Uni Retreats (Akasha Retreat Center)
Itaipava, Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro state
Monthly 7-night retreats at a mountain venue in Rio de Janeiro state with three ayahuasca ceremonies led by Yawanawa and Huni Kuin practitioners, organised by members of the Huni Kuin Guardians group.
Details from the centre's own website, read 28 Sep 2026. No independent source was found.
Worth knowing
- Brazil permits ayahuasca for religious ritual under CONAD Resolution No. 1/2010, which bars its sale, asks entities to avoid tourist packages, and does not recognise therapeutic use outside a religious context. A paid retreat for visitors sits in a legal grey area under it. (CONAD Resolution No. 1 of 25 January 2010 (Diario Oficial da Uniao))
The legal position in Brazil
Brazil suspended its ban on ayahuasca in 1986 and made the exclusion of its plants definitive in 1987. CONAD Resolution No. 1 of 2010 restricts use to religious ritual, bans sale, asks religious entities to avoid tourist packages, and does not recognise therapeutic use outside a religious context. A paid retreat for foreign visitors does not fit that framework cleanly, so the legal position of any retreat listed here is a grey area.
The sources for this
- CONFEN Resolution No. 06 of 4 February 1986 provisionally suspended the ban on ayahuasca. In September 1987 CONFEN approved a working-group report recommending that the plants used to make the brew be excluded from the DIMED prohibited lists, which made the exclusion definitive. (Ministerio da Justica e Seguranca Publica / Diario Oficial da Uniao, 25 Jan 2010)
- CONAD Resolution No. 1/2010 adopts deontological principles: the tea (a decoction of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis) is restricted to religious rituals in places authorised by the user entities' leadership. Sale and any payment for production or consumption are prohibited, except contributions to maintain the entity. Entities should avoid tourist packages tied to advertising the brew's effects. (Ministerio da Justica e Seguranca Publica / Diario Oficial da Uniao, 25 Jan 2010)
- The same resolution states that use of the brew outside a religious context is not recognised as legitimate by CONAD, which authorised only ritual religious use. It adds that practices using ayahuasca for strictly therapeutic ends should be barred until scientific research proves their efficacy. (Ministerio da Justica e Seguranca Publica / Diario Oficial da Uniao, 25 Jan 2010)
The law and every listed centre in Brazil
Programmes and cost
| Programme | Nights | Sessions | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-night monthly retreat Price not shown on home page | 7 | 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.
Also offers
- Rape
- Sananga
- Inipi sweat lodge
Peyote.com lists this centre for ayahuasca only: we have not assessed these offerings, and they are not part of this listing.
Included, as published
- Rape and sananga circles
- Teachings and storytelling
- Sauna and natural pools
Screening, as the centre describes it
Not stated on site
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.
Sources for this profile
- Uni Retreats home · Centre's own site, read 28 Sep 2026
- CONAD Resolucao n 1, de 25 de janeiro de 2010 (Diario Oficial da Uniao, 26 Jan 2010) · Government, read 28 Sep 2026