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

The Healing Tree Center: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in the Sacred Valley, Peru

The Healing Tree Center is an ayahuasca and San Pedro retreat business with an office in Cusco and a ceremony site in a village near Calca in Peru’s Sacred Valley, led by founder Italo Ponce, offering retreats from one ceremony for $490 to seven days with four ceremonies for $1,300, per its FAQ. It requires a medical certificate and EKG, has a nurse at ceremonies and holds a 4.7 Tripadvisor rating from 150 reviews. Against that, it publishes no contraindication list, emergency protocol or refund terms, names its shamans only by first name, and some reviews make serious unverified complaints about facilitator conduct and aftercare.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Office in Cusco and a retreat site described as a village near Calca, Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru, per its about page; the village is not named, and a 2018 review placed the site about 30 minutes from Cusco. The same brand markets retreats in Tenerife, Spain and Costa Rica.
• Approach: Ayahuasca and San Pedro ceremonies with Andean rites such as coca-leaf readings, cleanses and Pachamama offerings, a salt-water purge before ceremony, and tourism add-ons including Machu Picchu.
• Suitable For: Adults wanting a short, organized Sacred Valley program with medical checks who accept basic shared rooms. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $350 for a single ayahuasca ceremony, $490 to $1,300 for two to seven days and $1,560 with Machu Picchu; a medical certificate or EKG in Peru costs $50 each. Third Wave reports a 50% deposit; the refund policy is not public.
• Overall Assessment: Strong Tripadvisor rating, real medical checks and a nurse at ceremonies, offset by opaque ownership, no published contraindications, emergency plan or refund terms, and specific complaints about facilitator conduct and aftercare. Directory evaluation: C.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Tripadvisor shows 4.7 from 150 reviews from about 2017 to September 2026, with 133 rated excellent and 10 at three stars or lower. Guests praise caring staff, the medical checks and nurse, small groups, the food and smooth logistics; a February 2026 review says a guest’s retreat was stopped after a heart test showed a concern. Critical reviews (all unverified) include a 2021 guest who says a facilitator described drinking with the shamans and that a longer review was removed, which the center denied; a guest from a December 2019 retreat who describes months of severe psychiatric symptoms afterward with no integration support, per Tripadvisor; and a 2024 guest who says a fermented brew made them seriously ill. Other complaints cite basic facilities, cold showers and a missed booking. Third Wave shows no reviews. 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 The Healing Tree Center, Italo Ponce and its shamans and facilitators.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found at this center. A 2024 review alleges a serious illness after a fermented brew (unverified).
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None found.

Two tourists died after ayahuasca sessions in Calca province and near Pisac in 2016, at other centers whose operators were detained, per RPP; neither case involves The Healing Tree Center. Its shamans are named only by first name, which limits this search.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Italo Ponce is listed as founder and CEO on Third Wave and has signed Tripadvisor replies as marketing manager and guest relations manager; a manager named Polina signs current replies. Reviews name maestras and maestros by first name only, including Lucía, Bilma and Porfirio, and the site claims Shipibo masters for ayahuasca and Q’ero masters for Andean rites, while recent reviews describe an Andean maestra leading ceremonies (unverified). No company, tax number or bios are published, and its Cusco office address differs between listings.

Screening and medical support. Guests must provide a recent medical certificate and an EKG, attend a medical exam at the Cusco office the day before and complete a history questionnaire, and a nurse checks vital signs before ceremonies, per its health and safety page. The doctor is on call from Cusco, not at the retreat site. No contraindication list or washout periods are published; guests are told to stop medications on their prescriber’s or manufacturer’s timelines. An independent directory warns that the high-volume salt-water flush can be dangerous, per Browse Wellness. No emergency protocol or hospital is named; Cusco’s hospitals are likely an hour or more from Calca (our estimate).

Listings and marketing. Group size is given as 10 and 12, and bathrooms as shared and private, across listings. Some website images are credited to outside photographers. A sister site for Costa Rica reuses the Peru phone number at higher prices, and the brand sells Tenerife retreats; whether those operations run is unverified. Its Tenerife retreat appears in a “best” list published by Behold Retreats, a competing operator.

Status. Operating, with Tripadvisor reviews through September 2026 and current prices on its website. Its former domain, healingtreeretreats.com, now redirects to healingtreeayahuasca.com.

Legal context. Ayahuasca’s traditional use by Amazonian communities was declared national cultural heritage in Peru in 2008, per Andina, and there is no licensing regime for retreat centers. In Spain, three men were arrested in Tenerife in 2024 for running retreats with ayahuasca and other substances, per elDiario.es; that group was not named and is not linked to this brand.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Stopping medications on your own and doing a large salt-water purge are risky without your own clinician’s oversight. 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 said to be prepared in Pucallpa by Shipibo shamans, per Third Wave, plus San Pedro (huachuma) for Andean ceremonies. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: A rural village in the Andean Sacred Valley, cold at night, with limited phone signal.
• Rooms: Shared rooms for up to three with shared bathrooms, per its 7-day retreat page.
• Style: Andean and Amazonian ritual packaged with tourism extras such as Machu Picchu, a massage and a spa visit.

Practical guidance: Fly to Cusco; transport between Cusco hotels and the center is included. Bring warm layers for night ceremonies.

Should You Book?

Possibly, if you want a short, organized Sacred Valley program and value its medical checks. Ask in writing for the refund policy, the full contraindication list, the names and training of the shamans, the emergency plan to a Cusco hospital and what integration support is offered. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

The Healing Tree Center has dated reviews from about 2017; a claim that it was founded in 2010 is unverified. It advertises a lifetime 10% discount for returning guests. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home, since the center describes no integration program. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

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Last reviewed November 2026.

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