Refugio Altiplano

Tamshiyacu River, near Iquitos, Loreto

Long-running ayahuasca retreat on a rainforest reserve reached by boat from Iquitos, founded by American Scott Peterson and run under new management since his death in 2013.

Details from the centre's own website and independent sources, read 28 Sep 2026.

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 law and every listed centre in Peru

Programmes and cost

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.

Screening, as the centre describes it

Medical advice page: "It is necessary that you let us know, in confidence, any known medical conditions and/or use of any medication, at the time of booking." Lists SSRIs ("We advise you to stop taking SSRI medications six weeks prior to a workshop"), MAO inhibitors and St. John's Wort as contraindicated. "If you have a heart condition or chronic high blood pressure you cannot be accepted." Notes risk for "those with a history of psychological problems." No ECG or formal questionnaire stated.

The cited ayahuasca safety facts to check it against

Accommodation

• Private residences with housekeeping and laundry

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.

1. 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.
2. Day 1Arrival, orientation, one-to-one consultation with the healers, intention setting. No ceremony.
3. 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.
4. Rest daysCeremonies alternate with rest days: group sharing circles, flower baths, healer consults, bodywork, and time to do nothing.
5. Final dayClosing circle and integration planning. Most centres advise against flying the same day.
6. 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.

Sources for this profile

• Refugio Altiplano · Centre's own site, read 28 Sep 2026
• Medical Advice · Centre's own site, read 28 Sep 2026
• Refugio Altiplano - Wikipedia · Press, read 28 Sep 2026