A complete, focused retreat for meaningful work with the medicine
10guests maximum, every retreat
1,400+ayahuasca ceremonies facilitated
45+ years4th-generation Peruvian curandero
14 kmfrom Iquitos, Peru
Since opening in 2010, the Hummingbird has never had a medical incident related to drinking ayahuasca.
7 Day Ayahuasca Retreats
A 7-day ayahuasca retreat is often the first option people explore—and one of the most common questions we hear is whether a week is enough time to work meaningfully with the medicine.
At the Hummingbird Healing Center, our 7-day retreat is a complete and intentional experience, not a shortened or introductory version. It includes multiple ayahuasca ceremonies, time for rest and integration between ceremonies, careful preparation, and close guidance from experienced facilitators. The pace is deliberate rather than rushed, allowing space for personal process, reflection, and recovery.
We are a small, long-established center (founded in 2010) working in the traditional Amazonian lineage with a highly experienced curandero. Groups are kept small, screening is thorough, and safety and individual care are prioritized over schedules or numbers.
This retreat is often chosen by people who are new to ayahuasca, returning for continued work, or called to a focused period of deep healing within a limited timeframe. The sections below explain how the retreat is structured, what is included, and how different retreat lengths support different needs.
What a life changing experience!!! I am grateful to the Hummingbird staff for creating such a beautiful place of safety, healing and “realness.” The energy for healing was powerful.
Since opening in 2010, the Hummingbird has never had a medical incident related to drinking ayahuasca. Our safety standards begin with a rigorous, multi-stage screening process to assess contraindications, medication interactions, and psychological readiness. Once onsite, our small group format supports attentive care and consistent monitoring during and after ceremony, with sober support staff present so guests are not left alone while still under the effects of the medicine.
We follow a conservative dosing protocol, starting with a moderate dose intended to give a clear introduction to ayahuasca without leaving you feeling overwhelmed. In every ceremony, you have the option to drink a second time if you wish to go deeper. We will responsibly increase your dose each night until you reach the level of intensity you desire. We never push anyone to drink more than they feel comfortable with.
Perhaps reflecting Jim's own 30-year journey with depression, which came to an end in his third ayahuasca ceremony, Hummingbird has attracted many people who have lived with depression or anxiety for 15 years or more. Through our Immersion retreat program and extended stays of three to four weeks, including multiple master plant dietas, we have worked with more than 250 people seeking lasting relief from these deeply debilitating patterns.
You'll be immersed in nature within a traditional South American jungle setting, thoughtfully modernized to provide the familiar comforts of daily life. At our ayahuasca center, we honor traditional practices known for delivering profound healing and supporting the growth and transformation you seek.
Each ayahuasca ceremony is guided by master curandero Don Manain Amacifen, who brings more than 45 years of experience working deeply with ayahuasca's healing energies. His powerful icaros (sacred healing songs), prayers, and focused energetic work cleanse and rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit. During personalized healings, participants often distinctly sense Don Manain drawing negative energy out and infusing their bodies with revitalizing, positive energy.
Depending on your specific healing needs, Don Manain may recommend additional plant medicines. Typically prepared as teas from plant leaves, bark, or sap, these medicines are usually taken for three consecutive days, though some may require only a single dose.
The Mystery of Ayahuasca
No two ayahuasca journeys are the same. While the internet is full of personal stories, they rarely prepare you for your own experience. The medicine meets each person where they are, unfolding a unique process of healing and insight. Reliable, experience-based guidance on what working with ayahuasca is actually like can be difficult to find.
Drawing on fourteen years of facilitating ayahuasca ceremonies and retreats, we wrote an in-depth article exploring common patterns of experience, the importance of commitment and surrender, and what participants can realistically expect.
Meditation is an excellent way to clear the mind and prepare yourself mentally and energetically for your ayahuasca ceremony. Approximately 45 minutes before each ceremony, we offer a guided meditation specifically designed to optimize your state of consciousness. The guided portion lasts around 8 minutes and gently leads you into a state of positive openness. Afterward, you'll enjoy relaxing and mystical music featuring sitars, composed specifically to deepen your meditation experience.
Throughout your retreat, additional cleansing activities will be thoughtfully organized to enhance your experience with the medicinal plants. These traditional healing practices are carefully selected to support and facilitate your healing journey. Your retreat package includes all meals, lodging, and laundry services. You'll stay comfortably in a private room within our newly built guest house, beautifully situated overlooking a serene lake.
Huachuma - San Pedro
The Hummingbird Center also works with Huachuma, commonly known as San Pedro, the visionary and heart-opening cactus native to the Andes. We have found ayahuasca and Huachuma to be highly complementary medicines, each offering unique insights and healing opportunities. Some individuals naturally resonate more deeply with one medicine than the other.
Occasionally, Huachuma can clear emotional or energetic blocks that ayahuasca may not fully address. We've witnessed numerous participants who initially experienced limited results with ayahuasca achieve significant breakthroughs with San Pedro, subsequently enjoying more meaningful and productive ayahuasca ceremonies.
The spirits of ayahuasca and San Pedro clearly recognize when individuals are working with both medicines. During San Pedro ceremonies, participants frequently gain deeper clarity and understanding of the lessons encountered during ayahuasca sessions. Some find that issues they've specifically intended to address during ayahuasca ceremonies are guided instead to San Pedro—and vice versa—highlighting the intuitive, collaborative relationship between these powerful medicines.
Grandfather Huachuma is known as a gentle, compassionate healer and teacher, often delivering profound yet clearly understandable lessons that most participants find deeply enjoyable and enriching.
After your initial group San Pedro ceremony, if you feel drawn to continue working primarily with Huachuma instead of ayahuasca, we can easily accommodate this preference. Arrangements are made individually to best suit your personal healing journey. Although the experience differs from ayahuasca, Huachuma is equally potent in its healing capacity, and some participants find even greater benefit and resonance with this beautiful medicine.
Throughout your retreat, our experienced facilitators will be readily available to support you in understanding and integrating your journeys. They provide compassionate coaching and personalized guidance, recognizing the uniqueness of each person's healing process.
Our core focus is on facilitating your healing journey. We encourage you to gently push beyond your comfort zone, stepping into new, positive behaviors and transformative ways of thinking about yourself and your relationships with others.
This retreat is designed to help you relax and rejuvenate. Time spent alone for reflection and integration is essential to your healing process. Journaling, artistic expression, and exploring your creativity are strongly encouraged, with materials provided to facilitate these practices.
Each morning following an ayahuasca ceremony, we hold group circle meetings where you can openly discuss your experiences with our curandero and facilitators. These meetings offer valuable opportunities to ask questions, gain deeper insights into your personal journey, and learn more about how ayahuasca uniquely interacts with each individual.
By hearing the stories of others, you'll gain appreciation for the diverse ways ayahuasca facilitates healing and growth. This process fosters a deeper respect for your personal journey, empowering you to authentically express your experiences without comparison.
Shifting Your Perception of Yourself and the World
Unique to our ayahuasca retreat are two insightful sessions specifically centered on belief systems, the subconscious mind, and practical methods for transforming the often limiting programming we received during childhood. Drawing from the groundbreaking teachings of Joe Dispenza and Bruce Lipton, these discussions delve deeply into how our thoughts, emotions, and subconscious beliefs directly shape our perception of reality, physical health, and overall quality of life.
Joe Dispenza emphasizes the power of consciously choosing new emotional states and thought patterns to rewire neural pathways, creating lasting personal change. Similarly, Bruce Lipton highlights that our subconscious mind greatly influences our biology and experiences, indicating that consciously reshaping our beliefs can profoundly impact our physical and emotional health.
We each possess the innate ability to reshape our thinking. By becoming aware of the subconscious narratives driving our behavior, we can consciously choose healthier, empowering beliefs. Recognizing that many struggles stem directly from unconscious thought patterns enables us to shift these deeply rooted beliefs, thereby creating positive, lasting change. As we intentionally transform our perceptions, we significantly alter our lived experiences, fostering greater alignment with our authentic selves and true potential.
How do I get to the Hummingbird Center?
We’ll meet you at 10 AM at Las Terrazas restaurant, a restaurant on the "Boulevard". There are a number of restaurants on the Boulevard which is a park fronting the river that’s a block away from the Plaza de Armas. From there you’ll be transported to the Hummingbird Center.
You’ll arrive at the ayahuasca center with enough time to get your room assigned, take some time out to relax and then have lunch. An orientation meeting will begin at 2 PM in the maloca, followed by a plant bath to prepare for your first ayahuasca ceremony.
We strongly recommend that you arrive in Iquitos the day before the program begins. This allows you to enter the healing journey well rested and relaxed.
Day 1Arrival, orientation, plant bath, and first ayahuasca ceremony
Pick up at 10 AM at the Fizcaraldo restaurant on the Boulevard
A hearty lunch in accord with the ayahuasca diet
An orientation meeting at 2 PM
Cleansing plant bath to prepare for ayahuasca
Guided Meditation
First ayahuasca ceremony
Day 2Morning integration, plant bath, and second ayahuasca ceremony
Breakfast
Group integration meeting
A hearty lunch in accord with the ayahuasca diet
Cleansing plant bath to prepare for ayahuasca
Guided Meditation
Second ayahuasca ceremony
Day 3Integration, energetic healing, and your first dinner
Breakfast
Group integration meeting
A hearty lunch in accord with the ayahuasca diet
Meet in the moloca for additional energetic healing by the ayahuasquero
Your first dinner at the Hummingbird Center!
Day 4Mud and vapor baths before the third ceremony
Breakfast
First talk on the power of our subconscious mind and changing our belief systems
A hearty lunch in accord with the ayahuasca diet
Mud bath, weather permitting. This requires a sunny day and may be held on a different day
Cleansing vapor bath to prepare for ayahuasca. We are going to sweat!!
Guided Meditation
Third ayahuasca ceremony
Day 5Energetic healing and rest before San Pedro day
Breakfast
Group integration meeting. After this we will have talk about San Pedro, tomorrows ceremony.
A hearty lunch in accord with the ayahuasca diet
Meet in the moloca for additional energetic healing by the ayahuasquero
Dinner and a relaxing evening to rest up for San Pedro day!
Day 6An all-day San Pedro journey in nature
Begin the San Pedro ceremony. This is an all day experience that lasts 10-12 hours. It is with you, the medicine, and nature. You maintain your ability to function well and will have the run of the property.
Snacks of raw vegetables and fruit put out for those that are hungry.
Our traditional San Pedro Day Soup. A big pot of soup is served and left out all evening so people may eat at their convenience.
Day 7Receive your Arkana, then return to Iquitos
Breakfast
Meet in the moloca to receive your Arkana, energetic protection to help preserve your new vibrational state
