Pandorita
Piedras Blancas National Park area, Golfo Dulce (near Puerto Jimenez), Puntarenas
Rainforest retreat running 8-day programmes with three ayahuasca ceremonies led by female Shipibo healers.
Details from the centre's own website, read 28 Sep 2026. No independent source was found.
The legal position in Costa Rica
Law 8204 controls DMT but does not name ayahuasca or the plants it is made from. On 27 January 2025 the Ministry of Health warned that ayahuasca and ibogaine products have no sanitary registration and are not authorised for therapeutic use, noted that DMT is a controlled substance, and advised against advertising them. There is no licensing regime for retreats, so centres operate in a legal grey area rather than on a clear legal basis.
The sources for this
- Ley 8204 is Costa Rica's framework law on narcotics, psychotropic substances, unauthorised drugs and related activities. It is administered with the Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas. (Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas, current page; Transnational Institute (copy of statute), 2001)
- On 27 January 2025 the Ministerio de Salud issued a health warning. It said ayahuasca and ibogaine products lack sanitary registration and are not authorised for therapeutic use, that DMT is on the international and national lists of controlled substances, that any product based on ayahuasca or ibogaine must comply with national control and registration rules, and it advised against advertising them. (Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica, 27 Jan 2025)
- Writing in La Republica on 5 February 2025, lawyer Herman Duarte argued that neither Banisteriopsis caapi nor Psychotria viridis is on the prohibited lists behind Costa Rican drug law, and called for explicit regulation of retreat centres, which he says currently operate in a legal gap. (La Republica (Costa Rica), 5 Feb 2025)
The law and every listed centre in Costa Rica
Programmes and cost
| Programme | Length | Sessions | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-day retreat Price not shown on home page; 2026-27 dates listed | 7 nights | 3 | Not stated |
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.
Included, as published
- Accommodation
- Meals from on-site garden
- Ceremonies with female Shipibo healers
Screening, as the centre describes it
Consultation call mandatory for anyone on any medication or with severe mental instability, heart issues or high blood pressure.
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
Everyone who enquires through Peyote.com is asked for a review about three weeks later, and every review is published unless it breaks a posting rule, never because it is negative. Pandorita pays Peyote.com nothing. Paying never changes which reviews appear. How we make money
Pandorita: questions and answers
- Where is Pandorita?
- Pandorita is in Piedras Blancas National Park area, Golfo Dulce (near Puerto Jimenez), Puntarenas, Costa Rica, as the centre describes its location.Source: Pandorita home, 28 Sep 2026
- How long is a programme at Pandorita?
- Published programmes at Pandorita run 7 nights, with 3 ceremonies, as the centre publishes them.
- Does Pandorita screen guests before a retreat?
- Pandorita describes medical screening. In its own words: Consultation call mandatory for anyone on any medication or with severe mental instability, heart issues or high blood pressure.Source: Pandorita home, 28 Sep 2026
- Is ayahuasca legal in Costa Rica?
- Ayahuasca is not named in Costa Rica's drug law but is not authorised either: tolerated in practice, and the subject of a January 2025 Health Ministry warning.Sources: Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas, current page; Transnational Institute (copy of statute), 2001The law in every place we cover
Compare side by side: Pandorita vs Soltara
Sources for this profile
- Pandorita home · Centre's own site, read 28 Sep 2026
Run Pandorita? Show the Listed on Peyote.com badge on your site or send a correction.
Also in Costa Rica
- Soltara Healing CenterPlaya Blanca and Scarlet Valley, Puntarenas
- Rythmia Life Advancement CenterPeyote.com may earn a commission if you bookHacienda Pinilla, near Playa Avellanas and Tamarindo, Guanacaste
- Anam Cara Healing RetreatsSouthern Costa Rica (mountains); also described as Nosara, Guanacaste
- Ayahuasca Costa RicaNear San Isidro del General, Perez Zeledon
- Ayaterra Costa RicaCosta Rica (town not stated)
- Behold Retreats (Costa Rica)Esterillos, Central Pacific coast
- Casa de la Luz Ayahuasca Costa RicaTurrucares, Alajuela, Costa Rica (near SJO airport)
- Inner Flight RetreatCaribbean coast
- New Life RisingGuanacaste (near Tamarindo)
- OM Jungle MedicineSanta Elena, Costa Rica (per third-party listings)
- Templo del TigreDos Brazos, Osa Peninsula (near Puerto Jimenez), Puntarenas
- The Healing Tree Center (Costa Rica)Costa Rica, beachside (town not stated)
All ayahuasca retreats in Costa Rica, and the legal position there