I first heard about iboga quite a few years ago when I was looking for a way to cure my sister’s addiction to opiates and other hard to get off substances. When she was eventually ready to stop, I found Harambe online. I had emailed other websites offering iboga but had not really had a response but Harambe responded quickly and gave me a lot of information. I instantly knew that this was the right place to take my sister. When we eventually got there, we met Cathy and Bilal who were so welcoming and understanding to what my sister was going through. It was lovely to be surrounded by mountains and trees and the food they cook is amazing!
My sister was given two large doses of iboga over a course of a couple of days in which she time travelled and was also able to speak to our father who has passed away. The doses took away all of withdrawals and the majority of her cravings but most importantly, it took away her depression and feelings of wanting to commit suicide which were just as much part of the problem as was the addiction. My sister lost nearly everything because of all of this and now she is gaining it all back. I can really say that she is a changed person and is back to the way she was before the addiction and other traumas of life took her.
A couple of months later I decided to go back to Harambe to do the iboga myself as I was struggling with some issues with anxiety and depression and had been reliant on smoking cannabis every day all day for nearly ten years. If I did not have it I felt like I could not get through the day and I wanted it to stop. Unfortunately, my experience with the iboga wasn’t too pleasant, not because of the hallucinations but because I was very very sick for the whole time and was unable to keep it down. I experienced an emotion that does not even exist and it was a terrifying feeling. When I got home, I had night terrors every night for a week but I think that this was just all of the bad stuff coming out of me. The experience definitely changed something in me as it took away my mind chatter which usually used to stop me from falling asleep for hours and was usually full of negative comments! Bilal said that I would need to come back and do a second dose like my sister did so another month later I came back and did it again.
This time it was a lot easier and I was able to keep it down. I did not have deep visions like my sister did but when it was over, I had the best feeling of peace and relaxation I have ever experienced! A lot of things have changed for me now. I don’t feel anxious and low all of the time. I don’t have social anxiety now. I can sleep so well and so deep now which is amazing! My diet has completely changed as for some reason the experience made me want to go vegetarian and not eat sugar as much as I was so addicted to chocolate and cake but this could have been down to the munchies! Anyway, I have lost weight because of it which is great. I never wanna taste or smell nicotine again, the thought of it makes me heave and I cannot stand the smell at all now. My mind has totally been altered and I just do not feel the same about cannabis anymore. I do not rely on it and the voice in my head telling me I need it 24/7 is gone. I can’t say that I won’t ever smoke it again but I will never let myself become reliant on it again, that much I know.
A couple of months after this my mum decided that she wanted to try it too to see if she could give up smoking 40 cigarettes a day. She did it and she is still free of them now. I cannot recommend this detox enough to anyone. It is not entirely an easy experience but it is so worth it for your mental and physical wellbeing! I will definitely do this again at some point as it has helped me and my family so much.
I really hope that if you are reading this, you make the choice to go ahead and do it. Cathy and Bilal are some of the most interesting people I have ever met and what they are doing is nothing short of miracle work! Whilst I was there, I have seen some very chronic addicts being cured and I never thought I would see my sister live the rest of her life so I cant thank them enough. My whole family has changed for the better because of iboga and Cathy and Bilal and I am eternally grateful for that.
Ibogaine treatment was the best decision I've ever made and only wish I had known of this profoundly powerful medicine 25 years ago.
I travelled to Cathy and Bilal's beautiful property from the UK with the sole purpose of coming off of a lifetime of addictive behaviour. But to view this medicine as simply a means of avoiding months of withdrawals is reductionist; if all it did was get you off of drugs without withdrawal, with no internal changes, then it would just be a matter of time before a relapse.
The profound revelations I had after my 50+ hours of hell have changed my life in so many ways.
Cathy and Bilal are absolutely beautiful people who took such good care of me throughout. I feel such a strong connection to them after only 6 days.
If you're considering ibogaine for any reason, I cannot recommend Harambe any more strongly.
Do it, you'll never regret it.
I went down to Valencia and the Harambe Detox in October 2025 to do Iboga. A realy beutiful place, run by wholeharted People.
An absolut transformative experience, both fysichal, mental and spiritual. It feels like a total reset for my brain, and that it is now working as it is supposed to do.
Finding meaning and joy in everyday activities. Even though the experience is rough and long-lasting, i truly believe in this plant medicine, for every human being. Often we humans get in or own ways, creating bad habits, self-destructive thoughts-and behavior-patters.
What Ibogaine did to me Was a total reset, while making me aware of the self-desteuctive patterns, hopefuly preventing me from going down that road again.
Hopefully i Will come back to this place again, whenever Iboga is calling on me again.
The best decision I ever made!
The Harambe Center welcomed me with open arms from the very beginning. Despite all my questions and concerns, they handled everything with compassion, knowledge and care, not only for me, but also for my family.
The center came highly recommended by a friend, but I truly understood its power only once I experienced it myself. They didn’t just provide treatment, they offered a home, a sanctuary, and a life-changing journey.
My ibogaine experience was more profound and healing than I ever could have imagined.
Catherine and Bilal, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are true masters at offering people a second chance at life. I am forever grateful.
With love,
Sara
I came to Harambe this summer as a last resort to get help with my opioid addiction. Kathy and Bilal were so welcoming, generous, and immediately gave a serious impression. Even their two children were incredibly welcoming and super nice, making me feel “at home” right away.
However, my experience of the treatment turned out a bit different, because I had not been truthful about having quit opioids before the treatment. In the period leading up to it, I had been taking high doses of the stomach medicine loperamide hydrochloride, which in such doses can lead to serious heart rhythm disturbances. I stopped taking this medication only a few days before my Iboga treatment, but since it has an extremely long half-life in higher doses, it was still in my system when I started the ibogaine treatment.
Before starting the treatment, both Kathy and Bilal asked me several times if I had taken any medications beforehand, and I denied it (in other words, I lied to them) – something I am deeply ashamed of today, as it could have cost me my life.
The combination of ibogaine and loperamide hydrochloride caused me to suffer from severe heart rhythm disturbances. This was quickly noticed by Kathy, Bilal, and the nurse who was monitoring my ECG at their home at the start of the treatment. Thanks to their quick observation of my serious condition, they decided to stop the treatment, even though at that moment I didn’t want them to. Because they recognized the severity of the situation and acted fast, I was able to get to the hospital and eventually ended up in the intensive care unit due to multiple episodes of torsades de pointes, a life-threatening arrhythmia caused by the dangerous stomach medicine I had taken before the iboga treatment, combined with my dishonesty about it.
Despite all this, they treated me with kindness and warmth, and I have them – and the nurse they work with – to thank for being alive today and for the fact that my children still have their mother. Even though I did not receive the full dose of the treatment, I believe I still got what I needed. To this day, I have not had a relapse, and soon it will be two months since I began the treatment with them. I owe them so much, and I believe that after what happened, a new and better chapter of my life is about to begin.
But I also want to share my story as a warning to others: never be dishonest about what medications you have taken before treatment, because it can have very serious consequences. Ibogaine is a powerful, potent medicine, and I truly believe in its miracles and its ability to initiate change for people with opioid addiction. At the same time, I am fully aware that this is only the beginning, and that you must continue to consciously work on yourself and your behavior every day.
For a long time, I struggled with an addiction to psycho-stimulants, and it was very difficult for me to overcome it. I tried therapy as well, but without success. Eventually, I started searching for information on my own, and that’s how I came across ibogaine as a tool in the fight against addiction, as well as Kathy and Bilal, who welcomed me with open arms and guided me through the entire process.
They are truly wonderful and kind people, and the conversations I had with Bilal while we were sitting alone were incredibly helpful in understanding myself and how this all really works. You can truly rely on him – just remember to listen to what he says, because he genuinely knows what he’s talking about.
So come with an open mind, good intentions, and, most importantly, a sincere desire to change – and you will definitely succeed. I wholeheartedly recommend them, and once again, I send my warmest greetings and deepest thanks to Kathy, Bilal, and their amazing children for everything I experienced here.
First of all thank you so much Cathy and Bilal, this experience has truly brought me from a dark looping mess to a light smiling future in such a short time.
I’ve been to detox clinics before and the problem i found was, its ok to detox in a clinical setting but then stepping out into the real world again is a big struggle, as real life hits you immediately, the noise and stress come rushing back and it can be a bit over whelming. What Catherine and Bilal provide is a private family environment with lots of friendly interaction with there whole family including Jama, a very friendly dog and their 2 wonderful children.
I booked in for 5 days. The treatment was more intense than expected but both Cathy and Bilal were with me the whole time for guidance and reassurance. With a registered nurse also monitoring me the whole way.
Truly like nothing I have ever experienced.
This short treatment has cleared my head and my heart and given me the space and time to assess the causes of my looping negative thoughts that created my bad habits and also shown me some tools to deal with future triggers that might trick me back into old habits.
From the moment Bilal pick me up to the moment he dropped me off, I felt welcomed with lots of stories and laughter even when I didn’t feel like it.
I highly recommend anyone might be struggling to check them out as I can sincerely say this has diverted me from a dark path into the light and I know I have made some very cool new friends.
Thank you guys
Leon
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