Mukuari Retreats
Have you been feeling called to connect with ancestral medicines and indigenous wisdom?
At Mukuari, we create immersive journeys into the heart of plant medicine, ancestral wisdom, and connection with the natural world.
We hold these experiences with deep respect — for the medicines, for the indigenous traditions and wisdom keepers we are privileged to learn from, and for the facilitators who walk alongside us.
Upcoming Dates
Ek Balam
7-Day Retreat
3rd - 9th October
San Rafael, Medellín, Colombia
A 7-day journey into the heart of the Colombian jungle, held in connection with ancestral medicines, nature, and deep inner exploration. Through ceremonies, plant baths, healing practices, time in nature, and connection with indigenous wisdom, this immersion invites you to slow down, reconnect, and open space for transformation.
Path of The South
7-Day Retreat
13th - 20th December
Sucumbíos, Ecuador
A 7-Day immersion into the territory of the Cofán on the border between Colombia & Ecuador. This is a unique experience of three ancestral medicine ceremonies held in the territory of an Indigenous people who have carried the wisdom of sacred medicines for many generations, sharing their knowledge as a pathway to healing.
Ek Balam Retreat
7-Day Retreat | 3rd - 9th October
San Rafael, Medellín, Colombia
Answer the call of your soul and embark on a sacred journey of reconnection.
During this week, the jungle becomes a temple and a guide, holding you in a safe space where you can remember who you are beyond the layers, the wounds, and the noise of the world.
It's not just a retreat... it's a portal.
An encounter with you, with your energy, with your truth.
Through the wisdom of ancestral medicines and the containment of the circle, you will begin to open inner paths, releasing what no longer belongs to you and allowing new understandings to emerge from the depths of your being.
This space is for those who feel the calling —even if they don't fully understand it yet—, for those who are ready to look inward and surrender to the process of transformation.
It's the beginning of an awakening… the return to your essence.
Retreat Investment
$2150 with shared accommodation
$2400 with private accommodation
Retreat Flow & Daily Rhythm
Rather than a rigid timetable, this retreat follows a carefully curated rhythm that honours the body, the medicines, the land, and each participant’s integration process. Below is an overview of how the 7-day journey unfolds, offering clarity while preserving the organic nature of ceremonial work.
Day One
Arrival & Opening the Space
11:00 AM — Departure from José María Córdova Airport
2:00 PM — Arrival at Zafra Natural Reserve
4:00 PM — Jungle Plant Bath & Energy Cleansing
5:00 PM — Chakra Alignment
7:00 PM — Dinner
8:00 PM — Opening Circle
Day Two
Deepening & Connection
8:00 AM — Breakfast
10:00 AM — Deep Relaxation with Rosa & Arturo
12:00 PM — Breath, Movement & River Bath with Carlos & Sofia
1:00 PM — Lunch
3:00 PM — Preparing Jungle Plant Perfumes with Carlos
6:00 PM — Energy Cleansing
7:00 PM — Fire Circle with Mambe & Ambil medicines
9:00 PM — Ceremony with Taita Isidro
Day Three
Integration & Healing
7:00 AM — Integration Circle
8:00 AM — Breakfast
9:00 AM — Rest & Sleep
1:00 PM — Lunch
3:00 PM — Plant Remedy Preparation for Hair, Bones, Blood & Ligaments with Carlos
6:00 PM — Energy Cleansing
7:00 PM — Fire Circle with Mambe & Ambil medicines
9:00 PM — Ceremony with Taita Isidro
Day Four
Nature Immersion & Rest
7:00 AM — Integration Circle
8:00 AM — Breakfast
9:00 AM — Rest & Sleep
1:00 PM — Lunch
3:00 PM — Hiking with Sofia & Carlos
5:00 PM — Deep Relaxation with Rosa & Arturo
7:00 PM — Dinner
8:00 PM — Fire Circle
Day Five
Cacao Medicine & Mushroom Ceremony
8:00 AM — Breakfast
9:00 AM — Cacao Farm Tour
1:00 PM — Lunch
5:00 PM — Energy Cleansing & Ceremony
10:00 PM — Integration Around the Fire
Day Six
Day Trip to Guatapé
8:00 AM — Breakfast
9:00 AM — Visit to Guatapé & El Peñol Boat Trip
1:00 PM — Lunch in Guatapé
5:00 PM — Return to the Retreat Centre
7:00 PM — Dinner
8:00 PM — Closing Circle
Day Seven
Departure
8:00 AM — Breakfast
9:00 AM — Transport to the airport
"A year ago, I shared a beautiful retreat at the Zafra Reserve in Colombia. It marked a very significant beginning for me, the prelude to a year of self-discovery and integration that I am still processing. I learned about remedies, rituals, and prayers that have helped me along this path. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity that the universe has given me. And I am very certain that in its divine time, we will meet again around the fire, accompanied by the medicines, guides, and fraternal love that characterize them! Thank you and a thousand blessings always!"
— Richard Borrero
Venue
Zafra Natural Reserve – San Rafael, Antioquia
The retreat takes place at Zafra Natural Reserve, a hidden sanctuary nestled among deep mountains and rivers of pure water in San Rafael, Antioquia. This is a territory where the jungle still breathes like an ancient being — alive with birdsong, lush green pathways, and a silence that gently embraces the heart.
Located in the Camelias area, just a few kilometers from San Rafael, Zafra spans approximately 30–35 protected hectares of premontane humid forest, rivers, and jungle ecosystems. The reserve was created as a space for flora and fauna conservation, conscious coexistence with the land, and life in harmony with nature.
Accommodation at Zafra is simple, ecological, and intentionally designed to respect the environment. The cabins are built using natural materials such as guadua bamboo, wood, and bahareque, and offer both private and shared rooms. This setting supports deep rest while maintaining an authentic, nature-immersed experience.
Zafra promotes conscious living and responsible tourism, offering local, healthy organic food, sustainable construction, dry toilets, reforestation initiatives, and environmentally respectful practices.
Zafra is not simply a place to stay — it is a living sanctuary. A protected space where the body can soften, the mind can become still, and the spirit can remember. Far from noise and distraction, and close to the origin. There are shared and private rooms available.
The Team
Rosa
Holistic therapist with over 6 years of experience, medicine woman, channel, and womb guardian. She is the co-founder of Hunab Ku Holistic Center. From childhood, she has felt that there is something beyond the visible, a conviction that led her to explore the power of energy, mind, and body as pathways to transformation. Her intuitive connection with people, nature, animals, and spaces allows her to perceive subtle energies and blockages through her body and visions, and to channel healing energy to help release what hinders expansion.
She is certified in Psychotherapy, Naturopathy and alternative medicines, quantum hypnosis, regressions, akashic records, reiki mastery, NSoul 321 therapy, feminine energy and psychedelic-assisted therapies. Its mission is to accompany the awakening of the inner connection with the Earth, so that each being remembers its power, lives in fullness and in total harmony with its essence, the universe and life itself.
Arturo
Holistic therapist with over 10 years of experience, medicine man, channel, and energy therapist. He is the co-founder of Hunab Ku Holistic Center, where his work is rooted in a deep connection to the subtle dimensions of energy and consciousness. Always guided by his sensitivity and intuition, he has developed gifts that transcend the visible, allowing him to perceive energies, entities, subtle emotions, and beings from the lower astral plane, as well as identify where people somatize pain and energetic blockages.
He is certified in psychotherapy, quantum and clinical hypnosis, regressions, ThetaHealing, NSoul 321 therapy, RVP, PVF reiki and psychedelic-assisted therapies. Their mission is to guide people to discover themselves, free themselves from what does not belong to them, and reconnect with their inner power through universal love and self-love.
Carlos
He has been an apprentice of traditional Indigenous medicine in South America for over 10 years. Specializing in physical and energetic healing through jungle plants and mindful eating, he has dedicated his life to learning and service. He trained alongside wise people from diverse traditions, including communities in Putumayo, Colombia, Mapuche people in Chile, and Kogui and Wiwa elders from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
His path integrates the connection with the earth, natural cycles, and ancestral wisdom as guides for the spiritual process. This all informs his work as a founder of Mukuari, a school and community sharing indigenous teachings and healing practices. During the retreat, he will share knowledge about preparing perfumes and natural remedies, as well as tools for healing, self-knowledge, and personal growth.
Sofia
Sofia is a medicine woman born in Ireland and a bearer of a Celtic lineage rooted in nature and feminine spirituality. She is a co-founder of the Mukuari Community Project, with 10 years of experience in intentional communities, embodied healing, and spiritual practices rooted in everyday life. Her training spans several traditions and continents, including work with Indigenous healers in Zimbabwe, Irish shamanic lineages, natural birth practices in South Africa, and Yagé traditions in Colombia.
She teaches the wisdom of the four elements — fire, air, earth, and water — through books, courses, workshops, and retreats internationally. With extensive experience holding group spaces, Sofia creates grounded and supportive environments for meaningful transformation, inviting people to reconnect with nature, their bodies, and the wisdom within. Her work is rooted in the belief that spiritual practice can be woven into everyday life, creating greater presence, connection, and harmony.
Taita Isidro Lucitante
A wise man of the A'i Cofán people and guardian of ancestral medicine, he is recognized as one of the living bearers of a sacred lineage that has sustained this wisdom for generations. Coming from the Lucitante family, one of the most respected lineages within the tradition, he is the grandson of Grandfather Curaca Elías Lucitante, son of Grandfather Guillermo Lucitante and nephew of Grandfather Esteban Lucitante Yaiguaje, great references and legends of medicine who dedicated their lives to preserving and expanding this knowledge
Formed from the root, in direct contact with the jungle, the spirits of medicine and the advice of the elders, his work transcends the physical, accompanying deep processes of healing, cleansing and expansion of consciousness. In ceremony, its energy creates a field of protection, openness, and truth, where each person is led to confront, understand, and transform that which needs to be seen.
Is This Retreat for You?
This retreat is for you if you feel a calling to step away from the noise of everyday life, reconnect with yourself, and explore the wisdom of ancestral medicines and the natural world.
It’s for you if you desire to:
Reconnect with yourself: Create space to slow down, listen inward, and explore what may be ready to shift, release, or be seen more clearly.
Experience ancestral medicines: Enter into ceremony with ancestral medicines, alongside plant baths, energy work, fire circles, and other traditional practices held throughout the retreat.
Connect with nature and the plants: Spend time immersed in the jungle, rivers, and surrounding land while learning about the plants and remedies that have been used within these traditions.
Share the journey in community: Be part of a small group experience where reflection, ceremony, conversation, and time around the fire create space for connection and integration.
This retreat is an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and listen more deeply. It is for those who feel ready to step outside their familiar rhythms and meet themselves with openness, curiosity, and respect.
Book a Connection Call
To attend this retreat, we need to ask a few questions before confirming we can accept your reservation.
The investment for this retreat is $2150 for shared accommodation and $2400 for private accommodation. Payment plans of two installments are available.
You are welcome to book a connection call in the calendar below to start your journey today.
The Path of the South Retreat
7-Day Retreat | 13th - 20th December
Sucumbíos, Ecuador
Entering this retreat is entering a path where the rainforest becomes a living teacher. In the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, within the ancestral territory of the Cofán Avie Community, we are invited to slow down, listen, and reconnect with what has been forgotten beneath the noise of the modern world. Here, the body is cleansed, the mind becomes clear, and the spirit remembers who it is. This retreat has been created for those seeking real transformation, authentic spiritual guidance, and a return to their roots.
We — Carlos and Sofia — have spent many years walking alongside Indigenous teachers, receiving guidance that has shaped how we hold space for journeys of this depth. Together with Taita Isidro Lusitante, respected elder and keeper of his community’s traditional knowledge, we open a space for experiential learning, healing, and connection with the wisdom of the rainforest. This work has emerged through lived experience and relationships rooted in trust, and is a calling that has shaped our lives.
Alongside the guidance of Taita Isidro, the retreat includes practical workshops on creating natural remedies and perfumes from rainforest plants, as well as classes in Elemental Medicine, offering tools to carry the medicine and teachings of the jungle into everyday life. It is a journey of healing, learning, and connection — not only experienced during the retreat, but carried with you beyond it.
Retreat Investment
Early Bird — €2,200
(Book by October 31st)
Full Price — €2,400
Places are intentionally limited to 8 participants for this retreat.
"I attended the Path of the South retreat in April 2026. I really didn’t know what to expect, as being open spiritually is very new to me, and despite working on myself for 20+ years, I had spent most of my life hiding this side of myself from everyone to stay protected. It was a big step to take the leap and fly out to a country I don’t know and engage with the retreat, and part of my decision to do so was from talking to Sofia and Carlos. I saw what wonderful, caring people they are. The decision became an easy one as I saw how much love, knowledge, and passion they want to share with the world. Attending the retreat only reinforced this, and I had a lovely time. I remember Carlos telling me that if I wanted to see real magic, I should come, and the experiences I had delivered far beyond anything I have ever experienced and in some instances, defined the reality I knew. I met a lot of loving people who, despite my lack of Spanish, made great efforts to support, guide, and care for me. The effort and amount of love that went into the ceremonies are incredible. If you’re curious or not sure about the retreat, take the time to talk to Carlos and Sofia and see how you feel. And make the effort to prepare and attend if you feel the call. You won’t regret it. I was already on the path to change my life before my retreat, and since attending, I have become unstoppable."
— Mark Turner
Venue
Cofán Avie Community, Ecuadorian Rainforest
The retreat takes place in the territory of the Cofán Avie Community, located within the Bermejo Ecological Reserve in Sucumbíos Province, in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. This is a place of living rainforest, pristine rivers, and extraordinary biodiversity — a protected environment where nature remains deeply connected to the life and traditions of the community.
Accommodation is communal, rustic, and in harmony with the natural environment. We will sleep in the communal house or traditional huts, with hammocks and mosquito nets provided for a comfortable and restful stay. The simplicity of the accommodation is part of the experience, allowing us to live more closely with the rhythms of the rainforest and the community.
Food will be local, fresh, and traditionally prepared, supporting the physical and spiritual cleansing that forms part of the retreat. Meals are prepared with the local environment and the retreat process in mind. We can accommodate any allergies or dietary restrictions if you need.
This is a nature-based retreat venue — it is an opportunity to live within an ancestral rainforest territory and experience the simplicity, rhythms, and natural surroundings of the Cofán Avie community. Here, the environment itself becomes part of the journey.
Explore More About the Community We Will Be Visiting & Meet Taita Isidro Lucitante
What Will We Experience During the Retreat?
This retreat is an opportunity to enter into a deeper relationship with the rainforest and the ancestral wisdom carried by its plants and people. Through ceremony, teachings, practical workshops, meditation, and time spent within the territory, we will explore different ways of connecting with the medicine and carrying its teachings into our lives.
Ancestral Medicine Ceremonies
Participate in traditional ceremonies guided by the elders of the community, held with wisdom, respect, and support. We will work with a variety of plant medicines learning about their traditional uses and the wisdom they carry within the ecosystem where they grow and thrive.
Journeys Through the Territory
Walk through the living rainforest alongside members of the community, discovering medicinal and power plants, learning about the biodiversity of the territory, and developing a deeper relationship with the plants within their natural environment.
Natural Remedies & Jungle Perfumes
Through hands-on workshops, learn how traditional remedies and natural perfumes are prepared using plants from the jungle. These practical experiences offer a direct and tangible way to connect with the plant allies and the knowledge surrounding them.
Meditation & Body Connection
Explore practices that bring awareness back into the body and support the processes opened through ancestral medicine. These meditations create space to listen inwardly, observe what is arising, and develop a deeper connection with the body throughout the journey.
Elemental Medicine
Through Elemental Medicine classes, we will explore practical ways to integrate the intentions and teachings of the retreat into everyday life. These practices create a bridge between the ancestral wisdom received in the jungle and the way we choose to live, relate, and move through the world beyond the retreat.
The Word of the Elders
Gather around the fire or in the maloka, the traditional communal house, to listen to the stories, myths, teachings, and worldview of the Cofán people. These moments of sharing offer an opportunity to learn directly from a living tradition and to better understand the relationship between the community, the plants, the land, and the spirit of the rainforest.
The Team
Carlos Esteban Rojas Rondon
Carlos has his roots in the countryside of Venezuela. He is a co-founder of the Mukuari Community Project and the creator of a line of ancestral medicines that integrate plants from the Amazon, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Andes, and southern Chile.
For over 11 years, he has walked alongside Indigenous spiritual authorities, elders, and traditional healers from different territories, who have recognized his commitment, discipline, and clarity to responsibly carry the path of medicine. Through these teachings, Carlos has prepared sacred remedies — including perfumes, ointments, tonics, and medicinal preparations — shared with love and respect, and used to support emotional, energetic, and spiritual healing.
His path has been endorsed by Indigenous authorities, including through formal ancestral governmental recognition. In the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Carlos maintains close relationships with governors and traditional leaders, with whom he continues to learn, serve, and walk in mutual respect.
Carlos’ mission is not to create followers, but to support each person in remembering their own inner medicine. Mukari was born as a vision received along his path and now lives through remedies, teachings, and community work devoted to honoring the ancestors, serving the Earth, and accompanying deep transformation.
Sofia Dagg Rojas
Sofia is a medicine woman born in Ireland, bearer of a Celtic lineage rooted in nature and feminine spirituality. She is a co-founder of the Mukuari Community Project, shaped by years of study in intentional communities and embodied healing practices that integrate spiritual knowledge into everyday life.
She teaches about the elements of fire, air, earth, and water as guides for personal development, spiritual awareness, and embodiment. Her work includes books, courses, and workshops offered internationally. Sofia’s training spans several continents, including work with Indigenous healers in Zimbabwe, Irish shamanic lineages, natural birth practices in South Africa, and Yagé traditions in Colombia.
Alongside her ceremonial and community work, Sofia works with oracle and tarot as tools for reflection and remembrance, supporting people to reconnect with the truth within. Through her YouTube channel, she shares channeled messages and teachings that invite deeper listening and self-trust.
With extensive experience holding group spaces and facilitating retreats, Sofia is known for creating well-contained, grounded environments that support meaningful transformation while remaining rooted in everyday life. At this stage of her work, her focus is on anchoring the elemental wisdom she has shared over the past seven years into the lived experience of community through the Mukuari project.
Taita Isidro Lucitante
A wise man of the A'i Cofán people and guardian of ancestral medicine, he is recognized as one of the living bearers of a sacred lineage that has sustained this wisdom for generations. Coming from the Lucitante family, one of the most respected lineages within the tradition, he is the grandson of Grandfather Curaca Elías Lucitante, son of Grandfather Guillermo Lucitante and nephew of Grandfather Esteban Lucitante Yaiguaje, great references and legends of medicine who dedicated their lives to preserving and expanding this knowledge
Formed from the root, in direct contact with the jungle, the spirits of medicine and the advice of the elders, his work transcends the physical, accompanying deep processes of healing, cleansing and expansion of consciousness. In ceremony, its energy creates a field of protection, openness, and truth, where each person is led to confront, understand, and transform that which needs to be seen.
Preparation & Integration Support
Enjoy Our Online Community
We understand that a journey of this depth extends beyond your time with us. To support you in getting the most from this experience, we offer:
A group preparation call one month before your retreat
Access to group channels where you can ask questions and connect with other people joining your retreat
A group integration call two weeks after your retreat
These calls are offered in both English and Spanish. Our online community is available on your desktop and as an app on your phone.
Is This Retreat for You?
This retreat is for you if you are ready to go deeper — to the roots. To the roots of yourself, the plants, the land, and the ancestral wisdom that has been carried by Indigenous communities for generations.
This journey is for those who are ready to go deeper — to:
Work with plant allies in the very ecosystem where they grow, learning their traditional wisdom directly from those who have carried this knowledge for generations.
Step into a simpler way of living, away from the noise, speed, and distractions of modern life, and discover what becomes clear when you return to what is essential.
Learn from Indigenous elders and experience a living culture whose relationship with the land and its medicines holds knowledge that modern society has increasingly lost.
Take the teachings home with you, learning practical ways to integrate the medicine, wisdom, and clarity you receive into your everyday life.
This is not a retreat designed around comfort or escape. It is a journey into the roots — one that asks for openness, presence, and a willingness to step outside the familiar.
The opportunity to be welcomed into an Indigenous community, learn directly from its elders, and experience these traditions within their ancestral territory is becoming increasingly rare. If you feel called to make the most of that opportunity — to go deeper, learn from the source, and return home with something you can truly live — this retreat has been created for you.
"I had the honor to do my first ancestral medicine retreat with Carlos and Sofia. I learned so much, and it was quite a gentle trip. I got what I needed to get. I appreciated their knowledge of the medicine and how they took care of me. I would highly recommend doing any type of ceremonies with them. They're very kind, considerate, and compassionate people, and they have a sense of humor; they're both so funny!”
— Terry Christienson
Book a Connection Call
To attend this retreat, we need to ask a few questions before confirming that we can accept your reservation.
The investment for this retreat is €2,200 for early birds who book before October 31st, and the full price is €2400. Places are intentionally limited to 8 participants for this retreat.
FAQs
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The Paths of the South Retreat will take place from the 13th to the 20th of December 2026 in the Cofán Avie Community in Sucumbíos Province, in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon.
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Carlos Esteban guides participants in the preparation of ancestral remedies, jungle plant baths, and the teachings of medicinal plants passed down by Taitas and elders. Sofia leads meditations and workshops on how fire, air, earth, and water support your integration of indigenous wisdom. Taita Isidrio Lucitante will be guiding the ancestral medicine ceremonies and offering insight and stories throughout the retreat.
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Accommodation is communal, rustic, and in harmony with the natural environment. We will sleep in the communal house or traditional huts, with hammocks and mosquito nets provided for a comfortable and restful stay.
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Food will be local, fresh, and traditionally prepared. Meals are prepared with the local environment and the retreat process in mind. We can accommodate food allergies or restrictions.
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Participants should bring comfortable light-weight clothing, sturdy shoes for walking, a bathing suit for plant baths, a journal for reflections, and personal items for hygiene and comfort. It can be cool in the night-time during ceremonies so it is helpful to bring some layers. Mosquito repellent and wearing long sleeves and trousers is also recommended.
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This retreat is not recommended for women who are pregnant. The itinerary also requires a basic level of fitness, so it’s important to consider your physical readiness. There are certain restrictions regarding medication, which are managed on a case-by-case basis. All of these considerations are discussed during the connection call to ensure the retreat is safe and supportive for every participant.