valley (Central Pacific Valley near Carara National Park, newest location with retreats beginning June 2026).
• Approach: Exclusive partnership with nine Peruvian Shipibo Master Healers with 12 to 30+ years of traditional training and extensive plant dietas. Ceremonies are conducted in the Shipibo tradition with individual icaros (healing songs). Programming combines ceremony with trauma-informed Western therapeutic support, including facilitators trained in Dr. Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry methodology.
• Suitable For: Participants seeking authentic Shipibo lineage work paired with comprehensive medical and psychological infrastructure. Includes scholarship pathways for veterans (via VETS Inc.) and BIPOC participants. Specific contraindications apply, including certain heart conditions and medications such as SSRIs, SNRIs, and MAOIs.
• Costs: Pricing starts at $2,975 USD for Green Season (June through September). Five-night, seven-night, and twelve-night programs available. Higher-season and luxury accommodation tiers reach into the $6,000 USD range per published program pages.
• Overall Assessment: Among the most established and institutionally credentialed ayahuasca retreat operations in Costa Rica. Strong on documented safety infrastructure, Shipibo lineage, and integration support. Recent critical reviews and the typical risks of group ceremonial work warrant standard due diligence.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Reviews of Soltara skew strongly positive across Trustindex, retreat.guru, Tripadvisor, and Google, with consistent themes around the quality of the Shipibo Maestros, the professionalism of the facilitator team, and the depth of integration support. Multiple guests describe the experience as “the luxury version of traditional Shipibo medicine work,” noting that the center honors ceremonial integrity while providing infrastructure and comfort that more remote Peruvian centers cannot. Maestras Anita, Maricela, and Silvia are named repeatedly for the quality of their icaros and individual attention during ceremony. Facilitators including Gemma, Isabelle, Matthew David, and Robert receive frequent positive mention. The on-site kitchen team and chef Laura draw praise for ayahuasca-compatible meals.

A small but real subset of reviews raises specific concerns worth weighing. A late-2025 Trustindex review documented a participant experiencing significant disruption from another guest’s loud vocalizations across all four ceremonies in a retreat, with the reviewer reporting they were unable to reach their intended depth of experience as a result. Soltara responded publicly through their team account, acknowledging the engagement, offering follow-up integration support, and standing by their facilitator team’s response protocols. The exchange is itself a useful data point for prospective participants: emotional expression is part of Shipibo ceremonial tradition, and group ceremonies inherently carry the variable of who else is in the room.

We encourage sharing your perspective through our submission form to maintain current insights.

🚩 Incident Report

Following a thorough review of online sources including Reddit subreddits like r/Ayahuasca, r/Psychonaut, and r/WellnessHive, Quora threads, Facebook groups such as Psychedelic Healing and Ayahuasca Experiences, news outlets, retreat discussion boards, ICEERS safety reports, and public records, no verified serious incidents were found specific to Soltara Healing Center.

• Theft: No public reports of theft of guest valuables or property found across retreat forums, review platforms, or news sources.
• Sexual Misconduct: No allegations of sexual misconduct by Soltara facilitators, healers, or staff found in available public sources, including ICEERS resources, retreat-focused subreddits, or news archives.
• Crime: No criminal complaints, arrests, or violent incidents linked to Soltara appeared in Google News, Costa Rican media, or retreat discussion sources reviewed.

The most substantive recent critical feedback in the public record is the late-2025 Trustindex review described above, which documents an integration and group-management concern rather than a safety incident. Soltara’s public response acknowledged the engagement and offered continued integration support. Earlier secondhand mentions of a 2023 panic-episode incident and 2022 facilitator burnout circulated in some retreat-comparison content, though primary-source documentation for these specific events was not located in this review pass and should be treated as unverified.

New update as of June 2026: Soltara announced a research partnership with the Ayahuasca Research Foundation, the University of Washington Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry, and the AIMS Institute in Seattle. The center has also opened a third Costa Rican location, Scarlet Valley, with retreats beginning June 2026.

🔍 Critical Notes

Soltara is one of the most institutionally backed ayahuasca retreat operations in Costa Rica, with credentials that are unusual in the plant medicine space. The Costa Rican Ministry of Health permit covers the center’s alternative and natural therapy services. The on-site health clinic includes a doctor’s office, a fully stocked medical kit, certified first responders available 24 hours a day, and a 24-hour medical facility within 15 minutes by road. The advisory board includes Dr. Gabor Maté (physician and trauma specialist), Dr. Dennis McKenna (ethnopharmacologist), Dr. Bia Labate (Chacruna Institute, anthropologist), and Dr. Clancy Cavnar (clinical psychologist). The center maintains partnerships with the Chacruna Institute, the Amazon Rainforest Conservancy, Amazon Watch, the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative, the Elected Leaders Collective, and VETS Inc.

The structural risks are the ones inherent to large group ceremonial work and high-volume retreat operations rather than the safety-gap concerns common at less established centers. Group sizes scale up to 22 participants, which means individual experiences are partially shaped by group dynamics outside any single guest’s control. The center’s expansion to three locations brings operational complexity that prospective participants may want to ask about directly, particularly around how facilitator teams are matched to each location and whether continuity of healer relationships is maintained across properties. Costa Rica’s regulatory framework permits Soltara’s operations under its Ministry of Health permit, but ayahuasca remains a powerful psychoactive substance with specific medical contraindications. Prospective guests on SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, or stimulants, or with histories of cardiovascular conditions, seizure disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, or bipolar disorder should be especially rigorous in disclosing all relevant history during intake.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Soltara operates a multi-stage intake process described publicly on their booking pages: a registration deposit, a written intake form, an intake review by their team, and an intake call before final confirmation. The center reserves the right to deny admission and to withhold ceremony participation for guests deemed medically unsafe due to contraindicated medications. Pre-retreat coordination with therapists and medical advisors is included. Beginning with 2026 retreats, every guest receives a 50-minute one-on-one preparation session and a 50-minute one-on-one integration session as part of the standard program. Soltara’s published policies state that in the unlikely event of a psychotic episode or adverse reaction, the center will provide care and follow emergency protocol coordinated with the guest’s emergency contact. Prospective participants should still consult with a qualified medical professional independently before booking, particularly those with mental health conditions, taking prescription medications, or with cardiovascular history. Honest disclosure during the intake process is critical for safety; this is true of every ayahuasca retreat but worth restating for first-time participants.

🧪 Brew Substance

Soltara works exclusively in the Shipibo tradition with ayahuasca brewed from Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis (chacruna) leaves, prepared by their Shipibo Maestros following Amazonian recipes. Lorna Liana’s first-person review on EntheoNation describes the brew as a dark molasses with a bitter plum aftertaste, characterized as heavier on vine and tannins and noted for its purgative quality, consistent with traditional Shipibo preparation. The center does not combine ayahuasca with other psychoactive plant medicines such as San Pedro, Bufo, or kambo in the standard program, which simplifies the brew composition and reduces the risk of unfamiliar interactions during ceremony.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Playa Blanca, Costa Rica: Original location in operation since 2018, located in Paquera, Puntarenas Province, on the southern Nicoya Peninsula overlooking the Gulf of Nicoya. Approximately 90 minutes from Santa Teresa. Oceanside setting with onsite pool, beach access, gym, yoga palapa, fire circles, and hammock areas. The Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world’s five Blue Zones. Operates retreats year-round.
• Goddess Falls, Costa Rica: Mountain location in the Diamante Valley. Glamping-style luxury tent accommodations with valley views. Smaller group capacity (17 to 22 guests).
• Scarlet Valley, Costa Rica: Newest location, opening with retreats in June 2026, in the Central Pacific Valley along a biological corridor near Carara National Park. Features valley views, protected rainforest access, saltwater pool, gym, spa, onsite permaculture gardens, and nature trails.
• Style: Shipibo ceremonial tradition led by Indigenous Peruvian Master Healers. Ceremonies are typically held at night and include individual icaros sung to each participant. Programming around ceremonies includes yoga, breathwork, sound bowl sessions, meditation, floral baths prepared by the healers, integration workshops, and sharing circles.

Practical guidance: Group shuttle transportation from a partner airport hotel is included with every retreat. Soltara has negotiated discounted hotel rates and complimentary airport pickup and breakfast at the partner hotel for guests booking a night before or after. The center recommends arriving in Costa Rica at least one day early to absorb travel delays. Independent transport partners are available for guests with non-standard arrival or departure plans.

Should You Book?

Soltara is a defensible choice for prospective participants who want authentic Shipibo lineage work backed by formal medical infrastructure, government permitting, and an institutionally credible advisory board. The center is particularly worth considering for first-time ayahuasca participants who want comprehensive screening and integration support, veterans and BIPOC participants who may be eligible for scholarship pathways, and anyone whose travel constraints or risk tolerance make a remote Peruvian center less practical. The center’s three-location structure and group sizes up to 22 are worth understanding ahead of booking. Participants seeking a more intimate setting may prefer the smaller Goddess Falls programs. Those with specific medical or psychiatric histories should expect a rigorous intake process and should not view a denial of admission as a negative outcome; it indicates the screening is working. The brew is genuinely purgative in the Shipibo tradition, and first-time participants should arrive prepared for that.

The Team & Story

Soltara was founded in 2018 by Daniel Cleland and Melissa Stangl. Cleland, originally from Walkerton, Ontario, completed a Master’s degree in Intercultural and International Communication and founded an earlier Latin American plant medicine tour operation in 2011 which he sold in 2017 before building Soltara. Stangl came to plant medicine work from a background in biomedical engineering and cancer research, leaving corporate America in 2015 to live and work in the Peruvian Amazon before co-founding Soltara with Cleland. She serves as Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer; Cleland serves as Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer.

Soltara’s Shipibo Master Healers include Anita Perez Sinacay, Soi Ochavano Lopez, Maricela Rios Inuma, Francisco Vasquez Huayta, Maestra Silvia Marin Garcia, and Moises Vasquez Nunta, drawn from a roster of nine Peruvian Shipibo healers in exclusive partnership with the center. The advisory board includes Dr. Gabor Maté (physician, author, trauma and addiction specialist), Dr. Dennis McKenna (ethnopharmacologist), Dr. Bia Labate (anthropologist, Chacruna Institute), and Dr. Clancy Cavnar (clinical psychologist, PsyD). The center has been featured in The New York Times, Nature, Goop, Elle, and PsyPost.

Soltara also operates the Isa Weni Amazonian School Project, which supports education for Shipibo children, and contributes to Amazon conservation and Indigenous Reciprocity work through its Reciprocity Fund.

Prep & Integration Tips

Preparation begins at intake and includes access to Soltara’s preparation guidebook, the Entwined program (a 12-module support resource for family members and loved ones of plant medicine participants), and the Soltara Plus membership on the Nectara community platform for a full year. Standard ayahuasca dieta restrictions apply in the weeks before retreat, including elimination of pork, alcohol, recreational drugs, fermented foods, aged cheeses, cured meats, certain medications, and sexual activity for a defined period. Meals during the retreat are prepared in accordance with the dieta. New for 2026, every participant receives a 50-minute one-on-one preparation call and a 50-minute one-on-one integration call as part of the standard program. Integration support continues for one year post-retreat through Nectara, including monthly integration circles, weekly emails for the first three months, and access to a vetted network of integration practitioners. The center publishes The Hero’s Journal, an integration journal created in collaboration with plant-medicine-experienced clinical psychologists, given to every retreat participant.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

Five-night, seven-night, and twelve-night programs are available year-round at Playa Blanca, with seasonal programming at Goddess Falls and Scarlet Valley. Pricing starts at $2,975 USD during Green Season (June through September), with higher pricing in peak season and for upgraded accommodations. Bookings are processed through Soltara’s website with a deposit, written intake form, and intake call required before final confirmation. Soltara also offers free discovery calls with Guest Experience Coordinators who have personally been through the program, useful for evaluating fit between specific participants and specific retreat dates or locations.