10 Best Peyote Retreats in 2024
Peyote is the name of both a hallucinogen and the slow-growing cactus from which it’s sourced. This sacred plant medicine is ingested for different religious and recreational reasons, and is often used to boost serotonin, reduce anxiety, and relieve common ailments (like headaches and joint pain). Read on to discover the 10 best peyote retreats for 2024 and beyond.
What is peyote?
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that grows in the arid region of northern Mexico. Because this cactus contains mescaline — a strong psychoactive substance — it’s mainly used to invoke visions and produce healing effects. In fact, indigenous peoples have been using peyote for centuries to heighten their senses and experience a state of bliss. These days, people from all walks of life attend peyote retreats to seek out valuable lessons and awareness of the divine.
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10 best peyote retreats for 2024
1. Best overall peyote retreat: Xochipilli Retreat Center
Every retreat at Xochipilli Retreat Center begins and ends with a temazcal ceremony, where guests sit in a traditional Mexican sweat lodge to receive health and therapeutic benefits. In between those sweat lodge sessions there’s a number of ayahuasca, kambo, and peyote ceremonies, as well. According to the team at Xochipilli, the “magical mixture of ayahuasca and peyote” promotes a deep sense of curiosity and transformation for everyone who takes part.
Price: starting at $2,150 for a 6-day retreat
2. Best mountain peyote retreat: Farm of Life
Farm of Life’s retreats happen at 2,000 feet elevation in the rural mountains of Barucito, Costa Rica. In this remote, yet breathtaking setting, guests have a chance to “take a vacation for their health” — meaning they can recharge their body, mind, and spirit all in one fell swoop. During your stay, you can interact with both Grandmother Ayahuasca and Grandfather Peyote to help you achieve true peace with yourself and total oneness with the world around you.
Price: starting at $1,940 for an 8-day retreat
3. Best private peyote retreat: Xanga Guru Experiences
Xanga Guru Experiences is a great option for anyone who wants a private peyote experience. This company curates individual peyote sessions in Chemuyil, Mexico, which are guided by an expert Mexican shaman (and other trained facilitators). Guests can choose from sessions in either the morning, afternoon, or evening. Regardless of what time you prefer, you can count on there to be chanting, singing, and praying — as well as quiet moments for personal reflection.
Price: starting at $195 for a single session
4. Best women-only peyote retreat: Alma Healing Center
Alma Healing Center in Ecuador uses Amazonian rituals and sacred plant medicine to facilitate healing on a deep emotional level. Every year, they host a 7-day spiritual retreat for a small group of women, which they call an “intimate encounter of feminine co-existence.” During this annual escape, guests can experience the joy of self-expression through traditional ceremonies, ancestral practices, and holistic therapeutic approaches that target the whole body.
Price: starting at $1,750 for a 7-day retreat
5. Best extended peyote retreat: Arkana Spiritual Center
Arkana Spiritual Center has 3 different campuses — one in the Amazon, one in the Sacred Valley, and one in the Yucatán Peninsula that specializes in peyote. At this location, guests can embark on a “profound voyage of self-discovery” during a “carefully orchestrated sequence of sacred ancestral medicines.” More simply, you get to experience peyote alongside other spiritual practices and workshops that’ll bring your body, mind, and spirit into complete balance.
Price: starting at $6,250 for a 14-day retreat
6. Best equipped peyote retreat: Sound of Light
Sound of Light’s healing ceremonies focus on peyote and similar plant medicines. At their Costa Rican retreat, Sound of Light has created a welcoming environment that serves as a place of healing, transformation, and deeper discovery of love. In terms of amenities, SOL is equipped with everything you could want — from a sweat lodge and library, to free WiFi and 3 vegetarian meals provided each day. Without a doubt, their facilities are some of the best you can find.
Price: inquire on their website for availability and pricing
7. Best value peyote retreat: Mamay Ayahuasca Experience
Cancun’s Mamay Ayahuasca Experience has tons of transformational activities packed into just 6 days — which in our opinion, makes it the best value for your money. Highlights of this retreat include: peyote ceremony, ayahuasca ceremony, kambo ceremony, cacao ceremony, voice therapy, sweat lodge sessions, and 1-on-1 shamanic coaching. With so many diverse and immersive aspects to enjoy, it’s safe to say this retreat is worth your financial investment.
Price: starting at $2,020 for a 6-day retreat
8. Best U.S. peyote retreat: Vaaiga
Vaaiga’s exclusive peyote retreats take place just outside Colorado Springs. All of their retreat packages are designed to help you immerse yourself in personal development and spiritual growth within a safe, supportive environment. Guests can take part in a traditional all-night prayer ceremony, where the Vaaiga team uses the “sacred peyote sacrament, songs, and fire” to connect to the divine for guidance and/or healing of physical and emotional ailments.
Price: starting at $1,750 for a 4-day retreat
9. Best jungle peyote retreat: The Prana Foundation
The Prana Foundation invites spiritual seekers from all over the world to join them on a 6-day journey in the Mexican jungle. All the plant medicines at this retreat are served by the Wirrarika people, one of the few tribes in Mexico that still uphold the traditions of their ancestors. But not only are all the activities/ceremonies led by this local indigenous community, your financial contribution supports the continuation of their traditional lifestyle. Pretty cool initiative, right?
Price: starting at $1,490 for a 6-day retreat
10. Best integration-focused peyote retreat: We The Medicine
We The Medicine is a non-profit organization focused on changing people’s belief systems through unique healing mechanisms. Following their widely successful retreats the last few years, We The Medicine has created new retreats featuring multiple ayahuasca ceremonies and an ancestral peyote ceremony held in a sacred sweat lodge. The best part? There’s a 3-month aftercare integration course to help you apply what you’ve experienced to your everyday life.
Price: inquire on their website for availability and pricing
Peyote retreats - common FAQs
What happens during a peyote ceremony?
Peyote ceremonies are traditionally held at night, and often take place in a tepee with everyone gathered around a fire or an altar. A shaman leads the ceremony, during which the cactus is eaten as dried slices (called buttons) or consumed as capsules. Chanting, singing, praying, and drumming are common during each session, though there’s also some quiet time for reflection.
Are ayahuasca and peyote the same thing?
While both ayahuasca and peyote are used to bring people closer to their higher power, these two are not exactly the same. Most notably, ayahuasca and peyote contain different psychoactive ingredients. But along with that, ayahuasca is rarely used recreationally — whereas peyote is viewed as a recreational substance in certain parts of the world.
How long do the effects of peyote last?
The psychedelic effects of mescaline (i.e. peyote) can last for different lengths of time depending on a number of physiological and psychological factors. With that said, mescaline has an average onset of 45 to 60 minutes after consumption, and its effects last anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. In rare cases, some mescaline trips can go on for 15 hours in total.