Tandava’s flagship retreat center is located in beautiful and sunny Tepoztlan, Mexico, and is just a 90-minute scenic ride south of Mexico City airport.
Nestled amidst nature’s splendor, our center offers a serene and inspiring personal growth and healing environment.
Ayahuasca is usually made from the combination of two or more plants that have historically grown in abundance in the Amazon jungle and can be grown in similar climates around the world: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi), and the chacruna leaf (Psychotria viridis), which contains the powerful psychoactive DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine). The mixture is made into a brew, often consumed in the form of a tea, that induces altered states of consciousness. The word ayahuasca comes from the Quechua of Peru and translates to “vine of the soul” or “vine of the spirits.”
The experience: Most ceremonies take place in a maloca, a wooden structure with a thatched roof, and can range from one-night events to multi-day Dietas. They usually begin at sunset and end the following morning before dawn, lasting around five to six hours. Participants often drink around three cups of ayahuasca—each about the size of an espresso shot—throughout the night as shamans and healing elders sing icaros, or prayers through song, to facilitate a sense of calm and tranquility.
Although every ayahuasca experience is different, most are known to elicit intense visuals, with many participants reporting that they seemed to travel back in time, through eras and lineages, to meet their ancestors. There are also intense bodily reactions: crying, screaming, and purging.
Several vetted healing centers throughout Costa Rica offer ayahuasca experiences, including Rythmia, Reunion, and the Soltara Healing Center, which also leads retreats in the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon, one of the vine’s homelands.
