Henry Miller, 19, from Bristol, travelled to the rainforest, where he is said to have drank two cups of yagé-infused tea, which is believed to caused hallucinations.
After drinking the fist cup on Sunday, Henry had another on Tuesday, which was the day he died.
A fellow traveller in the group told a UK newspaper of his bad reaction to the drug.
He said: “He was lying face down on the ground making very weird breathing noises. We picked him up and put him in a chair.
“He wasn’t speaking, he was lashing out with his hands and feet. Then he started making weird animal noises, pig sounds and at one point he tried to fly. He kept saying, ‘What’s going on, oh my God’, and holding his face.”
The traveller also claimed that the tribe they had taken the drink with said they would take care of Henry after his bad reaction while they slept. However, when they woke up, Henry was not there and his body was reportedly later found dumped on a roadside.
Henry’s parents David and Elizabeth Miller gave a statement, in which they said: “In the last 48 hours we received the exceptionally sad news that our son Henry has died while travelling in Columbia.
“We understand that he took part in a local tribal ritual recommended by the hostel that he was staying at. The ritual involves a drink made from local plant infusions.
“We are awaiting more information from the Foreign Office, but it is likely that a reaction to this drink was the cause.”