Ayahuasca & Plant Medicine at Rythmia: Your Questions Answered

Yes. Ayahuasca is central to the Rythmia Way Program. Four ceremonies are included in every 7-night stay, led by trained shamans. Ayahuasca is subject to individual medical clearance. Rythmia also works with Yagé, a related plant medicine from the Amazon basin, alongside other complementary practices.

Rythmia's primary plant medicine is ayahuasca, prepared and served by a team of shamans. Rapé (a sacred tobacco medicine) is available as an optional complementary practice. All medicines are prepared on site under the supervision of the medical team. Participation in any specific medicine is always subject to medical clearance.

Ayahuasca is not "illegal" in Costa Rica. While it is not formally legalized, it operates in a decriminalized space that allows for its ceremonial and therapeutic use. Rythmia holds a General Medical License from the Costa Rican Ministry of Health and is separately licensed by IAFA, making it the only medically licensed plant medicine center in the world. All ceremonies take place within a fully regulated facility under qualified medical supervision.

Four ayahuasca ceremonies are included in every 7-night stay. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday ceremonies run approximately 6 hours each. Thursday's ceremony is the longest, running approximately 12 hours. All ceremonies are optional, and guests may choose not to participate in any or all without affecting their access to other elements of the program.

Monday is an introductory ceremony, Tuesday takes you deeper, Wednesday is led by our female shamans, and Thursday is Yagé night. Each is completely unique but thoughtfully structured to build off one another and give guests a versatile and complete experience. The ceremonial design has men and women on separate sides of the Maloka, and we encourage couples not to sit near one another to respect their individual journeys.

Our ceremonies are led by a diverse range of skilled and highly trained shamans and healers. Their training encompasses a wide variety of Eastern, Western, and Amazonian modalities. On top of their outside training, they have all been working in ceremonies at Rythmia for 5+ years, having led over 10,000 guests through more than 40,000 individual ceremonies between them.