5 Day Ayahuasca Retreats 2024
Location: Near Quito and then in Mindo (cloudforest)
Price: $700 per person
Retreat guides: Paulina and Sandra
Price Includes: most meals (see here), accommodation, ceremonies & accompaniment
Weather: In the Andes, cooler. In Mindo, more tropical. Packing list provided.
General information about 5 day ayahuasca retreat
This 5 day plant medicine retreat combines with an initial 2 day retreat. That is, the first two days will take place near Quito with a group of people – the highlight being a night-time ayahuasca ceremony. On Sunday, participants of the 2 day retreat will depart, leaving only the 5-day retreat participants.
On Monday, the 5-day ayahuasca retreat participants will depart the Quito (Pintag) area and travel to Mindo, about a 3 hour drive.
This retreat is for those of you looking for healthy and transformative experiences with plant medicine and the opportunity to learn more about yourself, find clarity in your purpose and work decisions, reconnect with your essence and feel connections with the divine, however you might define that.
The price of this 5 day ayahuasca retreat ($700 per person) includes:
- Accommodation
- Meals
- 2 ayahuasca ceremonies (1 night time, 1 day time)
- Rapé/Hape circles before ceremonies
- Group activity (meditation/body work) on Day 1
- Transport TO Mindo and back to North Quito (Mitad del Mundo), if you are returning with us. If you are not returning with us (the same day), you will need to cover your own transport.
What is NOT INCLUDED:
- Transportation to retreat on Day 1 (we do assist in coordinating rideshare i.e. if you are staying close to another participant in Quito, we will put you in touch so you can ride to the retreat together, thereby saving money and not going alone).
- If you are not returning with us on the last day of the retreat, we do not cover transportation.
Photo gallery - 5 Day Ayahuasca Retreat in Ecuador
Days 1-2 - Pintag (outside of Quito) segment of retreat
Days 3-5 - Mindo segment of retreat
Reserve by emailing: [email protected]
Retreat healers / hosts
This retreat is led by Paulina Quilla Pakari -Tsunkinua, an Ecuadorian medicine woman dedicated to supporting others in their healing journey. She has worked with plant medicine for more than 15 years, including ayahuasca, aguacolla (San Pedro), peyote and mushrooms.
She was adopted by the original peoples of Shuar nationality (indigenous tribe in the Amazon); their elders gave her the blessing to continue her calling as a healer. She has also shared with and learned from the Shipibo in Peru and the Piaroa in Venezuela. She is an advocate for feminine collectives, an artist, and investigator of ancestral songs and chants.
Paulina hosts regular women’s retreats in Ecuador and Mexico where ancestral rituals and medicines are used to facilitate deep personal work and transformation. She is the Founder of an international women’s collective, Mujeres de Luna, and is also a trained Gestalt therapist, specialized in accompaning processes in a holistic and integral way.
Finally, she is a leader of the Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, a sun dancer, vision quester, and healer of the Chakana altar, Andean table, and Heart of the Carnation altar from the Andean elders.
During these 5-day ayahuasca retreats, Paulina shares with those that wish to experience the healing power of ayahuasca and sacred rituals to enhance greater self-awareness and healing.
The ayahuasca ceremony guide is usually accompanied by 1 or 2 ceremony assistants, depending on retreat group size.
5 day ayahuasca retreat schedule
Day 1 (same as Day 1 of 2 day ayahuasca retreat)
2:30pm Light lunch, introductions, Q&A
3:00pm Sharing circle and songs, often combined with yoga, bodywork, or meditation)
6:00pm Rapé circle (tobacco snuff)
8:00pm Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 2 – (same as Day 2 of 2 day ayahuasca retreat)
3:00am Closing of ceremony, rest
8:00am Breakfast, reflections, 2 day participants depart
Rest until the next day
Day 3
8/9:00 am Breakfast
10:30 am Drive to Mindo retreat location (3 hours away driving), stop for lunch along the way.
2:30 pm Once in Mindo, swim in nearby pristine river, dinner and rest and relax before next day ceremony.
Day 4
8:00 am Light breakfast (fruit)
10:30am – 5/6:00 pm Day time Ayahuasca ceremony
7:00 pm Soup and grounding together
Spend the night in Mindo
Day 5
8:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Travel back to Quito (or – highly recommended – you can stay in Mindo for longer to explore the area e.g. butterfly pavilion, horseback riding, river, ziplining)
Accommodation during the retreat
Since we visit two locations during this retreat you’ll be staying in two different houses. Note that accommodation is shared in both houses. However, we tend to get between 5-8 participants per 5 day retreat and, on some occasions, you may have a private room.
In Pintag:
Night 1 – Ceremony night starts at 8pm and closes at 3am. We will rest in the same space until breakfast. There is no accommodation needed that night as we will be in ceremony the entire night!
Night 2 – 5 day participants stay at a comfortable country house 10 minutes from the ceremony space. See photos below!
In Mindo:
Night 3 – After driving to Mindo retreat location (3 hours away), we stay at a beautiful, rustic and offgrid location in the cloudforest.
Night 4 – After a full day ayahuasca ceremony, this is our last night: we stay in the same house
Retreat location/s
This retreat begins in Quito and ends in Mindo, about 3 hours driving from Pintag-Quito. The town of Mindo is only about 2.5 hrs from Quito, but the retreat location in Mindo is farther in the forest.
During the first 2 days of the retreat, you will be near Quito, during which a night-time ayahuasca ceremony will take place.
If you’re arriving to Quito’s international airport, aeropuerto internacional Mariscal Sucre (UIO), we can arrange for a reliable driver to take you directly to the retreat or spend the night at a recommended hotel, depending on your hour of arrival.
On Day 3 of the retreat, we will travel to Mindo. The climate is more tropical here, though the nights can still get quite cool (though not nearly as cold as in the Andes!).
The retreat ends in Mindo, though travel back to Quito is possible. If guests wish to explore the Mindo area some more, that is highly recommended as it is a beautiful area!
What to bring to ayahuasca retreat
IMPORTANT: We do not carry towels, please bring your own! 
Not sure what to pack for your retreat? Here are a few recommendations:
- Sun protection – sunscreen, hat, sunglasses (remember, we are on the equator; the sun is strong!)
- Waterbottle, we recommend bringing electrolytes (these can be bought in Ecuador pharmacies (Oralyte or Pedialyte brand names) and coming to the retreat well hydrated.
- Clothes to hike in like: short sleeve or lightweight long sleeve shirts, shorts, light pants
- Sweaters – evening can get chilly
- Waterproof jacket or poncho
- 3 full change of clothes
- Head lamp
- Swimsuit (Mindo’s rivers and waterfalls!)
- Flip-flops or sandals to wear when not in hiking boots
- Hiking or trekking boots, closed toes
- Medication you may need
- Kindle, book and/or journal
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Phone for pictures – no photos allowed during ceremonies
- Bug spray
- Cash, especially small change
- Ear plugs & sleep mask – accommodations are shared
Dietary Guidelines Ayahuasca Retreat
If you’d like to follow a cleansing protocol, here’s what we recommend in general (section 1) and then more specifically leading up to the retreat (section 2):
Section 1: General guidelines
– avoid excessive alcohol and weed (pure CBD is fine)- avoid pork
– eat organic plant-based whole foods as much as possible
– limit refined sugar and flour
– practice intermittent fasting
1 week before the ceremony (or more, if you can) reduce and, if possible, completely remove:
- Alcohol
- Cannabis
- Recreational drugs of any kind, especially synthetic DMT or other psychoactive substances
- Avoid opiates and other drugs
- Medications (antibiotics, injections, pills, vitamins, supplements, etc.)
- Avoid drinks with stimulants (such as coffee, black tea, green tea, yerba mate, etc.), chocolate, chili, soft drinks, dairy, fried foods, canned foods, red meat and pork
- Eat as many healthy, fresh, organic greens and fruit as you want!
- Stay well hydrated
- Though it’s quite difficult while traveling through Ecuador, try to reduce onion and garlic consumption as this can decrease the visionary effect of ayahuasca.
Two days before, reduce salt, sugar and spicy foods as much as possible, if not completely. Also avoid fermented foods.
