Align body, energy, and mind to begin 2027. Purify, release, and reset with different detox practices, purifying practices rooted in ancient wisdom, plant medicine ceremonies, sweat lodges (temazcales), & other healing practices such as yoga.
Learn the value of nutrition as part of healing with delicious food and drinks catered to enhance the detoxification process.
It is not about adding, but remembering, and making space. Detoxing is not about finding a 'new you' but remembering who you truly are with the help of the master plants and other healing tools.
Sit with the sacred plant medicines of Ayawaska and San Pedro, with our experienced guides leading the ceremonies. You will also be assisted with cleansing your mind, body, and spirit in different ways, such as through sweat lodges, tobacco medicines, daily yoga, breathwork, and nutritious food.
What does the term 'detox' mean to you? Detox is not about restrictive diets or becoming someone new. It’s about learning to simplify, nourish, and care for your mind, body, and spirit in a sustainable way, so you can move through life with clarity, presence, and alignment.
In January 2027, we invite you to take a sacred pause at our New Year Detox & Purification Retreat and reconnect with practices that support you long after the retreat ends.
This transformative Ayllu Medicina retreat is a journey of cleansing, realignment, and returning to center. By slowing down and turning inward, you create space to listen to your inner nature and welcome new tools for balance and wellbeing. From the support of the sacred master plants, sweat lodges, plant baths, consciously prepared food to ancient wisdom teachings and healing music, every offering is intentional medicine designed to support your process.
Read on to learn more about this retreat....
The sacred master plants help release what is no longer serving you, and align with your heart. We include different types of ceremonies as part of our detox retreat. These ceremonies are led by our experienced guides, honoring the ancient traditions from which they come.
Plant Medicine Ceremonies
Sit in Ayawaska ceremonies and a San Pedro ceremony. Ayawaska is often compared to a wise Grandmother, and like an onion, she can help you find your center and let go of what no longer serves you.
Grandfather San Pedro is the masculine healing energy, helping you find alignment and open your heart once more, ready to take flight. You can learn more about these medicines on our Ayllu Medicina blog.
We will provide preparation support, and we hold intro to medicine circles during our plant medicine retreats to discuss any questions you may have in advance. After our plant medicine ceremonies, we also have sharing circles, so you can share any pearls from your ceremony experience. Some of our participants have sat in ceremonies previously, whereas, for others, it is their first time meeting with the plant medicines.
*The San Pedro will either be at night or in the day
** Ayawaska has to be spelt differently on this platform, it is the same as the other spelling
Sweat Lodges
There will also be multiple sweat lodges (temazcales) throughout the plant medicine retreat week. Enter the womb of Mother Earth to integrate, purify, and experience rebirth.
Our volcanic grandmother stones are heated in the fire and are placed in the womb, the sweat lodge. Different incenses are placed on the stones before the door closes, and the heat begins to rise as water is poured over the stones. We share prayers and songs to guide each round.
What happens after a plant medicine ceremony or retreat ends? As our guides often remind us, this is when the true ceremony of life begins. Life is filled with constant impressions, and detoxing creates the space needed for healing to unfold and for your experiences to be fully integrated.
This retreat offers an opportunity to detox while learning practical ways to return to renewal whenever life calls for it. To journey deeply in ceremony, integrate the work, and truly take flight, self-care is essential. This is an invitation to build a foundation that supports you long after the retreat is complete.
Throughout the retreat, you’ll be guided through detox workshops and purification practices, including:
Plant baths
Breathwork practices
Cold plunges
Meditation practices
Smudging
Ayurvedic teachings
and of course, lots of rest time in nature!
There will also be other knowledge shared by our experienced guides, to help you remember the ancient wisdom inside you. This includes womb technology, rituals, and song circles to learn how to close cycles throughout the year, move energy, and be aligned with your inner nature.
Your plant medicine experience and healing process will be guided by Aime and Hwaneetah. Their purpose is to share medicine, prayers, music, and intention for healing with whoever is called to share in this journey. These two healers are well-known in the region for their music, resonant prayers, and heart-opening medicine.
Aime and Hwaneetah speak fluent English, Spanish, and French and have been working with medicine for over 20 years, along with other healing modalities. Aime a Medicine Man of the Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, a medicine family based in the Ecuadorian Andes.
Hwaneetah also runs sweat lodges, is a canupa carrier, and sun-dancer. You can watch her talk on ancient womb technology on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9LkyK4bHw
The Ayllu Medicina team will be supporting you throughout your retreat week; you can learn more about our medicine guides and facilitators on our website under 'team.' We also have a great kitchen team who will be providing nutritious detox food and drinks throughout the week.
There are certified and experienced teachers holding our yoga classes, meditation, and breathwork workshops.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. We will also be providing orientation support, and there are options for integration sessions post-retreat. You can also choose from other add-ons, such as a moon session with Hwaneetah or a shamanic cleansing with Aime.
How do we support the local community?
Sometimes we are asked how we support the community here in Ecuador! Ecuador is home for all of us, some of the ways we share with the communities here are:
Working with our local kitchen team!
Taking part in community events such as for the water and community sweat lodges
We are connected with a family in the Amazon who harvests the Ayawaska we prepare, along with other artisans and organisations with products such as Guayuasa, that are sustainably working with this plant.
Contact us to learn more!
Ayllu Medicina is based on the coast of Ecuador, in Manglaralto, situated near the world-famous surf capital of Montañita and the peaceful haven of Ayampe.
Immerse yourself in nature in our retreat space, which is perfect for renewal. It is magical during ceremonies to hear the sounds of all the nature around, from the birds singing to the waves crashing.
You can easily access the beach, which is a ten-minute walk from the accommodation. The accommodation has everything you need to be comfortable, feel at peace, and retreat inwards during your stay, including a swimming pool with ocean views, one of the best spots to enjoy Ecuador's sunsets!
Rooms include air conditioning, large comfortable double beds, internet access, and hot water.
Read: Accommodation and Flight Recommendations
We recommend flying in at least one day before retreat to allow time to settle. We can recommend some accommodations nearby.
If you need to fly in on the Saturday we start retreat, schedule your flight to arrive by 10am to allow time to get to the retreat center.
We can help arrange transport with our trusted taxi drivers or we provide public transport information. Taxis cost around 90$. We will be in touch re. all logistics once you sign up.
For departure, we finish retreat at around 3pm on Saturday. We have a community sweat lodge this evening, starting around 5pm. We recommend flying out the next day, or late this evening. Of course, if you can stay longer, this is also great!
Usually there is the option to stay an extra night at our retreat center post-retreat for an additional charge, with sufficient notice.
Airport: Guayaquil is the most convenient, which is 2.5-3.5 hours away.
Do you plan to stay for longer? We are happy to offer recommendations for where to stay and where to visit pre or post-retreat!
Call to the four winds & directions to set our main intention for retreat, reconnecting with the Sacred Fire of our hearts. Release old patterns & unwanted energies with a Tobacco cleanse.
Workshops to learn & practice different purification/detox techniques.
Connect to the purifying medicine of the sweat lodge (temazcal). Through incenses, steam, songs, & prayers, we release stress, tension, and detoxify the mind, body and soul.
Sit with the medicine of Ayawaska, also known as Grandma Ayawaska for her feminine energy. Dive deeper into your inner world during these night ceremonies.
Meet with the Grandfather medicine of South America, San Pedro. Connect to your heart's center and raise your flight with this healing masculine energy.
Start your day with daily yoga and breathwork led by Kyle Descher! This will be his 3rd year teaching with us. All levels welcome.
Learn how women are cyclical in nature (during moon rounds of sweat lodge for women and during Hwaneetah's workshops - for men and women)
Integrate your ceremony experiences in our sharing circles.
Connect to the medicine of music and learn some plant medicine songs when we gather to sing. No previous experience required!
Our kitchen will be ready to provide you with local tropical fresh fruits, detox juices, and other homemade snacks throughout the day. Try different drinks native to Ecuador, like Guayusa.
Our local chefs provide plant-based, healthy meals aligned with the plant medicine dietas. Enjoy healthy nourishing plant based cuisine, which will support you during the detox week.
Enjoy Ecuador coastal living with our comfortable accommodation, which allows you to fully retreat inwards. Enjoy ocean views, a pool, & relaxation. Rooms include AC, hot water & private bathrooms.
Enjoy the power of other detox practices you can continue once you return home.
Reset with the medicine of guided ice baths with warm-up and breathwork.
Close the week and directions with your retreat group, so you can begin the next part of your journey!
Speak to one of our Ayllu Medicina team members to discuss preparation advice, your intentions for this retreat and any questions you may have.
Stay connected post-retreat
It is recommended to fly into Guayaquil airport or Manta airport unless you are already based in Ecuador.
We can arrange transportation for you via taxi. Rates are between $60-$100 depending on location.
Arrive at our retreat space and settle into your accommodation.
Enjoy a welcome detox lunch and meet the rest of the group.
Logistics and intro meeting- this is when we share the official retreat schedule.
Set your intentions and open the retreat week with our opening fire ceremony.
Opening sweat lodge to purify (temazcal)
Dinner
The schedule is subject to change. The first day of retreat, you will receive a retreat-specific agenda. We can guarantee there will be time to integrate, rest, and find some quiet time between activities. The whole week is medicine, and we ask that you engage in the schedule we propose.
- Breakfast
- Yoga, breathwork, & meditation
- Workshop
- Guided Cold Plunge
- Light lunch and detox snacks
- Intro to ceremony circle
- Rest time
- Ayawaska ceremony (beginning around 10pm)
- Morning sweat lodge
- Breakfast
- Rest & Restore
- Lunch
- Restorative evening yoga
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Energizing yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Detox snack
- Ceremony Sharing Circle & Power Animals talk
- Lunch
- Art and meditation time
- Rest & Restore
- Ayawaska ceremony
- Sunrise Sweat Lodge
- Breakfast
- Rest & Restore
- Lunch
- Rest & Restore
- Detox workshop
- Restorative yoga
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Energizing yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Sharing Circle
- Cold plunge & breathwork
- Lunch
- Intro to ceremony circle
- Music and art time
- Dinner
- San Pedro night ceremony (starting around 10pm) OR workshop before dinner, and day ceremony of San Pedro tomorrow. It depends on the weather and group.
- Ocean offering and beach time
- Breakfast
- Songs around the fire
- Farewell celebration lunch
- Rest time
- Dinner
OR San Pedro day ceremony and celebration dinner *
- Breakfast
- Yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Closing detox workshop
- Sharing circle & Closing fire ceremony to close the week and say farewell- photo time!
- Lunch
- 2-3pm Check-out
- Optional afternoon sweat lodge with community
The adventure continues...
