Spirit Vine
Bahia
A non-profit centre in Bahia that grows its own plants and brews its own ayahuasca rather than buying it in, which removes an entire category of uncertainty about what is actually in the cup.
The legal position in Brazil
Brazil formally recognised ayahuasca as a sacrament in 1987, decades before anywhere else, and Santo Daime and União do Vegetal have operated openly ever since. Religious and spiritual use is lawful. As in Peru and Costa Rica there is no licensing regime for retreat centres, so legality tells you nothing about a given operator's standards.
Compare legal status across countries →
Programmes and cost
| Programme | Nights | Sessions | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-day retreat Several formats; see their calendar | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Prices and formats as published by the operator. They change, so confirm directly before budgeting.
What a ayahuasca retreat involves
Typical shape for this modality: 5 to 14 nights; 3 to 7 ceremonies, $1,500 to $8,000. 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.
Published rates cluster around $3,600 for five nights and $3,950 for seven at the better-documented centres. Peru generally runs cheaper than Costa Rica for comparable programmes.