"The place itself is very beautiful and the vegetarian food is plentiful and delicious. However, my experience there has put me off Hare Krishna centres and I certainly won't visit again. It is a shame because I previously visited another (Yogendra in Cali, Colombia) and really enjoyed it, being a fan of yoga, meditation, mindfulness and good vegetarian food.

One problem I had was the abundant dishonesty. For example, the prices for accommodation are given in dollars but they charge a hidden commission when paying in soles, so we ended up paying almost 9 dollars per night instead of 8 for the camping. What's more - the reason for the prices being given in dollars (and therefore the commission charge) is something to do with the landlord and money being sent to India. Again, this did not feel very honest. If the financial purpose of the Ecotruly is to raise money for some cause in another country I feel like that should be stated up front and they should be very clear about where to money goes. As it was they seemed very reluctant to talk about it, and appeared angry that we were asking too many questions. Personally I would be much more comfortable helping them raise money if I knew it was being put to good use in the local area to help people there that really need it.

Another example of the dishonesty was on our final night when everyone was sat around waiting for dinner, someone appeared to inform us it was a special religious day for them and that dinner would be served in the temple. What followed was two hours of chanting and teaching before anyone was allowed to eat. In the right context I enjoy kirtan and find their ceremonies beautiful, but no one should be tricked into attending a religious ceremony in order to be fed. By the end of my stay I felt that this summed up their approach to giving in general.

The place is very touristic and certainly commercial. They charge for entry and there are always people walking around or going on tours as if at a zoo. As volunteers the experience left a lot to be desired. There was very little information about how the community worked or what was expected of us. It seemed like little thought goes into the volunteer program and really we were just there for expendable labour. I had hoped to learn more from my time there (for example about the Hare Krishna approach to cooking, their approach to ecological agriculture, and such things that were suggested we would learn before arrival - there was none of this).

The hygiene and cleanliness were not good. I worked in the bakery one day and it was absolutely filthy and full of flies. I emptied a bin underneath the work surfaces that clearly had not been emptied for weeks - it was full of maggots and smelled like faeces at the bottom. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in a kitchen. The dormitories were not clean. The yoga studio was dirty and neglected. My partner volunteered to spend three mornings cleaning it and repairing things, and received no words of thanks or encouragement. They use composted human waste in the gardens but 1) they do not separate out the urine so the toilets stink, and 2) they only compost it for 3 to 4 months which is insufficient time to be sure that pathogens are neutralised. The sum total of these hygiene issues is that many people become sick while staying at Ecotruly, some like those I met in Huaraz, seriously so. My partne and I were lucky.

In spite of all the above we had a reasonably pleasant stay. The best bits were the regular yoga and meditation, afternoon workshops, and meeting the other volunteers. However, these good bits were all provided by the volunteers. The only bad yoga class was the one given by a resident -he led us to a cave at the far end of the beach and gave us the worst yoga class I've ever had. Farcically bad. My partner, who is a trained yoga instructor, said it was actually quite dangerous.

In summary: go if you want some insight into the Hare Krishna way of living. You'll probably meet some interesting people. Don't go looking for something inspirational."

topher mcw

"A very educational place to stop off for a tour. It's quite relaxing here as they offer also yoga and meditation. I would recommend here."

Arkansas Traveler

"I love the stake"

Eddie Rollins