Ayahuasca and the new spiritual tourism

For centuries, ayahuasca has been a sacred plant for the Shipibo-Konibo peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. Part medicine, part spiritual ceremony, ayahuasca and other plant medicines are revered practices. But in recent years, a boom in Western interest in psychedelics has started to reshape ayahuasca ceremonies and practise. Fuelled by celebrity endorsements, a new wave of tourists are heading to purpose-built resorts in the Peruvian jungle to take ayahuasca, guided by shamans from the Shipibo-Konibo tribes.

In this episode of Heart and Soul, reporter Janak Rogers travels to the Peruvian Amazon to explore this so-called ‘psychedelic renaissance’. From candlelit jungle ceremonies to bustling tourist strips, Rogers uncovers the allure of ayahuasca for Westerners seeking help and healing. But as the ayahuasca boom transforms local communities, challenges arise: the rise of unscrupulous shamans, the commercialisation of Indigenous knowledge, and risks faced by vulnerable travellers.

Through the eyes of shamans, researchers, and spiritual tourists, Rogers witnesses the profound connections ayahuasca fosters between body, mind, and spirit — and, how tourism is redefining it all.

[Photo credit: Ayahuasca Ceremony by Carlos Alvarez Suarez]

Producer/presenter: Janak Rogers
Series producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno