Have you heard of the sacred master plant San Pedro? It is also known by the names of Huachuma and Awakolla, originating from countries such as Ecuador and Peru, with usage dating back to the beginning of Andean civilizations. Now, it is possible to meet with this plant in various settings, including at a San Pedro plant medicine retreat in Ecuador. 

Ayahuasca and San Pedro are both master plants that come from South America. People have long used these plants for their medicinal properties on this continent. In recent years, more than ever, people from other corners of the world are feeling called to meet with these plants.

A retreat setting is a popular choice for people to sit with Ayahuasca, San Pedro, and other medicine plants. So, if you are interested in meeting the San Pedro cactus, why would a retreat setting be the ideal space to do so? Ayllu Medicina has a San Pedro retreat in Ecuador in March 2025. Here are five things to know about a San Pedro retreat to learn more!  

1. Different San Pedro Ceremonies

There are different manners to meet with the medicine of San Pedro. A San Pedro retreat offers the chance to meet with the medicine of San Pedro in some of these ways. For example, we sit with San Pedro three times in our plant medicine retreat in Ecuador.

There are various ways that San Pedro is shared, depending on the medicine guide who is running the ceremony. At Ayllu Medicina, we share San Pedro in ceremony circles and different settings in nature on retreats. We also take a journey into the jungle nearby our center with the medicine. We usually do this at our Women’s Retreat and our San Pedro retreat in March. 

2. Connect with the San Pedro Cactus

A San Pedro Retreat offers the opportunity to not only sit in ceremony with the master plant but to deepen your connection with its guidance. You will be in a retreat container with other purifications and tools to open space and center, such as sweat lodge purifications. You have a week to withdraw from everyday routines and distractions to take time to organize and enhance your inner self, so your outer world can also be enhanced.  

At our Huachuma retreat in Ecuador, there will also be the opportunity to learn more about the plant, such as how San Pedro grows, how to plant San Pedro, and how to harvest it. The combination of a variety of healing tools, multiple ceremonies, and knowledge shared allows for a deeper connection and integration. 

3. A Supportive Setting to Open 

While some people may connect with the San Pedro cactus in different ways, it is a powerful medicine that is best navigated with support. A San Pedro retreat offers a container to learn how to prepare for ceremonies, navigate ceremonies, and integrate them, all led by guides with blessings to work with these medicines. 

Some elders say the San Pedro is the medicine to open the heart. The medicine can help you center in your heart space, with heightened awareness and gratitude. It is important to find a supportive setting to feel comfortable and experience this opening. 

After all, it takes a lot of time, training, and work to not only prepare San Pedro but to lead these types of San Pedro ceremonies. It is important to find a plant medicine retreat with reputable guides familiar with the medicines and have the experience to share them, such as at Ayllu Medicina. 

4. Ayahuasca or San Pedro Retreat 

Sometimes participants ask about the differences between Ayahuasca vs. San Pedro. Many of our plant medicine retreats work with both master plants during the week. One of the main differences is that Ayahuasca is from the jungle, whereas San Pedro is from the Andes mountains!

They are similar in that they are both sacred master plants with medicinal properties, which can offer healing in different ways. Usually, you are more active and present in San Pedro ceremonies. In our ceremonies we have a center fire and usually you keep your eyes open, whereas in Ayahuasca it is closed eye meditation. 

San Pedro works by anchoring us in the present and heightening our awareness, so we can align with our hearts. The medicine helps guide you to find the answers within. 

San Pedro can also help balance emotional states, and dissolve mind patterns and old ways of being that are not serving you anymore. He focuses on the opening of your heart so that you can enter into that energy, reaching a place of presence. A retreat container offers various ways of doing this, so you can maintain that state once you return home

In general, the effects of San Pedro last longer than the Ayahuasca ceremonies. Our plant medicine retreats are structured to support you before, during, and after the ceremonies, with activities and rest time catered to support integration.

5. The Medicine Within 

It is important to remember that when you attend a plant medicine ceremony experiences can differ and we encourage participants not to research too many personal accounts of ceremonies. Why? Because it can lead to you having specific expectations- it might be the case that you do not see visions in the fire or experience a particular physical sensation like someone else.

However, a San Pedro retreat offers the chance to unlock states of gratitude and profound awareness. We can strengthen the connection to nature, each other, the elements and the music, which is always an ingredient in our ceremonies. You can listen to our guides’ medicine music here to get a taste of music often shared in San Pedro ceremonies with the water drum and rattle

Our San Pedro retreat is focused on being a nourishing week, with tools such as yoga, breathwork, meditation, plant-based food, and rest time in our retreat space to help you restore, recenter, and reignite the joy of the heart. 

Attend a San Pedro Plant Medicine Retreat 

There are many things to know about San Pedro, but experience is the best way to connect with this master plant. It is best to do so in a comfortable setting with reputable guides. A San Pedro retreat offers many healing tools and an opportunity to deepen your connection with this master plant.

Join Ayllu Medicina in March 2025 for our special San Pedro Retreat to learn more! Please feel free to contact us for more information, or visit this link for retreat details.