Mountain House Casa de la Gringa

I cannot say enough about our experience at Casa De La Gringa San Pedro Retreat Mountain House. We spent three days there on the end of an active tour of Peru, and we so grateful for the respite from the noise and busy streets of Cuzco. Casa De La Gringa offers not only simple but peaceful rooms, but also the opportunity to participate in various types of ceremony (Wachuma, Coca leaf readings, clearings), which we did do. The gardens are especially beautiful and healing. How incredibly powerful, and Luis, the shaman is the real deal. The breakfast is included and there are very reasonable rates to add on lunch and/or dinner. The staff is unobtrusive, but helpful, as are the fellow travelers you'll meet. If you are looking for luxury 5-star accommodations this is not your place, but if you are looking for respite and sanctuary look no further. Our only regret is that Lesley was traveling when we stayed. PS The retreat center is right across from the Temple of the Moon (steps away). While the site is currently blocked off you can enter Pachamama's womb from the opposite side -- an experience you should not miss.

I don't like being manipulated into buying jewellery and paintings on my way to breakfast by the innkeeper. The room was ok, very damp. Met some nice people but the whole experience was amateurish, touristy, not worth returning. The innkeeper was unfriendly and fake but she has beautiful dogs.

We loved the hospitality of the staff and were impressed by the beautiful environment and garden at 3800 meters altitude. The temple of the moon nearby was very impressive as well. One of us partook in one of the ceremonies and had an amazing experience, thanks to Mark, Lesley and the shaman. The design of the room was also very authentic and tasteful. We immediately felt at home and comforted/supported when some of us had difficulties adapting to the height. We also liked that the location was a bit outside of the busy city, in nature. It is about 15 minutes by taxi to go down to town. Anna, Pierre and Irma.

My friends and I attended the 1 day San Pedro ceremony and slept over 1 night. The thing with tripping is, everyone's experience varies widely. The community at CDLG is there to facilitate the experience by creating a safe and comfortable environment for everyone. Leslie starts off the ceremony by gathering everyone around for intention setting and sharing wisdom about how San Pedro has done miracles for some partakers at CDLG. Leslie is overflowing with spiritual energy and everyone who gathers around her display a lot of love and quest for human connection. My experience with the San Pedro was largely positive. I did throw up twice (a second time after re-upping), which I was not expecting since I thought that only happened with ayahuasca. But for the first two hours, I closed my eyes and laid in the sunny garden feeling immense appreciation for my friends and family. When my friends and I debriefed the next day, we all agreed we wish we had closed our eyes more because that's when the San Pedro spoke the most loudly and imparted the most wisdom. We were constantly being asked if we needed anything (water, tea, blankets, etc). It felt like a completely safe and comfortable space for us to explore this new medicine. Lunch, dinner, and breakfast (next day, if you booked a room) are provided for. We were starving by the time lunch and dinner came, so I kinda wish we ate earlier. I personally would've opted out to re-upping the second time because we were taken on a hike around the mountains and caves nearby, but it was extremely difficult to walk while on the San Pedro medicine. Some of my favorite parts were debriefing with my friends around the dinner table and gathering with the other partakers around the fireplace at night. Maybe we got lucky with our group of people, but everyone was very welcoming. We read and analyzed each other's horoscopes, someone played guitar and sang original songs around the fire, and we talked about life and stuff.

I had a wonderful experience here as a group participating in a ceremony. It was such a beautiful, safe, and welcoming place to be with beautiful nooks and crannies with chairs and beds and hammocks to be in and look at the lovely garden. Leslie and all the other people who help her there are so genuine and supportive that it really feels like a home from home and the food we had - fruit bowls and soup were amazing. The stay was full of extra little touches to make it special. Would definitely recommend

Lesley and the crew here have created a safe, welcoming and beautiful space to experience connection with San Pedro. Everything has been thought through from the comfy futons in her beautiful garden so you can listen to the hummingbirds fly by, to the wonderful soup at the end of the day. I wouldn’t have dreamed of a better place to journey, Lesley is so supportive and wonderful host. Thank you so much!