What to Bring to an Ayahuasca Retreat: A Practical Packing Guide

The short version: bring comfortable clothes you can move and sleep in, warm layers for the night, a headlamp or small flashlight, a journal, a refillable water bottle, and unscented toiletries. Leave perfumes, strong colognes, alcohol, and recreational substances at home. A reputable retreat will send its own packing list, and that list always wins over a general guide like this one.

Packing for your first ayahuasca retreat is mostly common sense, with a few quirks that surprise newcomers. Ceremonies often run late into the night, the room can get cold even in a warm climate, and many traditions ask you to keep your senses simple, which is why strong scents are discouraged. None of this is complicated once you know what to expect. This guide walks through the essentials, the nice-to-haves, and the things to deliberately leave behind, so you can arrive feeling prepared rather than anxious.

Before anything else: read the materials your centre sends you. Every retreat is different, and a good one will give you a specific list shaped by its location, climate, lineage, and rules. If you are still choosing where to go, our guide on how to choose a retreat safely and the questions to ask an ayahuasca retreat will help you find a place that communicates clearly.

What to wear to an ayahuasca ceremony

Comfort is the only rule that matters here. You may be sitting, lying down, walking to a bathroom in the dark, and occasionally getting up quickly, sometimes for hours. Choose clothing that lets you do all of that without fuss.

• Loose, comfortable clothes in soft natural fabrics like cotton. Think of what you would happily sleep in.
• Warm layers for the night. This is the item first-timers most often forget. Even in the Amazon, body temperature can drop during a ceremony and the early hours get cool, so pack a hoodie, a light sweater, warm socks, and a shawl or light blanket if your centre does not provide one.
• Easy on, easy off. You will likely visit the bathroom during ceremony, possibly in a hurry. Avoid complicated buttons, belts, and laces. Slip-on sandals or shoes are ideal.
• Layers you can shed. Climates near the equator can be warm by day and cool at night, so bring a mix rather than one heavy outfit.

Some centres suggest light or white clothing for ceremonial reasons, and some ask for modest dress. Both are details your retreat will spell out, so follow their guidance rather than guessing.

Ceremony essentials to bring

These are the small items that make the ceremony space easier to navigate.

• A headlamp or small flashlight. Ceremonies usually happen in low light or darkness, and a hands-free headlamp with a dim or red-light setting helps you move to the bathroom without disturbing others.
• A refillable water bottle. Staying hydrated matters, though many centres ask you not to drink during the most active part of the ceremony. Confirm their guidance.
• A journal and pen. Insights can feel vivid and then slip away by morning. Writing things down supports the integration work that follows, which is arguably where the lasting value lives. See integration: making it last.
• Warm socks and a personal blanket or shawl, if not supplied.
• Earplugs and an eye mask for resting between or after ceremonies in shared spaces.

Toiletries: why unscented matters

Here is the part that catches people off guard. Many ayahuasca traditions ask participants to avoid strong scents, and this preference is rooted in the dieta, the set of dietary and lifestyle restrictions that surround ceremonial work in lineages such as the Shipibo of the Peruvian Amazon.^[1][2] The dieta is partly about simplifying the senses, and perfumes, scented lotions, and heavily fragranced products are discouraged because the experience can heighten everyone's sensitivity in a shared space. It is also a gesture of respect for a practice with deep indigenous roots, which you can read more about in the ayahuasca dieta explained.

Practically, that means packing:

• Unscented or mild, natural soap and shampoo
• Unscented deodorant
• A toothbrush and toothpaste (some centres prefer unflavoured or mild)
• Sunscreen and insect repellent, ideally fragrance-free, especially for jungle settings
• Any personal-care basics you genuinely need

The dieta asks you to simplify not just your food, but your entire sensory experience, turning down the noise so the work can be heard more clearly.

Leave the perfume, cologne, scented body spray, and strongly fragranced lotions at home. If you are unsure whether a product counts as too strong, ask your centre.

Approved essentials and personal items

A few practical things smooth out the days around the ceremonies themselves:

• Travel documents and a printed copy of your booking and any emergency contacts.
• A reusable water bottle (mentioned above, and worth repeating).
• Comfortable daywear and sleepwear for rest days.
• A small first-aid kit with the basics you normally carry, plus any items your centre recommends for the local environment.
• Cash in the local currency for tips or local purchases, where appropriate.
• A book or paper for quiet, screen-free downtime. Many retreats encourage stepping away from devices.

What NOT to bring

Some things are better left at home, both for the experience and for everyone's safety.

• Perfume, cologne, and strongly scented products, for the reasons above.
• Alcohol and recreational drugs. These conflict with the dieta and can be unsafe. Ayahuasca contains DMT, which is a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States and a Class A drug in the UK, so legal context matters too.^[5][6] See where ayahuasca is legal.
• Your own ayahuasca or any plant medicine. Never source, prepare, or self-administer. The ceremony and the brew are the centre's responsibility, handled by experienced facilitators.
• Valuables and excess electronics. Many retreats limit phone use, and remote locations may lack secure storage.
• A packed agenda of expectations. Arriving with rigid demands for what should happen tends to add pressure. A calm, open frame of mind is the most useful thing you can bring, which is the focus of how to prepare for your first ceremony.

A simple first-timer checklist

Use this as a starting point, then reconcile it against your retreat's own list:

• Comfortable, loose clothes and sleepwear
• Warm layers: hoodie or sweater, warm socks, shawl or blanket
• Headlamp or small flashlight (dim or red light)
• Refillable water bottle
• Journal and pen
• Unscented toiletries, deodorant, sunscreen, insect repellent
• A change of clothes and small towel for ceremony nights
• Earplugs and eye mask
• Travel documents, emergency contacts, any local cash
• Anything your centre specifically asks for

Pack light, pack soft, keep your senses simple, and let the people running your retreat fill in the specifics. If you want to know more about what the nights themselves are like, what to expect at a retreat and what an ayahuasca ceremony feels like are good next reads, and our resources page lists organisations offering further harm-reduction support.