The Ayahuasca Foundation
Amazon rainforest, Peru (Riosbo Retreat Center)
Organisation running ayahuasca retreats and multi-week courses at its Riosbo Retreat Center in the Peruvian Amazon. It states that its brew contains only ayahuasca vine and chacruna leaves.
Details from the centre's own website and independent sources, read 28 Sep 2026.
Public record
Reported events involving this centre, as published by the sources linked. Each entry is dated and attributed; a response is included where the centre published or gave one. We have not investigated these events ourselves.
Jan 2025Death
An investigative report by Jules Evans states that a participant, Diogenes Ianakiara, died of a heart attack during a ceremony in January 2025, during the two-month initiation course. The report also alleges a forced sexual contact by another participant in April 2025, facilitator boundary violations and weak screening. (Jules Evans, 'Serious harms and a death at the Ayahuasca Foundation', Ecstatic Integration, July 2025)
Response: Founder Carlos Tanner disputes several of the claims, including by saying the participant did not disclose blood pressure medication. Witnesses quoted in the report dispute that account.
The legal position in Peru
In 2008 Peru's National Institute of Culture declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca by native Amazonian communities Cultural Heritage of the Nation. The declaration protects traditional use and contrasts it with decontextualised commercial use; it does not license retreats. No authority inspects retreat centres, so standards vary between operators, and legality says nothing about safety.
The sources for this
- Resolucion Directoral Nacional No. 836/INC (Instituto Nacional de Cultura, June 2008, published in El Peruano) declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca practised by native Amazonian communities Cultural Heritage of the Nation. (Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina (state news agency), 12 Jul 2008; Ministerio de Cultura del Peru, Centro de Recursos (hosted academic article), 2012)
- The resolution aims to protect the traditional use and sacred character of the ritual, as distinct from "usos occidentales descontextualizados, consumistas y con propositos comerciales" (decontextualised Western uses that are consumerist or commercial). (Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina, 12 Jul 2008)
- Internationally, neither ayahuasca nor the plants used to make it are controlled under the 1971 Convention (INCB 2010, para 284). (International Narcotics Control Board, Mar 2011)
The law and every listed centre in Peru
Programmes and cost
| Programme | Length | Sessions | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-day renewal ayahuasca retreat | Not stated | Not stated | $2,950as published on 28 Sep 2026 |
| 10-day women's ayahuasca retreat | Not stated | Not stated | $2,950as published on 28 Sep 2026 |
| 18-day ayahuasca retreat and dieta | Not stated | Not stated | $4,250as published on 28 Sep 2026 |
| 4-week healing empowerment course | Not stated | Not stated | $5,550as published on 28 Sep 2026 |
| 8-week ayahuasca initiation course | Not stated | Not stated | $6,850as published on 28 Sep 2026 |
Prices and formats as published by the operator on the date shown. They change, so confirm directly before budgeting. We never estimate a price that is not published.
Also offers
- Plant dietas
Peyote.com lists this centre for ayahuasca only: we have not assessed these offerings, and they are not part of this listing.
Screening, as the centre describes it
The site refers to 'Medical Guidelines for Participation'; the criteria are not set out on the pages we read. Medication (read 2026-10-03): Medical guidelines: "Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Discontinue at least 4 weeks before and avoid for at least 2 weeks after."
The cited ayahuasca safety facts to check it against
What a ayahuasca retreat involves
The typical shape of this kind of programme. Use it as a checklist to ask against, not as this centre's timetable.
- Before arrivalMedical and psychiatric screening, and a dieta, commonly restricting alcohol, recreational drugs, pork, fermented foods, salt and sugar, and sexual activity. SSRIs and MAOIs must be resolved with a clinician well in advance.
- Day 1Arrival, orientation, one-to-one consultation with the healers, intention setting. No ceremony.
- Ceremony daysLight plant-based breakfast, integration workshop mid-morning, light lunch, rest and fasting through the afternoon, pre-ceremony yoga around 6:30pm, ceremony from roughly 7:30pm running several hours.
- Rest daysCeremonies alternate with rest days: group sharing circles, flower baths, healer consults, bodywork, and time to do nothing.
- Final dayClosing circle and integration planning. Most centres advise against flying the same day.
- AfterIntegration support varies enormously, from a single follow-up call to a year of community access. This is the single biggest quality differentiator and the least advertised.
Reader reviews
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The Ayahuasca Foundation: questions and answers
- Where is The Ayahuasca Foundation?
- The Ayahuasca Foundation is in Amazon rainforest, Peru (Riosbo Retreat Center), as the centre describes its location.
- How much does The Ayahuasca Foundation cost?
- The Ayahuasca Foundation publishes 5 prices: 10-day renewal ayahuasca retreat from $2,950; 10-day women's ayahuasca retreat from $2,950; 18-day ayahuasca retreat and dieta from $4,250; 4-week healing empowerment course from $5,550; 8-week ayahuasca initiation course from $6,850, as read on its own website on 28 Sep 2026. Prices change; confirm the current figure with the centre before paying a deposit. The centre has a public record, shown on its profile.Source: The Ayahuasca Foundation website, 28 Sep 2026
- Does The Ayahuasca Foundation screen guests before a retreat?
- The Ayahuasca Foundation describes medical screening. In its own words: The site refers to 'Medical Guidelines for Participation'; the criteria are not set out on the pages we read. Medication (read 2026-10-03): Medical guidelines: "Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Discontinue at least 4 weeks before and avoid for at least 2 weeks after."Source: Ayahuasca Foundation medical guidelines for participation, 3 Oct 2026
- Is ayahuasca legal in Peru?
- Traditional ayahuasca use is protected as national cultural heritage; there is no licensing regime for retreats.Sources: Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina (state news agency), 12 Jul 2008; Ministerio de Cultura del Peru, Centro de Recursos (hosted academic article), 2012The law in every place we cover
Sources for this profile
- The Ayahuasca Foundation homepage · Centre's own site, read 28 Sep 2026
- Ayahuasca Foundation medical guidelines for participation · Centre's own site, read 3 Oct 2026
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All ayahuasca retreats in Peru, and the legal position there