San Pedro Ceremony at Hayulima, Natural Reserve

This was my first time sitting with the plant medicines. I have so much love and respect for the Shamans Fernanda, Mathias, and Salvador. They are loving, attentive, creative, and genuine people who truly cared for me and ensured my experience and what I took away from the experience was valuable and helpful. I am so grateful that life brought me to Hayulima for my first sitting in a power plant ceremony. I plan to return annually as long as I am able to do so. To add, the food is delicious and nutritious and the property staff are kindly and helpful. The property itself is gorgeous, filled with wildlife, beautiful flora, and morpho butterflies that fly everywhere. At nighttime the fireflies twinkle brightly. I went in June and it was the rainy season and quite tranquil. Thank you to the Hayulima Family for this wonderful experience!! I love you guys!

I only had time for a weekend journey - San Pedro + temezcal, kambo, and ayahuasca - but I got to experience a glimpse of eternity so really, I was and am at Hayulima forever.

I have experienced plant medicine before in several settings, but never have I gotten to experience ceremonies with such intentionality for ritual, perfect musical accompaniment, nor such a familial atmosphere. This combination led to a journey that completely transported me in the best way. Everyone has a different plant medicine experience depending on your own needs and intentions, but Hayulima has all the tools to set you up for the strongest, safest possible connection to the universe.

Practically, Hayulima is in a beautiful location, has wonderful food (almost too delicious, as I was hoping to cut back for the weekend but constantly found myself going for seconds), cozy accommodation, and plenty of space (and blankets! and hammocks!) for quiet personal reflection. Do take the mosquito recommendations seriously: two pairs of pants, long socks, and always long sleeves! Don't let that deter you though, mosquitoes are a small inconvenience for an opportunity to commune with the universe.

Enormous, universe-sized thank you to Salvador, Amalia, and Diana for leading such intentional ceremonies and using their voices, musical instruments, and beautiful words of prayer to connect me to my higher self, while remaining friendly, funny, kind, and welcoming to my human self. Thank you to Andres who added levity to the weekend with fun chats and stories along with grounding to the ceremonies. Thank you to the Ryans for your help with volunteering: moving hot, heavy rocks, cleaning, singing, playing music, and being exceptional liaisons. Thank you to my fellow participants - you know who you are (C, E, R, and P) - and best of onward luck on your journeys. It was truly a pleasure sharing space with all of you.

Hayulima Spiritual Sanctuary is everything that the reviews say it is – a welcoming and warm family experience that is simply life changing!

As this was my first time, I was cautious and had no idea what to expect. I was nervous for a change, mainly because I had no idea what my mind and heart may bring up during the sessions. More than a week later, I am still learning from both sessions, and I will continue to do integration work after I get back home to Canada.

Salvatore, Amalia, Diana, and Andres are exceptional connectors, very open hearted, and treat you like family from the beginning! The volunteers were also great to learn from and get to know.

I highly recommend Hayulima to anyone interested in exploring the benefits of these life altering scared plants.

I will definitely be back on my next trip to Ecuador!

What an amazing time I've had here. This was my first Ayahuasca retreat and I felt like I struck gold. The people at Hayulima are all so warm, kind and above all, knowledgeable. They welcomed me, and the other participants in their home and shared there lifestyle with us. Beforehand I was in doubt whether 3 days might be a bit too short, but it is more than enough to have an amazing experience. (Though I will definitely come back some day for a 10 day retreat, I would highly recommend it if it fits your schedule).

Some key elements which stood out to me:
The guidance in terms of dosage, I was initially "afraid" of maybe a dosage being to light and then having flown all this way to have a "mid" experience. The shamans guided you to your own perfect dosage in which you had all the time and control to feel whatever you needed.

The support outside of the ceremonies, the team was always available for a chat or advice if I was walking around with something.

The authenticity. This aint a tourist activity for some "westerners" used as a means of making money, not at all! They truly welcomed me, and the other participants with open arms. They don't do these ceremonies for us, we are welcomed to partake in their ceremonies! Futhermore, they were fully transparent about rituals, traditions and all the questions we asked.

Overall, everything was done with so much warmth, support, safety, good food in a beautiful setting. I took some weeks before writing this review, but my enthusiasm is still as alive as the day a left. 10/10!

Thank you to the beautiful Hayulima family for such a meaningful experience. From the moment I arrived to the moment I left, I felt genuinely cared for. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, the accommodations were comfortable, and the food was truly incredible.

Being on that mountain alone was something special, and the ceremonies were held with so much intention and beauty. For the first time in a long while, I felt like I could take a real, deep breath.

Thank you for holding such a powerful space and guiding me through this journey. I’ll carry a piece of Hayulima with me, and I’m already looking forward to returning.