Guides
Practical and factual: the plant, the ceremony, preparation, safety and cost.
What Is Iboga? Plant Medicine and the Bwiti Tradition
What iboga actually is: the Tabernanthe iboga plant, its roots in Gabon's Bwiti tradition, and the real difference between iboga and ibogaine.
5 min readRead →
What iboga can help with
The areas where iboga can support healing: depression, anxiety, burnout, PTSD, addiction, trauma and self-limiting patterns. Not a magic pill, but a context for healing.
2 min readRead →
What the research says about ibogaine
Recent research on ibogaine: the Nature Medicine / Stanford studies on veterans, the 2026 executive order, opioid addiction, and cardiac safety protocols.
3 min readRead →
Iboga Therapy
Iboga therapy is more than a ceremony: preparation, an iboga ceremony in the Bwiti tradition, individual psychotherapy and integration. What it is, how it works, who it is for — and why safety and screening come first.
5 min readRead →
Iboga Experience
What an iboga ceremony is actually like: the long night, the Bwiti frame, the purge, the safe passage held by initiated healers, and the days after.
5 min readRead →
How to choose a safe iboga retreat
Iboga carries real cardiac risks. Here is what to check before you choose an iboga retreat: ECG screening, initiated facilitators, medical supervision, integration, and honesty about risk.
3 min readRead →
Iboga Retreat Zanzibar: Why It's Held in Africa
An iboga retreat in Zanzibar, Tanzania — near the Indian Ocean, in the Bwiti tradition of Gabon. Held in Africa, guided by a small team based in Europe.
5 min readRead →
Iboga Retreat Cost
What an iboga retreat costs, in full and up front: €2,300 early booking / €2,500 after, staged payment, and exactly what is and isn't included. No hidden fees, no 'inquire for price'.
3 min readRead →
How to prepare for an iboga retreat
A step-by-step guide to preparing for an iboga retreat in Zanzibar: recommended diet, medications to stop, the ECG, documents and what to pack. Everything that matters before the ceremony.
6 min readRead →
Frequently asked questions about the iboga retreat
Answers to the most common questions about an iboga retreat in Zanzibar: cost, what's included, safety and cardiac screening, legality, the difference between iboga and ibogaine, addiction and preparation.
4 min readRead →
How to Take Iboga
How iboga is taken: orally, as root bark, in a night-long Bwiti ceremony served by initiated healers, after an ECG and an interview. Safety, legal status, and the difference between iboga and ibogaine.
8 min readRead →
Psychedelic Retreat
A psychedelic retreat can mean a screened, tradition-held process or a stranger with a substance. What the word actually covers, how iboga differs from other plant medicines, and what to check before you book a week of your life.
8 min readRead →
Articles
Personal accounts and essays by Ciprian Iftime, founder of Ananda Villa Zanzibar.
Iboga, Africa’s Best-Kept Secret
The Bwiti tradition, what a journey with iboga is like, the risks and why preparation matters, and who it is for.
Ciprian Iftime · 8 min readRead →
Iboga: A Revolutionary Therapeutical Plant
Traditional use in Bwiti, how ibogaine and noribogaine act on the brain, and where the research on addiction and mental health stands.
Ciprian Iftime · 3 min readRead →
Iboga: A Dive into the Subconscious
A first-person account of a Bwiti iboga ceremony in Zanzibar: the intention, the night itself, the body, and what came after.
Ciprian Iftime · 11 min readRead →
Psychedelics and Mental Health Issues
How a psychedelic experience surfaces childhood trauma, what the ego has to do with it, and why integration is the real work. After Gabor Maté.
Ciprian Iftime · 6 min readRead →
Ciprian Iftime · 8 min readRead →
Iboga: A Revolutionary Therapeutical Plant
Traditional use in Bwiti, how ibogaine and noribogaine act on the brain, and where the research on addiction and mental health stands.
Ciprian Iftime · 3 min readRead →
Iboga: A Dive into the Subconscious
A first-person account of a Bwiti iboga ceremony in Zanzibar: the intention, the night itself, the body, and what came after.
Ciprian Iftime · 11 min readRead →
Psychedelics and Mental Health Issues
How a psychedelic experience surfaces childhood trauma, what the ego has to do with it, and why integration is the real work. After Gabor Maté.
Ciprian Iftime · 6 min readRead →