Amazon Rainforest Wellness Retreat: Yoga, Sound Healing & Ancestral Ceremonies in Colombia

Day one starts in Leticia, where the group is collected and taken by boat along the Amazon to the Calanoa lodge. The ride itself is the first bit of the trip — you're heading into the rainforest, not through it. Once you arrive, there's time to settle into your cabin, eat, and do an opening yoga session before the first evening meditation.

The middle days run to a similar rhythm: yoga in the morning, breakfast, then either an energy-balancing session, a sound healing session or a guided jungle hike with local guides who know the trails and the wildlife. Afternoons are for river cruises, free time in a hammock, or an optional hypnotherapy session. Evenings include Yoga Nidra, meditation and, on one night, the cacao ceremony — a Mayan ritual where the group sits in a circle, drinks warm cacao, sets intentions, and the session is carried by music and chanting.

The optional Ayahuasca ceremony happens with an indigenous shaman who leads it with the care it needs. It's not compulsory, it costs about €50 on top, and you pay the shaman directly. If you'd rather not take part, you simply don't.

The setting is the main difference between this retreat and a yoga week in a European studio. Calanoa Amazonas runs on solar power, harvests rainwater and manages its own waste, and the cabins are built into the forest rather than cleared out of it. The food comes largely from the lodge's garden. You wake to the sound of the jungle, not an alarm, and the boat trip back to Leticia at the end is the only real contact with a road.

Marta Diaz leads the whole programme. She's Estonian, has spent long stretches teaching in Japan and Thailand, and runs Om & Flow Yoga. Her teaching covers several styles, but the thing guests tend to remember is the Yoga Nidra — one past guest wrote after a five-day retreat that Marta's guidance and calm were what let her actually let go and unwind.

What's included

- 4 nights, 5 days at Calanoa Amazonas eco-lodge - Daily yoga classes - Daily meditation and Yoga Nidra - Daily energy-balancing sessions - Guided jungle hikes - River cruises on the Amazon - Sound healing sessions - Sacred Cacao Ceremony - 3 nourishing meals daily - Round-trip boat transfer from and to Leticia airport - Optional hypnotherapy session - 10% discount when paying the full fee at registration

What's not included

- International and domestic flights to Leticia - Travel insurance - Ayahuasca ceremony (approx. €50, paid directly to the shaman) - Optional massage and Reiki treatments - Personal expenses and tips - Drinks outside of meals