Iboga Wellness Center

Iboga Wellness Center is an iboga retreat centre in the mountains of Costa Rica’s South Pacific region, near San Isidro de El General. It holds eight-day, seven-night retreats in the Bwiti tradition of Gabon with two full iboga ceremonies, and works with the whole root bark and a total alkaloid extract rather than ibogaine.

Approach

Gary Cook founded the centre in 2014. He was initiated in Gabon in 2013 and recognised by the tribe as a Nima, an honoured elder, in 2016. Retreats are now directed by Levi Barker, a healer trained in the Bwiti tradition who says he has worked with iboga for more than 15 years. The ceremonies fall on the second and fifth days, each after a private talk about intentions, and run around a fire until sunrise. The days between hold a spiritual shower ritual, integration circles, beach or hot spring outings and optional massage. The centre does not mix iboga with other practices such as ayahuasca or reiki.

Who it is for

Guests come with depression, anxiety, PTSD or childhood trauma, or because they feel stuck, and the centre asks that nobody comes only for the experience. It offers no medical treatment and no drug detox.

Practical details

Groups usually number five or six. The main house has eight bedrooms on six acres, about 2,500 feet up. Retreats have been priced at $3,150 to $3,550, including meals, airport transfers and integration calls afterwards.

Care and safety

Guests fill in a medical history questionnaire, and a doctor meets each guest and approves an EKG before ceremony. A nurse is on site from day two to day seven, with a doctor on call, emergency equipment including a defibrillator, and a hospital 20 minutes away. Exclusions include pregnancy, heart conditions, a history of stroke or seizures, severe bipolar disorder and benzodiazepine use, which must stop 30 days before.