WOW. I had the most amazing experience at a San Pedro retreat at Ananda Lodge in Costa Rica. Blown away by how held, cared for and authentic the owners and center is. Love how intimate the groups were.
Ayahuasca
Encyclopedic
Encyclopedic
Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
- 5 corroborating sources
- descriptive-only dose data
- duration data present
- 19 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Encyclopedic
Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
- 5 corroborating sources
- descriptive-only dose data
- duration data present
- 19 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Aliases: Aya, Cipó, Yage, Yaje, Brew, pharmahuasca
Summary
Ayahuasca is a brew combining DMT-containing plants with MAOI-containing plants, requiring both components to produce psychoactive effects. Traditional brews vary widely in potency depending on plant sources, preparation methods, and regional practices. The purgative effects (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) are considered an integral part of the traditional experience and can be intense.
Dose Information
| ROA | Light | Common | Strong | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral (Traditional B. Caapi + P. Viridis Brew) | Smallcup(50-75mloftraditionalbrew) | - | Largecup(150-200mloftraditionalbrew) | Multipleservingsorveryconcentratedbrew+ |
Light
Common
Strong
Heavy
Onset, Duration & After-effects
| ROA | Onset | Comeup | Peak | Offset | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral (Syrian Rue + Mimosa Hostilis) | 19-60 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 hrs | 1-2 hrs | 5-10 hrs |
| Oral (Syrian Rue + Acacia Confusa) | 19-60 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 hrs | 1-2 hrs | 4-8 hrs |
| Oral (Pharmahuasca - Extracted Alkaloids) | 15-30 min | 19-40 min | 1-2 hrs | 1-2 hrs | 4-8 hrs |
| Oral (Traditional B. Caapi + P. Viridis Brew) | 19-60 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 hrs | 1-2 hrs | 4-8 hrs |
| Oral | 18-60 min | - | 1-2 hrs | 1-2 hrs | 4-8 hrs |
Effect Profile
166 reportsScores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:
- Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
- Validated against 141 Erowid trip reports
- Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)
Psychedelic
8.8
Intense+
9/10
Strong visuals, headspace, auditory effects, and body load
Visual Intensity
×3
10
internal hallucinations
autonomous entity contact
autonomous entities
colour enhancement
synesthesia
drifting
+7 more
Headspace Depth
×3
10
conceptual thinking
personal meaning enhancement
thought connectivity
emotional amplification and catharsis
feelings of interdependent opposites
subconscious communication
+8 more
Auditory Effects
×1
10
auditory distortion
auditory enhancement
auditory hallucinations
synesthesia
Body Load / Somatic Effects
×1
10
nausea
physical discomfort
muscle tension
Empathogen
9.1
Intense+
9/10
Strong sensory enhancement, empathy, euphoria, and stimulation
Empathy / Social Openness
×3
9
empathy
Euphoria / Mood Elevation
×2
9
euphoria
emotion enhancement
Stimulation
×1
9
stimulation
restlessness
Sensory Enhancement
×1
10
enhanced tactile sensation
spontaneous tactile sensations
colour enhancement
acuity enhancement
Stimulant
6.6
Strong+
7/10
Strong anxiety/jitters and focus with moderate stimulation and euphoria
Stimulation / Energy
×3
7
stimulation
Euphoria / Mood Lift
×2
7
euphoria
Focus / Productivity
×2
9
analysis enhancement
thought acceleration
Anxiety / Jitters
×1
10
restlessness
muscle tension
Tolerance
Build-up
develops rapidly after a single use
Reset
7–14 days for baseline
Tolerance Decay
Full tolerance
1h
Half tolerance
10d
Baseline
~14d
Acute tolerance: develops within a single session — the reset numbers above apply after sustained heavy use, not after one binge. Within-session tachyphylaxis usually resets largely overnight.
Effects
Aggregated from 141 Erowid and 25 Bluelight experience reports
Positive Effects 48
Empathy
61.7%
70%
Color Enhancement
51.8%
84%
Stimulation
50.4%
70%
Music Enhancement
45.2%
90%
Euphoria
41.6%
82%
Introspection
41.0%
85%
Tactile Enhancement
38.3%
70%
Focus Enhancement
36.9%
70%
Awe
36.0%
83%
Geometric Imagery
36.0%
87%
Closed-Eye Visuals
33.1%
88%
Thought Acceleration
28.0%
80%
Insight
20.0%
91%
Revelatory Insight
20.0%
88%
Body High
18.1%
82%
Sedation
16.9%
80%
Mystical Quality
16.0%
90%
Joy
16.0%
84%
Environmental Transfiguration
16.0%
85%
Contentment
16.0%
78%
Adverse Effects 34
Nausea
66.3%
89%
Anxiety
57.2%
87%
Fear
36.0%
86%
Vomiting
36.0%
91%
Entity Imagery
28.0%
85%
Dissociation
26.5%
85%
Panic
20.0%
89%
Body Load
20.0%
78%
Motor Impairment
13.9%
85%
Memory Suppression
12.8%
70%
Dizziness
12.0%
85%
Sweating
8.4%
82%
Thought Deceleration
8.0%
80%
Restlessness
8.0%
82%
Body Temperature Change
8.0%
85%
Pain Enhancement
8.0%
88%
Paranoia
8.0%
90%
Increased Heart Rate
5.7%
70%
Headache
4.8%
80%
Psychosis
4.3%
70%
Combinations
Cross-Check Ayahuasca with another substanceTrip Reports
Community Trip Reports
Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, and Bluelight. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance.
Reddit 8 reports 1 positive 7 neutral visit
I asked the question without even meaning too, so i feel like i had no choice. The next thing i was being pulled up thru a blue swirling funnel as i experienced a life review. The process was incredibly uncomfortable and felt like my soul was being ripped from my body.
UPDATE: 12/5/2024: Just spoke with my shaman and she explained that she had seen the entity in me when she met me back in April during my first ceremony, but it wasn't ready to come out yet.
I wanted to share this because I wish I had read something like this before I went into it. I came to ayahuasca from a place of desperation. At that time, I was already dealing with OCD—but it was mostly health anxiety.
From the beginning, I knew that the real work with ayahuasca wasn’t the ceremony itself, but what comes after. The visions and intensity matter, of course, but they felt like openings, not conclusions. What I didn’t expect was how far that integration process would take me.
Ayahuasca was incredible—also unbelievably difficult and physically painful. At one point, I almost canceled my next ayahuasca trip to Peru because of how intense it was. But after the last ceremony, I was completely blown away and in awe.
Hi everyone, I’m looking for perspectives from people who have experience with ayahuasca, Shipibo traditions, or deep integration work not just surface-level takes. I went to Pucallpa, Peru in December and sat in around 9–10 ayahuasca ceremonies.
I’m heading back to Soltara in Costa Rica for my second visit in the past year and a half. The first time I went I hadn’t worked with any plant medicine before. I was struggling in my life back then, I felt stuck and like I was leaking.
Erowid 8 reports 3 positive 3 neutral 2 cautionary visit
I started my enchanting and beautiful affair with ayahuasca in Goa; which was to mark a very magical end to my sojourn in India. Visionary splendour, ceremonies and nocturnal visits to the realm of spirits. 5 days prior to the ceremonies, I visited a French shaman A.
An account of drinking the psychedelic tea Ayahuasca by a long time meditator and spiritual practitioner. My friendship with Robert began in the late 60s. We shared a mutual interest in spirituality and, at that time, we had both experimented with psychedelic substances as a means of arriving at a deeper spiritual und...
Ayahuasca: a rookie's bumbling notes Among the myriad of vines that make the Amazon jungle their home, there is one with particularly unique properties. The name of that vine is Ayahuasca. When mixed with other Amazonian plants and shrubs into a tea and ingested, it is said to produce powerful hallucinogenic effects.
The Second Night (IMO) = In my opinion. I was a more apprehensive on this second night after having recorded the physical and emotional effects of last night, the fragmented stories of others experiences and my own to some degree: the physical payment of vomiting and bodily soreness wasnt it, nor was it even the act...
Allow yourself to be devoured by the Alligator On the 21-09-19 I attended an ayahuasca ceremony in Denmark. Here is a transcript of my diary covering the events. (Drafted on word starting on the 28-12-19. Originally written down in my diary 22-09-19).
My flight from L.A. to Lima was sooooo long! Eight hours with my mask AND face shield left me unrested and annoyed beyond belief! I arrived in Lima and had to wait in the airport for hours before my 4oclock flight to Tarapoto. During the flight I could look down and see mighty rivers and the rainforest below.
I warn you that this report is more than just a simple trip report. It covers many months as the impact of the trip didnt stop after the active molecules had dispersed. I will try (as best as possible) to give a detailed account of what I went through with this powerful psychedelic. It all started around 5 years ago.
INTRO: I decided to try ayahuasca a long time ago, but now I can say with certainty that Im very glad I didnt have a chance to try it in my 20s. I believe this kind of ego-shattering experience requires a lot of mental sobriety and emotional maturity in order not to be confused for a psychotic episode.
Bluelight 8 threads 2 positive 5 neutral 1 cautionary visit
Harmala + DMT Extract (Experienced) - The End of Time Celebration and Endless Pain Me: Years of heavy psychedelic experiences coupled with about 100+ breakthrough DMT experiences, of which very few even provided a fraction of this experience.
Now I would like to post my first great Ayahuasca experience. I am not sure if this is the right thread thou. Ayahuasca enlightenment experience I started to take Ayahuasca 4 days ago, Every day one session. The first 3 sessions were a preparation for what was about to come today.
Ayahuasca in Ecuador Alright... so I know this cute Canadian chick who introduced me to the idea of trying Ayahuasca. So then I did it. WOW is all I have to fucking say.
original (Spanish) post: NSFW : El sábado pasado tuve la oportunidad de asistir a una "ceremonia" de ayahuasca en Mexicali B.C. Yo nunca había asistido a ningún evento de este tipo pero sí he leído al respecto, al no tener experiencia pues puedo ser fácilmente "tomado por los pelos" por así decirlo, tengo entendido que...
DMT (Ayahuasca) First time ~ Brought into Being, Peace x Piece 1 teaspoon Syrian Rue powder 11 grams Mimosa Hostilis root bark ½ bowl of weed Note: for those of you who haven’t already, you would due well to also read Spinal’s Ayahuasca report up at the top of trip reports. Our stories are very much intermingled.
@JackARoe Has been imploring me to start a blog about some of my trip reports that involve certain combinations/doses of psychedelics, and I'm currently scripting a website to host them on.
Overview I have spent the past month digesting this experience, and I'll likely continue to process it for a long while to come. This was one of the toughest things I have ever lived through. Over the course of a weekend in Peru, the brew dowsed me repeatedly and without mercy in my own worst fears and memories.
I warn you that this TR is more than just a simple trip report. It covers many months as the impact of the trip didn’t stop after the active molecules had dispersed. I will try (as best as possible) to give a detailed account of what I went through with this powerful psychedelic. It all started around 5 years ago.
Bluelight Reference Guide
The Big & Dandy Oral DMT thread (Ayahuasca/Pharmahuasca)
If i brewed these two together would this make an Ayahuasca brew ? What would be the general dose for these two, anyone know the ratio of syrian rue to Mimosa hostilis is?
Read full thread on Bluelight →
Ayahuasca's nerd page
Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
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Helpful Links
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