FAQs
The safety of our guests is paramount. All the healers and facilitators who work at the Temple of the Way of Light have many years of experience holding ayahuasca ceremonies and overseeing the responsible use of ayahuasca in its traditional context.
Your well-being is our priority, both in and out of ceremony, as we guide you through deep personal healing and growth. We provide a caring, contained, and protected environment to work with ayahuasca and ensure your welfare at all times.
GENERAL
Is Ayahuasca right for me?
Ayahuasca works in a unique way with every person depending on the healing that he or she needs to have done. This healing can be physical, emotional or spiritual and the medicine addresses any energetic blockages we have in our bodies to resolve these.
The indigenous healers believe that all western illnesses are really just symptoms of spiritual or energetic imbalances. The healers, working together with ayahuasca, have been shown to have great benefits in helping to alleviate a variety of conditions because it addresses the energetic patterns that underlie them rather than the specific symptoms. However, because individual circumstances vary so much, it is impossible to predict the depth and degree of healing. Certainly the deeper and more serious/chronic the condition, the more time would be needed to address it.
While the Temple of the Way of Light is a traditional Amazonian plant medicine healing center, we make no specific claims regarding the efficacy in treating any particular medical disease as defined by Western medical standards. Any medical illness should be assessed by a qualified medical professional. In working with ayahuasca at the Temple, there are no guarantees that any certain level of healing will be achieved or any cure for a condition obtained.
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a medicine that has been used traditionally by indigenous cultures in the Amazon for likely thousands of years. Ayahuasca is made from two plants — the ayahuasca vine (banisteriopsis caapi) and the leaf of the chakruna plant (psychotria viridis). Both plants are collected from the jungle to create a potent mixture that offers access to the realm of spirits and an energetic world that that we are typically unable to perceive in our ordinary state of consciousness.
In chemical terms, the leafy chacruna plant contains the powerful psychoactive dimethyletryptamine (DMT), which, by itself, is not orally active because it is metabolized by the stomach enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO). However, certain chemicals within the ayahuasca vine contain MAO inhibitors in the form of harmine compounds that result in a psychoactive compound with an identical chemical makeup to the organic tryptamines in our brains. This mixture circulates through the bloodstream into the brain, where it triggers powerful visionary experiences and enables us to access otherworldly realms and our hidden, inner subconscious landscapes.
Is Ayahuasca safe?
A pure ayahusca brew without admixtures (as we serve at the Temple) is safe and virtually impossible to overdose with (it woud take liters, while a single dose ranges from 40-100 mL). Ayahuasca, an MAO-I mixture, is pharmacologically contraindicated with certain medications and drugs and is potentially dangerous for those with certain psychological conditions and mental illnesses. We carefully screen each potential guest of our retreats to ensure that we can safely admister ayahuasca to them in our retreats.
Is Ayahuasca legal?
Ayahuasca is legal in Peru. The Temple of the Way of Light operates legally and is fully licensed to serve ayahuasca in Peru.
How long does the effect of Ayahuasca last?
The effects can last anywhere from a few hours to the whole night. The length of time a person feels the effects of ayahuasca varies from person to person and from ceremony to ceremony. Even when the conscious effects have warn off, the medicine continues to work with the body and energetic fields in ways that are not always immediately perceptible. Ayahuasca is a medicine that works far beyond the level of conscious experience.
Can I drink Ayahuasca alone?
The Temple of the Way of light does not condone irresponsible, unsafe use of ayahuasca. This includes drinking the medicine alone (without extensive experience and training beforehand), or participating in ceremonies held by people who do not have adequate training and experience. Ayahuasca is an immensly powerful medicine that requires a team of experienced space holders and carriers of a deep lineage of understanding of how to work with the medicine in order to be a safe and effective experience. Ayahuasca can be at a minimum inneffective and in some cases very dangerous and harmful if it is approached casually and without the support of experienced spaceholders. You can learn more about the importance of responsible ceremonies on our website:
Ayahuasca And Amazonian Shamanism
Respecting Tradition
The Importance Of Experienced Facilitators
Where is it safe to drink Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca should be approached with respect and care. The Temple of the Way of Light has an impeccable safety record. In our 11 years of offering this medicine to thousands of guests, we have not had any deaths or major medical emergencies. We carefully screen each person who applies to our retreats to ensure that ayahsuca and the retreat environment we provide are appropriate and safe for that person. Safety is our number one priority. We are staffed by a well trained facilitation team with a high number of facilitators and healers per guest in our retreats. The healers we work with are chosen for their integrity and care for working with the highest concern and intention for healing. Our facilitators are all deeply experienced with ayahuasca and plant medicine work themselves and with ongoing skill development through continuous staff training.
Why do people vomit or "purge" on Ayahuasca?
With the initial work focused on cleansing and purifying your physical body to prepare you for the next stages, one quite reasonable expectation is that you will experience a strong purge (hence the name given to ayahuasca, “La Purga”). The purge is an important part of the ceremony experience, yet not everyone purges in the first ceremonies. The purge usually takes the form of vomiting, but sometimes takes the form of diarrhea. It is an energetic cleansing that will help clear vibrational imprints and emotional blockages as well as physical toxins. Many people purge strongly in their initial ceremony experiences, and move into deeper experiences as these blockages are removed. Other people experience the reverse: they do not purge early on but have cleansing purges in later experiences.
Is Ayahuasca addictive?
Ayahuasca is not addictive. In fact, it is a medicine that can help to resolve the roots of addiction.
Is Ayahuasca compatible with medications?
Ayahuasca is contraindicated and potentially very dangerous in combination with or taken in close proximity to certain medications and drugs. We carefully screen each potential guest on our retreats for any contraindicated medication and drug use. We take every precaution to ensure the safest possible experience with ayahuasca through our extensive screening process.
Is Ayahuasca a medicine or a drug?
Ayahuasca has been used as a highly respected medicine in the Amazon for a very long time. We work with it with respect to the healing traditions from which it sprouted. Recreational drugs are generally substances that bring short term pleasure or relief but in the long term they provide no value and often cause more harm than good. True medicine brings long term healing while the experience itself can be at times very difficult, blissful at other times, and everything in between. Ayahuasca is a true medicine when worked with in a conscious and responsible way. The Temple of the Way of Light is not a “tripping center,” we engage with plant medicines with one intention only: healing.
What is the Ayahuasca diet?
The ayahuasca diet or is set of dietary recommendations that have been developed by the indigenous groups who have been working with the medicine for many generations. The central aspects of the dieta we follow at the Temple are common to the teachings of all ayahuasquero/as across the Peruvian Amazon. In the case of some of the food restrictions, there is also definitive scientific evidence that they are essential for safety. We advise guest coming to our retreats to begin the diet at least two weeks before a retreat and to continue the diet for at least two weeks after the last ceremony. It is essential to continue the diet to ensure the ikaros you have received and any possible plant remedies you are prescribed, are given sufficient time to integrate.
The food prepared at the Temple is prepared by our wonderful cooks who provide you with a well rounded, healthy and plentiful diet throughout your stay whilst adhering to the essential restrictions.
For more information: Dietary Information
How many ceremonies should I have with Ayahuasca?
Our focus is deep healing on all levels –emotional, mental and spiritual and where feasible – physical (depending on what needs to be treated). We work with a high number of healers and facilitators per guest, to ensure each person has considerable personal attention during their time with us. Fundamental to the healing process in our workshops at the Temple is a high number of ceremonies to ensure that each guest has the opportunity to work very deeply with Ayahuasca and to ensure that our healers and the plants have sufficient time with each guest to carry out their work. The process is deep and we are committed to effecting lasting change to our guests. The workshops are in effect a healing course that also initiates a longer term healing journey with the medicinal/master plants.
Our work goes much further than just offering an experience with Ayahuasca. Our priority is to firstly identify and diagnose the energetic imbalances, where negative energies have taken hold in our guests, and then over the duration of the workshop, we work closely with each guest to cleanse them of these dense energies that hold them back in their life. Working with the plants takes time and it is crucial that every person who comes to the Temple receives a certain level of healing. As well as cleansing and purifying the bodies of our guests of the immediate heavy energies (inner demons, etc), the ikaros that are given to our guests are in effect “seeds of change” that are planted into their system which then grow over time offering guidance and support on the unfolding healing journey. Healing during a workshop is really the beginning of a much longer process that is affected in “plant time,” not human time.
A workshop at the Temple is an intense experience where guests face their shadow selves and are helped to be able to identify where the root of the negative energy they carry stems from. We work to deep clean traumas, suppressed emotional problems, negative behavioral patterns and mental programs that are not conducive to a peaceful, joyous and connected existence. We help people to rid themselves of a lifetime of energetic issues in order to connect to their true nature, build right relationships with people around them and fundamentally to establish more respect and compassion for the world around us.
This process cannot be effectively carried out over a shorter number of ceremonies. It follows a path / course where the first ceremony is to get to know the medicine, for the medicine to get to know the guests and for the healers to diagnose where the negative energies are held. The middle ceremonies are where we carry out the deep clean and the final ceremony is where we then seal the work we have carried out with “arkanas” to ensure that the ikaros that have been placed into the systems of the guests are protected for the longer term. In addition to the ceremonies, we work throughout the day with many other healing methods such as floral baths (to clean off the energies that are coming out), a steam bath at the beginning of the workshop (to clean the skin from impurities and some energies), vomitivos (to rid the stomach of toxins / some dense energies / worries, etc), plant remedies (we prescribe specific plants to guests subject to their healing requirements), energy massages (to move and release blocked energies), as well as sometimes working with ikaros (plant energy in the form of song), chupar (sucking energies), soplaring (blowing plant medicine into the guests systems) in every ceremony, or as needed during the day.
How do I become a Shaman?
In the Shipibo and many other indigenous traditions that work with plant medicine, the path to becoming a skilled space holder of these medicines involves a long period of apprenticeship with a teacher (maestro) and a significant period of time spent in isolation connecting with various master plant medicine teachers. This time spent learning directly from the plants themselves is called a “dieta” in Spanish. Consider it a form of medical school. True ayahuasqueros have spent a very long period of time working with ayahuasca themselves and thus healing many of their own issues, this healing continues in the plant dietas which also become a form of learning. All of the Shipibo ayahusaqeros at the Temple have dieted and trained for a minimum of 5-10 years before receiving their teacher’s blessing to serve this sacred medicine. Most of them started drinking ayahuasca at a very young age.
How long does it take to to feel the effects of Ayahuasca?
For most people, the effects of ayahuasca are felt about 30 minutes to an hour after drinking. However, some people feel it almost immediately and others do not notice any effects until several hours after drinking.
Will I see visions with Ayahuasca?
While visions (any combination of light, color, and shape not perceptable in ordinary states of consiousness) are a common experience with ayahuasca, not everyone has them. The amount of visions a person experiences or doesn’t experience when working with ayahusaca has no correlation to the amount of healing that person receives from the medicine. While visions can sometimes be the grounds for profound experiences, many people have these experiences in the form of insights, somatic experiences, and emotional releases during the ceremony. The Temple of the Way of Light is not a “tripping” center. Our goal is to provde a safe and effective space for healing, with or without visions.
Is Ayahuasca compatible with anti-depressants?
Ayahuasca is not compatible with a variety of pharmaceutical medications including anti-depressant medications of the SSRI variety. Ayahuasca is an MAO-I (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) which is pharmacologically contraindicated with several types of medication. Additionally, the energies of many pharmaceutical medications can potentially block the effectiveness of ayahuasca in ceremony.
Who discovered Ayahuasca?
It’s a mystery who learned to combine the two ingredients necessary for an ayahuasca brew (ayahuasca vine and chakruna leaf). Individually, both plants are more or less inert. In the Amazon Rainforest there are approximately 80,000 catalogued leafy plant species, of which as many as 10,000 are vines. Neither the vine nor the leaf is especially distinguished in appearance. Yet the healers of the Amazon, acting as archaic psycho-pharmacologists, somehow knew how to use one particular species of vine and one particular species of leaf to make a psychoactive brew.
There are many different creation stories told by indigenous groups about how ayahuasca first came to be. For the most part, these stories involve some form of communication from the plants/spirits to the ancestors who were so closely connected to them. These communications would often come through in dreams, in the form of specific sets of instructions on how to locate the ingredients necessary and how to prepare them.
Where is the best place to try Ayahuasca?
There is no shortage of places to drink ayahuasca. There are ‘underground’ ceremonies happening all over the world. In Peru, where ayahuasca is legal for medicinal use, there are a plethora of centers and people offering medicine, with new centers appearing seemingly every day. The popularity of ayahuasca has sky rocketed in recent years. Along with this surge in popularity, there unfortunately comes a dilution in the quality and intention behind those who offer this medicine. Many are in it for the potential of material gain. Others are serving ayahuasca from a true desire to assist others in their healing, but with an unfortunate lack of understanding of the healing process and sometimes a delusional belief that they can adequately and safely hold a ceremony without proper training from an established lineage and right intention.
The Temple of the Way of Light has been creating a safe legitimate space for healing with ayahuasca since 2007. Our ceremonies are held exclusively by tried and true Shipibo ayahuasqueros who carry with them years of their own experience, backed by countless generations of indigenous wisdom. Our facilitation and teaching team is composed of women and men who have done and continue to do their own “work” in healing and evolution. They all have extensive experience with ayahuasca and other plants, and have a passion for witnessing and supporting others in their healing journey.
Safe and effective healing with ayahuasca is our primary concern. Our goal is to provide a space where each person who comes to us feels completely safe and thus able to surrender and connect with ayahuasca on a deep level. In our own experience, feeling safe and supported is the most important aspect of any ceremonial medicine offering, and unfortunately many centers are not able to provide this level of care. We have a track record of providing this over since 2007 and look forward to continuing to improve and exceed our own standard in the years to come, for the benefit of all beings.
Why is tobacco used with Ayahuasca?
Tobacco is utilized as a sacred and healing plant in the Americas and documented medicinal use predates the fabrication and consumption of commercial cigarettes by thousands of years. In many indigenous Amazonian traditions, tobacco (or ‘mapacho’) is considered a Master Plant and is given equal regard and importance as ayahuasca. The qualities ascribed to tobacco in the healing and cermeonial context include energetic clearing, protection, alignment and grounding. Tobacco is actively used by most Shipibo ayahuasceros during ceremonies for these qualities. The tobacco used in ceremonies is the Nicotiana Rustica variey which is very different to the strands used in commercial cigarettes (Virginia, Burley, Oriental). Unlike commerical cigarettes, the tobacco used in ceremony is pure tobacco leaf and does not contain any chemical additives.
TEMPLE
What is the best time of year to come to the Temple?
The weather in this area of the Amazon is pretty consistent year-round with a mix of sunshine, clouds, occasional rain and thunderstorms, and hot humid air in the day, cooling down quite a bit a night. January-June is considered the rainy season here so it tends to be a bit cooler, with more frequent rains (but sunny days nonetheless). There are generally more mosquitos during the rainy season. The mosquitoes and rain subside a bit in June-December with hotter temperatures, though thunderstorms are still a common occurrence. Regardless of when you come, we recommend coming prepared for all conditions as the temperatures/conditions can vary greatly from day to day and week to week and there is no way to predict this. Please ensure you have lightweight long sleeve shirts and pants and clothes appropriate for the heat during the day, a warm sweater or sweatshirt and warm socks for at night, and rain gear.
Where is the Temple located?
The Temple of the Way of Light is located in the Amazon basin, in the Loreto region of Peru, a few hours journey by bus, boat, and hike from the city of Iquitos.
How do I get to the Temple?
In order to come to the Temple you would need to fly into Iquitos International Airport. We recommend booking your flights for one day before and after the start and end date of your retreat to first allow yourself time to acclimatize to the environment and then allow yourself ample travel time and time to reintegrate into the “mainstream” world once the workshop has ended.
**Please do not book flights or make any travel arrangements until your registration and medical information has been reviewed and you have been approved to attend a retreat.**
Each retreat group will be picked up on the first morning of the retreat at a designated pickup location in central Iquitos by one of our staff members and then travel to the Temple together from there. The group will be brought back into Iquitos after breakfast on the last morning of the retreat and will arrive in town by early afternoon (usually 2pm at the latest).
The price of a Temple retreat includes transportation from the group pickup place in Iquitos to the Temple on the first morning of the retreat and transportation back to Iquitos on the last morning of the retreat. The price does not include any flights, hotel costs, or transportation to the group pickup on the first morning.
Is it safe to drink ayahuasca at the Temple?
Safety is our primary concern and we have facilitated thousands of guests on our retreats without any deaths or significant medical emergencies since 2007.
Please see the following pages on our website regarding our safety protocols and ceremony environment:
My family has a history of psychological disorder. Is it safe for me to drink ayahuasca?
The right and appropriate use of ayahuasca in the tradition facilitated by the Temple has been specifically utilized with tremendous results for the support and improvement of psychological trauma and it’s resultant symptomatology. At the same time, those clients with a close or strong family history of Bipolar Mood Disorder, Schizophrenia, or Depersonalization should realize they themselves are at an increased risk for the expression of these symptoms, and it is conceivable that ayahuasca can unmask such symptoms in predisposed individuals. Consequently, persons who meet this criteria should undertake this type of work with due consideration and at their own risk.
Do I need to get any vaccinations before coming to the Temple?
The subject of vaccinations is a bit controversial. Click here for the suggested vaccines you would need from the Center for Disease Control.
Vaccines are not required for entry into Peru and there is no contraindication between vaccinations and ayahuasca. The Temple is not in a position to recommend or not recommend vaccinations, so we offer this for only your information and suggest that you discuss your concerns further with your travel clinic or with your doctor.
How prevalent is malaria at the Temple and should I take anti-malarial medication?
Although malaria is uncommon in our area, the active season is during the rainy season from December/January to May/June where the risk factor does increase. However, there have been some isolated cases at other times of year, so you do need to weigh the risks personally. Please note that the strain of malaria most common around Iquitos is vivax, which is a weaker form and usually easily treated for most healthy individuals.
For those who want to take pharmaceutical anti-malarial medication, Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil) shows no contraindications when taken in conjunction with ayahuasca.
Lariam is NOT recommended due to it’s inherent potential neuropsychiatric risks, which may be increased in combination with ayahuasca. Doxycycline is also NOT recommended as a malaria preventative in conjunction with ayahuasca due to potential negative physical interactions. Please note that some antimalarial medications, such as Lariam, have been associated with neuropsychiatric effects — including anxiety, hallucinations, depression, unusual behavior, and suicidal ideation — that might be particularly problematic if you are going to drink ayahuasca.
Is it better to come alone or with my partner/spouse?
We have had many couples come to our retreats together. This is generally fine for mature couples who are able and willing to give one another the space they may need during the retreat without needing to interfere in one another’s process. Doing a retreat together can be very healing for the relationship if it is approached wisely.
Some couples do choose to come to retreats separately, recognizing that their relationship dynamic may make it difficult to participate in a retreat together. This is ok too, and can be beneficial if the individuals in the couple recognize that they may be able to go deeper into their process if they participate in retreats separately.
Will I be able to use my cell phone during retreat?
Our cell phone policy comes as a request from the healers who will be working with you during the retreat. Their basic instruction for each guest is to be present and focus on the process. Cell phone use and communication with the outside world during the retreat is a counter-productive distraction and can potentially have a detrimental impact on your healing process and on the retreat as a whole.
It is prohibited to use cell phones to communicate with the outside world (calls, messages, social media, internet use, etc.) during your stay at the Temple. By attending a retreat at the Temple, you agree to keep your cell phone off or in airplane mode for the duration of the retreat. You will have the option to turn in your phone when you arrive for safekeeping until the end of the retreat. If you choose to use your cell phone as a camera or music player, it is with the understanding that we are not able to charge your device at the Temple, you will need to wait until you return to Iquitos at the end of the retreat to charge your device. Failure to comply with this policy can result in the cancellation of your attendance on the retreat.
Should your family/friends need to reach you in an emergency, they can email [email protected], and your facilitators will pass on the information to you during the retreat. We ask that you inform your loved ones that you will be completely out of contact for the duration of the retreat before you head to the Temple.
Is there a laundry service at the Temple?
We provide a laundry service free of charge to all of our guests. Laundry is handwashed onsite and air-dried. It can take several days to get laundry dried when it is raining a lot. We provide linens and towels for each guest.
I have a medical condition, will the Temple be able to accommodate me and is ayahuasca safe for me?
Upon registration, you would complete a medical intake which gathers information regarding your current health situation and allows us to assess whether the Temple will be able to support you during your medicine journey. Without this, we are unable to confirm whether we would be able to accommodate you at the Temple for a retreat. You may expect to hear back from us anywhere from a day or two or up to a week after your registration has been submitted.
We are not currently able to review medical information prior to registration for a retreat. Our review process actually takes quite a bit of time for us amongst the team here, and medical intake must be linked to an application for a specific program in our booking system. We also take great care to look at as full of a picture as possible with each person coming for a retreat to ensure their safety in drinking medicine in the context of the particular program for which they are applying.
Is it possible to come for individual ceremonies or come for a shorter stay than what is available online? Can I come for part of a workshop?
Unfortunately we do not currently accommodate partial stays during our retreats, customized retreat dates, or individual ceremonies. Our retreats are structured as complete programs, so departing early or arriving late wouldn’t allow the healers to complete their work with you or for you to receive the full course of treatment or integration support. We also value the importance of the “container;” in other words, we find that the healing experience is most effective for the everyone in the group when they arrive together and leave together at the end of the retreat.
Do I need to get a visa prior to coming to Peru?
Please check the specific requirements for your country online with the Peruvian Embassy to find out if anything is required beforehand or if you may obtain a visa onsite once you have entered Peru.
Do you offer any discounts or scholarships?
At this time, the Temple is currently rapidly expanding with new retreats and updated buildings and facilities and most of the revenues are being directly reinvested in the Temple to support this growth. These revenues are also critically important in helping to fund our sister NGO, The Chaikuni Institute, and for this reason we are unable to offer any discounts or special payment exceptions at this time.
How can I find the Temple on Google Maps?
Is there electricity, WiFi, or cell phone service at the Temple?
We have recently installed a solar system to power very basic functions in our kitchens (such as lights), but our system only allows for this power to be used very sparingly. Because of this and in order to support the inward journey of our guests, there is no electricity or WiFi available to guests at this time. If you have a device that will need charging, we recommend bringing an extra battery pack or solar charger with you.
There is intermittent cell reception in some areas of the Temple, however this is unreliable in the jungle. While staff do use cell phones in order to communicate with each other, we advise all guests to “unplug” from the outside world during their time at the Temple. This is to offer maximum energy and focus inwards during the retreat as we sincerely feel this makes a huge difference in people’s processes. If you come to one of our retreats, you may give your family our [email protected] email address in the event of an emergency need to reach you during your retreat.
Can I volunteer and spend a longer time at your center?
At the moment, we are not offering any scholarships, opportunities for straight exchanges, or volunteer opportunities at the Temple. The Temple is currently expanding with new programs and updated buildings and facilities and most of the revenues are being directly reinvested in the Temple to support this growth. These revenues are also critically important in helping to fund our sister NGO, the Chaikuni Institute.
We do have a 3-month Residency Program, however, we only open the program to past guests of our retreats as it is best for folks to first come to the Temple to begin their journey with the medicine and get to know our space first before exploring the possibility of any future relationship in a service capacity.
If you would like to come to the Temple for a longer stay, you may be interested in our Deep Immersion Program. The Deep Immersion Program is a great opportunity to really deepen your relationship with the medicine as well as to get to know the Temple and the work that we do. You can read more about this program here.
Where does my retreat tuition money go?
The Temple of the Way of Light is a purpose-driven, socially responsible, conscious business that puts people and the planet before profit. The cornerstone of our work is ensuring we operate with authenticity, integrity, and impeccability with a central focus on reciprocating to the people and the land around us here in the Amazon. You can learn more about our conscious business model here.
What happens if my period comes during the retreat?
On occasion, the healers may ask a woman to reduce her dose of ayahuasca a bit on the first day of her period when her flow is heaviest (if there happens to be ceremony that night). Women are generally more sensitive to ayahuasca when their flow is at its heaviest so reducing the dose doesn’t typically change much.
What are the housing/accomodations like?
All of our accommodations are private. For our retreats hosted in Center 1 (Living in Alignment retreats), you will have the option of your own tambo (jungle hut) which has a private compost toilet inside. Most guests are in their own tambo unless they are coming with a partner with whom they would like to share.
If you participate in a retreat in Center 2 (specialized retreats), you will have a private room in a shared building and will share a compost toilet with a few other guests. We currently cannot accommodate two people in one room in the Center 2, however couples can be placed in rooms next to each other.
Both centers provide a central showering area with 3-4 showers.
We provide you with linens for your bed and a towel. These are changed for you several times during the course of a retreat.
If you click on the “Overview of Center” tab on the pages below, you will find some photos and more information about our accommodations:
What types of dietary needs can you accommodate?
While we are able to accommodate certain omissions for guests, it isn’t possible for us to accommodate very specific diet restrictions as we are in a remote location and cooking for large groups, with very limited access to food/markets. We are limited in this way due to our location and the resources available to us, and that because of this, we aren’t able to guarantee specific food requests as centers in other locations may be able to.
The food at the Temple is served according to the predominant Shipibo wisdom around food served with ayahuasca along with influences of local Peruvian cuisine. While we do serve a variety of fruits and vegetables, we are also limited by our location in the jungle (all foods are carried in by foot) and the lack of electricity and hence refrigeration to preserve foods. Our meals are served buffet style. For vegans, breakfast includes chopped fruit, and any combination of cooked oatmeal or quinoa porridge, rice, steamed yucca, and avocados. For lunch and dinners, there is generally rice or quinoa, some form of cooked veggie dish, legumes (lentils, beans, etc.), and a basic salad (sometimes lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, tomato, avocado).
While we can accommodate some special dietary requests, the logistics involved in holding our retreats can make it difficult to honor all of them, particularly from those with acute allergies or sensitivities.
What language is spoken at the retreat?
Our retreats are led in English and we require all guests present in our retreats to speak at least a conversational level of English. Our facilitation team is able to translate between English and Spanish for any communications with the healers. The healers also speak in their indigenous tongue, Shipibo.
I've submitted my registration and medical forms but I haven't heard anything yet. Is there anything I need to do?
Once we receive your registration and medical forms, they are reviewed by our staff within 3-7 days (this is expedited as much as possible for registrations to retreats which are happening soon). You will be notified via email once your registration has been reviewed and whether it has been approved. If you are approved for the retreat, and if you are paying via PayPal, we will then issue you an invoice for your deposit. The only thing for you to do in the meantime is look out for our email!
What is the best type of mosquito repellent to bring? Is it OK to bring DEET?
If mosquitos are a major concern for you, we would suggest bringing one natural repellent without DEET and one with DEET as a backup in case the natural one isn’t working well for you. It is preferable to refrain from using mosquito repellent with DEET during your time with us to support our sustainability initiative and to minimize that amount of toxic chemicals on your body when working with plants, however, we have many guests that choose to use DEET during their time at the Temple, and if you feel more comfortable with this, then that is ok. Please also note that the best protection against mosquitoes is staying covered with light-colored long sleeve shirts, pants, and socks.
All of our buildings (guest housing, dining areas, and ceremony spaces) are screened. Every bed is also covered with a mosquito net for extra protection.
Do you have any recommendations for things to do in Iquitos or other areas of Peru?
Unfortunately we do not have any specific recommendations for things to do in Peru or Iquitos, but we recommend checking Lonely Planet for travel tips and guidance for things to do in this area. We also recommend checking different travel blogs and connecting with people who have visited the area you will be in for insights or suggestions.
How does your waiting list work?
When a space becomes available in a full program, all members of the wait list are notified simultaneously and the space is filled on a first-come first-serve basis. It is difficult for us to say whether a space will open or not – we do occasionally receive last minute cancellations, but it is unpredictable. Just keep an eye on your email for any notifications from us if you join a waitlist.