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High in the Andes. Deep in presence.
Shambala Retreat Center
Guasca, Cundinamarca – Colombian Andes
Nestled high in the heart of the Colombian Andes, Shambala Retreat Center rests at over 3,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by vast mountain landscapes, ancestral trees, native flowers, and an abundant diversity of birdlife. The altitude, silence, and open skies create a natural sense of spaciousness—an environment that gently invites presence, reflection, and inner stillness.
Conceived as a City of Light, Shambala is more than a destination; it is a sacred, intentionally held space devoted to conscious retreat, reverence for nature, and respectful engagement with ancestral wisdom. The land itself becomes part of the experience, offering grounding, clarity, and a deep sense of listening that supports inner alignment.
Ayahuasca ceremonies at Shambala are facilitated by experienced shamans with a long-standing relationship to the medicine and its traditions. Each ceremony is held with great care, ethical responsibility, and profound respect for the spirit and timing of the medicine, prioritizing safety, containment, and integrity at every stage of the process.
Shambala provides the physical, logistical, and ceremonial container for the retreats hosted on its land. The combination of thoughtful stewardship, skilled guidance, and natural silence allows participants to feel supported and at ease—creating the conditions for experiences to unfold organically and be integrated with care.
The union of altitude, living nature, and intentional holding makes Shambala an ideal setting for retreats centered not only on profound experience, but on integration, grounding, and conscious return—bringing what is opened back into life with clarity and steadiness.
The Return
A Conscious Integration Retreat · 7 Days
From Trauma to Love
Casa Branca · Santa Comba Dão, Portugal
This retreat is not centered on the experience itself.
It is centered on how we return to life with what we have lived.
Held in the peaceful natural surroundings of Casa Branca, Santa Comba Dão — in the heart of Portugal, The Return offers a rare opportunity to slow down, reconnect with nature, and engage in a carefully guided process of human integration.
Portugal’s gentle climate, quiet landscapes, and contemplative rhythm create the perfect container for deep emotional work, restoration, and clarity.
This is not simply a retreat.
It is a structured, seven-day integration journey designed to support preparation, presence, experience, and conscious return.
The Structure of the Journey
The retreat unfolds over seven days:
a day of arrival and settling in, several days of guided preparation and understanding, the ceremonial crossing, and dedicated time afterward for integration and closure.
The Ayahuasca ceremony, facilitated by the Shambala team, takes place on Day 5 — intentionally positioned after the nervous system has regulated, trust has developed, and participants feel grounded in the environment.
This pacing allows the experience to be approached with clarity and ensures meaningful time for integration afterward.
Each retreat follows four essential phases:
1. Arrival — Landing in Presence
The first days focus on grounding, rest, nervous system regulation, and connection with the body.
Participants are invited to slow down, breathe, walk in nature, and settle gently into the space.
There is no pressure to share personal history or revisit trauma.
The emphasis is safety, embodiment, and establishing an internal sense of stability.
Portugal’s natural serenity plays a powerful role here —
quiet mornings, open skies, fresh air, and a pace of life that naturally invites reflection.
2. Understanding — From Trauma to Love
This phase introduces the foundational framework From Trauma to Love, providing an accessible human map of how experience lives in the body and relationships.
Participants explore:
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Trauma as a human experience, not a pathology
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The body’s role in emotional memory
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Love as a regulating and organizing force
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How meaning reorganizes through awareness
This often brings relief and orientation, allowing participants to approach the ceremonial experience with trust rather than uncertainty.
3. Crossing — The Ceremony
The ceremonial experience is held by the Shambala team, supported by experienced facilitators and a clear ethical container.
The focus is not direction or performance, but presence.
Participants are supported respectfully as their own inner process unfolds.
4. Return — Integration Into Life
This is the heart of the retreat.
The days following the ceremony are devoted to integration:
giving language to the experience, grounding insights in the body, and translating what emerged into everyday life.
Through guided reflection, writing, dialogue, and embodied practices, participants explore:
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How to carry insight without overwhelm
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How to sustain emotional regulation
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How to integrate love, clarity, and self-trust into daily living
The emphasis is not dramatic transformation, but real, sustainable human change.
Why Portugal · Why Casa Branca
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A naturally calming environment ideal for nervous system regulation
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Privacy and tranquility away from urban stimulation
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A culture that honors reflection, connection, and slower rhythms
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Nourishing Mediterranean-inspired food and natural surroundings
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Easy international access while still feeling secluded
Casa Branca offers both beauty and simplicity —
a place where the external environment supports internal work.
Ongoing Offering
The Return is offered four times per year, always with the same structure and intention.
Each group is unique.
Each process unfolds differently.
What remains constant is the care, pacing, and commitment to integration.
This Retreat Is For You If…
You feel that true transformation happens not during peak experiences,
but in how we return to life afterward:
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With more presence
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With steadier emotional ground
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With deeper capacity for love
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With clearer alignment to your own path
Because ultimately…
The real journey begins when we return.
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