FAQs

What does Hampi mean?

Hampi is a Quechua word that means health. We deeply respect our ancestral culture and its language, and that is why we have chosen this name for our retreat center.

Why choose our retreat center?

In SHAMANIC VINE CENTER we use a set of ancestral healing techniques from the Andes and Amazon of Peru such as Ayahuasca Ceremonies, San Pedro Sessions, Pachamama offerings, flowering, and cleansing rituals. These are practiced preserved by our Integrative Medicine center and we seek to preserve and promote them to the world. These practices help people overcome traumatic illnesses such as depression and anxiety, addiction, routine stress of a changing world, and many other conditions related to the emotional and spiritual realms. We highly value authenticity because it is necessary to have a truly life-changing experience.
Our healer-shamans are experienced in shamanic healing rituals which were taught to them by their parents. Our shamans hail from both the Andes and the Amazon region of Peru.
Our Ayahuasca retreat center seeks out the best traditional medicine practices and strives to support our ancestral ceremonies. We aim to ensure the welfare and comfort of our patients during the healing ceremonies. We therefore provide the constant attention of specialists like nurses and bilingual coordinators, in addition to the presence of our master healer-shamans.

Our mission is to provide quality and familial service to our patients. We aim to help all those who need the Ayahuasca and San Pedro benefits to heal their illnesses and better their lives.

How do I get to Cusco?

To arrive to Cusco by plane you have to make a stop in Lima, the capital of Peru. From Lima to Cusco there are connections throughout the day and the flight takes about 1 hour depending on the weather.
Connections from Lima to Cusco fluctuate between 180 and 400 dollars. Some available airlines are Lan, Star Peru, Taca Peru Airlines, etc.

What effects are had on the body during an ayahuasca session?

Ayahuasca cleanses our body of parasites and toxic substances that enter when we are exposed to toxic pharmaceuticals or substances such as drugs, alcohol, etc, which are harmful to our body.

Why does my menstrual cycle change after a ceremony?

There are some cases in which the menstrual cycle is altered after an ayahuasca retreat. However, this is temporary and after a month the menstruation cycle will normalize.

Where is the medicine prepared?

The plant elements of ayahuasca are the leaves of the “chacruna” plant and the ayahuasca vine, which grow in tropical climates such as the Peruvian Rainforest: Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado, Ucayali, Pucallpa, etc. These are the places where our master specialists prepare the ayahuasca and bottle it.

Why is medical support needed?

Everyone does not have the same body nor the same reaction when they ingest new substances. For this reason, Shamanic Vine Center has a staff of medical professionals who are present during the ceremonies and ready to help with any situation.
The presence of these professionals is very important, and they also do medical exams for each participant—such as exams of oxygen levels, exams of blood pressure, and a general review of each patient’s medical history.
All of this information is very important in determining the exact doses that each patient can take.

Is ayahuasca legal?

Many countries with ancient cultures have concluded that ayahuasca is not a health hazard and, on the contrary, is very beneficial for certain physical and mental ailments. Furthermore, its chemical component DMT is found in living beings: plants, animals, and humans.
These are some of the countries where ayahuasca is legal: Spain, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and also countries that abide by the agreements of the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
And there are many other countries that are discovering the benefits of this medicine and are in the process of legalizing it.

What are “ikaros”?

Ikaros are sung prayers that the shamans compose, via the inspiration of the medicine, to alleviate different emotional and spiritual problems.

• Ikaro of protection
• Cleansing Ikaro
• Healing Ikaro
• Ikaros dedicated to the divinities
• Ikaros for love (warmys)

These ikaros are composed by the master shamans and function as medicine that can alleviate a variety of problems.

How long does an ayahuasca session last?

The duration of a session varies and is different for every person. The duration also depends on the concentration of the ayahuasca and chacruna, as well as the preparation of each patient.

Why do I need to follow a diet before and after the ceremony?

There is a great variety of foods and medicines that do not allow ayahuasca to work to its full potential. In general, these include: pills, grease, spicy or very seasoned food, red meat, caffeine, energizers, and alcohol.
During the day of the sessions, it is recommended that the patient fast from food, to aid with the stage of vomiting.

Before and after the retreat it is also recommended to follow a diet free of toxic substances already mentioned above. In general, it is advisable to follow a diet based in healthy, nutritious food.

Recommended food include salad, fruit, smoothies, fish that is not very seasoned or spicy, and white meat.

It is highly recommended to take up a vegetarian diet after a retreat.

How does ayahuasca work?

The process lasts approximately four hours and during the process, the patient undergoes different physical and emotional effects. During these effects, we can experience shaking of the body, coldness, nausea, body heat, etc.

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic drink that helps us connect with nature’s energy and with our own subconscious. From a psychological perspective, ayahuasca shows us healing visions, visions of self-improvement, and visions that evaluate our own lives and especially our fears and traumas.

From the emotional perspective, the ayahuasca gives us inner peace which is then followed by forgiveness, respect, gratefulness, humility, and love—which can be found in all human beings.

From the energy and mystical perspective, ayahuasca enables us to rid ourselves of bad energy and allows us to connect with the supreme energy of the universe.

All of these effects develop into a state of meditation and drowsiness in which arise visions throughout the ceremony. One is able to hear the prayers and songs of the masters, who serve as our guides during the ceremony.

The visions can be diverse and their natures vary. In general, they tend to relate to our problems and also our dreams.

The visions can manifest as symbols, colors, memories, animals, landscapes, geometric figures, light, darkness, and many other visions that do not have names.

In these ceremonies space and time disappear, and the main goal is to concentrate and understand the hidden message in each of the visions that we can see. Oftentimes the message is clear, but much more often it takes awhile to understand them.

Sometimes only one session is not sufficient, depending on the problems that the patient has.

One of the most important stages of an ayahuasca session—and perhaps the most difficult stage—is the vomiting stage, in which our bodies expel all toxic substances including parasites. In this stage, we also expel all negative energies from our bodies and put them in a bucket of water. Sometimes patients cannot vomit and expel these substances by defecation.

As the hours pass the effects of the medicine will fade and disappear, and the stage of recuperation and reflection will begin.

Sometimes this stage also involves mental tiredness or migraines.

At the end of the ceremony, and depending on the intensity of the ceremony, our body and minds will return to normal.

Why come to Cusco?

Cusco, well-known as the city of the Inca empire, is also the current electromagnetic center of the world. Since the last century, the magnetic center of the Earth and its spiritual energy has moved to the Andes from Tibet, where it had been centered for the past two thousand years. Now Cusco is the Spiritual Center of the World, which makes Peru a very privileged place indeed. Peru is therefore a global spiritual powerhouse and many spiritual practitioners seek spiritual wisdom here, which in turn allows them to continue helping and healing more people.

Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire, and the Incas had great respect and gratitude for nature. In the Andean cosmovision, nature is represented by a variety of beings including: the Pachamama, the sun, and the Glaciers (who in many cases are known as Apus and provide water to the Andes). The Incas also had knowledge of three spiritual places called Hanan Pacha, Kay pacha and Ukhu pacha  (heaven, earth and hell). With this cultural wealth, Cusco is an excellent place to promote spiritual activities.

Cusco has many archeological sites. One outstanding site is Machu Picchu. The city also has various cultural centers such as museums, churches and mansions with art exhibitions. Furthermore, Cusco also boasts and living culture represented in traditions, customs, dances, and in clothes still worn in the region.

The city of Cuzco is considered the oldest living city in the Americas, with an age of about 3,000 years. The natural development of the city was cut short with the arrival of the Spaniards on November 15th 1533. In 1933 Argentina declared the city of Cuzco as the “Archaeological Capital of South America”. In 1978, Italy appointed Cuzco as a site of “World Cultural Heritage”. On December 9, 1983, UNESCO declared Cuzco tobe a site of “Cultural Heritage”. The Peruvian Constitution of 1993 declares Cuzco as the “Historical Capital of Peru”.

The geography of Cusco is defined by a valley formed by the Huatanay river and the surrounding hills. Its climate is generally dry and mild. It has two distinct seasons: a dry season between April and October, with sunny days and cold nights with frost and average temperature of 13 ° C; and a rainy season from November to March, average temperature 12 ° C. On sunny days the temperature reaches 20 ° C, although the light mountain wind is usually cold.

Cusco is under the macro-climatic influence of large air masses from the southeastern jungle. Winds of the Peruvian-Bolivian Altiplano are rather cold and dry, as seen in Patagonia. This region is generally defined by harsh climate events. On the other hand, the local winds that are generated in the valleys and plains of Cusco have the function of distributing heat and humidity throughout the day, thereby resulting in a milder climate. The annual average temperature fluctuates between 10.3 ° C and 13 ° C (50.54 ° and 52.34 ° Fahrenheit); but these temperatures vary according to the area.