Welcome to Ayahuasca Info
This website is dedicated to a magical potion from the Amazon basin which is known as ayahuasca. Here you can find information on the different ingredients that are used to make this brew, the way it's used by indigenous people, and what you can expect when you take it yourself.
Traditionally this beverage contains a combination of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis (or alternatively the Diplopterys cabrerana). It has now been determined what the active components of these ingredients are, and some people have used plants from other parts of the world to make similar herbal potions. You can read about this in the botany and chemistry pages.
The most important active component in ayahuasca as far as its visionary qualities are concerned is a substance called DMT (dimethyltryptamine). DMT has a powerful effect on consciousness that is difficult to describe in words. It's described by many as "spiritual", and is characterized by detailed, very bright and colourful visions. Indigenous people say that during their trance, which lasts approximately four hours, they enter the world of the spirits and communicate with them, while psychologists consider DMT to be one of the hallucinogens, or psychedelics: "substances which make the soul visible."
We invite you to explore this site, read the interviews and prepare yourself well before you decide to try this powerful potion yourself. In case you are completely new to ayahuasca, we recommend you start by reading the introduction.
News
March 4, 2010 - Ayahuasca Tales: Tripping through the jungle
We stumbled across a post on a blog on Picassodreams where ‘KAT’ beautifully describes some of her ayahuasca trips and the impact of these sessions on her daily life. Well worth the read! Read the story here.
February 10, 2010 - Brazil legalizes ayahuasca
After years of discussion, the Brazilian government has legalized the use of ayahuasca in religious ceremonies. Only the use is legal, selling it remains prohibited.
The two major religious movements that make use of ayahuasca in their ceremonies are Sando Daime and UDV.
Read more on Dosenation, or see the original news item (in Portugese)
To read previous articles on ayahuasca go to the news page.
New experiences
January 27, 2009Ayahuasca versus my ego
"The two trips about which I am posting occurred on consecutive nights in ayahuasca healing ceremonies in the Peruvian Amazon. I participated in 5 ceremonies in total and am sharing what transpired on the second and third of these. After emerging from my first ceremony with only positive experiences akin to those I had experienced with other hallucinogens, I became cocky about my seeming invulnerability to having bad trips. This is what ensued."
To read this and other reports, visit our experience section. We would like to expand our experience database. For this we need your help! Please share your ayahuasca experience(s) by writing a report. Contact us here. Thanks!