The Retreats

Our psilocybin-assisted retreats offer a safe, lawful and supportive environment to experience a psychedelic journey, which can help you experience greater freedom, wholeness and creative flow. The psychedelic used at the retreats is the psilocybin-containing truffle, and the retreats take place in the Netherlands, where psilocybin truffles are legal, and in Spain where their consumption in private spaces is decriminalised.

Set & Setting

We take great care to optimise the two key factors determining a psychedelic journey: set and setting. Our retreats are designed to prepare you to let go into a receptive, trusting state of mind (set), in an environment in which you can feel completely safe and supported (setting).

We include exercises and approaches from the Western clinical model, somatic and transpersonal psychology, as well as from ancient wisdom traditions across different cultures and times such as Buddhism and the shamanic lineages of the Americas.

You will:

  • Receive 1:1 guidance and support before and after the ceremony from our expert facilitators
  • Engage in preparation and integration activities before, during and after the retreat
  • Share the journey together with a group of like minded individuals
  • Be nurtured and nourished in a beautiful retreat venue, in nature, eating healthy, exquisite food

“Every single thing was perfectly thought out and flowed beautifully. The facilitators were the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, compassionate people. The vegan food was delightful, nourishing, beautiful, every bite tasted like the most special food ever. I could not have dreamed that this retreat would be wonderful from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. It will stay with me for a very long time. I will do all I can do to keep it alive in my body and soul forever. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Jennifer, 52 years

What’s included?

PREPARATION SUPPORT

Giving due energy to preparation before the psychedelic journey not only reduces the possibility of anxiety and tension blocking the flow of the experience, it also enhances the probability of an enriched, deeper experience. Ahead of each retreat, you will receive reading material and suggested exercises to support your preparation for the retreat. One week before the retreat you will also have the opportunity to meet your lead facilitator and fellow participants via video call, allowing you to get to know each other and feel safe in the group, as well as ask any burning questions you might have.

On the retreat itself, we offer one-on-one sessions with the facilitators, and individual and group activities to help you feel well prepared and supported, as well as safe and bonded with the group before stepping into the unknown.

 

INTEGRATION SUPPORT

In many ways, the journey only really begins when the psychedelic effect subsides. In the days after the ceremony, we incorporate solo and group integration activities, and individual one-on-one sessions with the facilitators to give you the opportunity to explore the deeper nuances of your journey. We also offer 3 weeks of support following the retreat – through group video calls as well as suggested exercises – to help you weave the insights from the retreat back into your everyday life.

“The attention to integration was amazing, extremely impactful, and probably the main reason I’d recommend these retreats.” Li, 32 years old

GROUP EXERCISES & GROUP SUPPORT

On the retreat we can safely explore relating to one another in a held and loving space. Tremendous healing comes from being witnessed and accepted as who we are. The group is also a major resource in the integration process. In a society that hasn’t yet incorporated the use of psychedelics and other peak experiences into its fabric, the community of fellow retreat participants plays a central role as allies and companions on this extraordinary journey.

“I learned so much simply from being in the company of fellow participants, facilitators and volunteers. It was so wonderful to feel part of such a supportive community.” Duncan, 35 years old

Potential benefits of psychedelics

Psychedelics can shift us out of our everyday perception and help open us up to a larger, mountain-top perspective from which new insights can arise. They can help us make better sense of our past, coming to terms with hardships we’ve faced and understanding how past wounds might be influencing our current life. And they can put us in touch with a deep well of inner resources with which we can begin addressing and transforming patterns we are stuck in. For many, psychedelic journeys are also a first glimpse into ‘the Great Mystery’, and the spiritual dimension of life.

 

Our approach: Open & Deepen

While psychedelics can open us to what is important in life, and steer our course, such experiences alone cannot keep us on track. To deepen the insights gained during a psychedelic journey into a new way of life, we must address what is blocking us from experiencing our full freedom, wholeness and potential. We do so by attending to the various dimensions of our human experience: the relationship with ourselves, with others, with the natural world and the mystery of life. This is the underlying principle woven into all our work and every one of our retreats.

MEDITATION & CONTEMPLATIVE EXERCISES

By settling into the here-and-now of our present, embodied experience, the agitation of the mind subsides and gives way to a profound sense of presence and peace, from which love and compassion naturally arise. We begin to access deeper layers of ourselves, and sharpen our capacity for insight into the nature of reality. By learning to attend to, work with, and direct the flow of our awareness, we are more equipped to navigate not just the psychedelic experience, but the journey of life itself.

Embodiment practices

We incorporate different activities to start reinhabiting our bodies. We begin the journey of learning to better hear, understand and respond to the messages our body is constantly sending and receiving. Being more embodied also allows us to more fully enjoy the pleasures of being a living, breathing, seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, sensing human being. Movement and embodiment exercises can also help us get out of our usual controlling thinking mind, and access more freedom, creativity and flow.

NATURE CONNECTION

We invite you on a break from the disconnecting effects of technology and city life and into an engagement with the natural world, which can make us feel more resourced, grounded, alive and remind us of our belonging to and interconnectedness with all of life. Observing nature, we learn about the way of life, and we learn about ourselves. Being immersed in it, we reconnect with our own life force and regain access to the creativity and resilience that flows through all life.

HEALTHY, EXQUISITE FOOD

“Let food be thy medicine” (Hippocrates). “We are what we eat” (folk wisdom). Food is one of life’s extraordinary expressions of love: full of abundance, richness and creativity. On our retreats we honour and celebrate that by cooking with the same spirit of love and creativity, and sourcing produce locally and organically where possible to do our part in taking care of the Earth in turn.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Creativity is our birthright. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that we are not creative and artistic, that we cannot sing or dance. At Alalaho, we believe that if we can speak, we can sing, and if we can walk, we can dance. Creative, non-linear expression has been a key part of what it means to be human across culture and time. Our retreats offer easy, accessible exercises to support each participant to let go of some self-limiting beliefs at their own pace, and to let themselves be guided by the creative life force living at their core.

RITUAL AND CEREMONY

“Ritual allows us to transcend passivity and become active agents in changing our own lives” (Caroline Casey). Rituals and ceremonies allow us to mark important moments in time, such as navigating big life transitions, processing grief, or setting intentions. We learn to gather our awareness and conscious energy and pour it into the moment, transforming a seemingly mundane act and imbuing it with power and meaning.

MEDITATION & CONTEMPLATIVE EXERCISES

By settling into the here-and-now of our present, embodied experience, the agitation of the mind subsides and gives way to a profound sense of presence and peace, from which love and compassion naturally arise. We begin to access deeper layers of ourselves, and sharpen our capacity for insight into the nature of reality. By learning to attend to, work with, and direct the flow of our awareness, we are more equipped to navigate not just the psychedelic experience, but the journey of life itself.

Embodiment practices

We incorporate different activities to start reinhabiting our bodies. We begin the journey of learning to better hear, understand and respond to the messages our body is constantly sending and receiving. Being more embodied also allows us to more fully enjoy the pleasures of being a living, breathing, seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, sensing human being. Movement and embodiment exercises can also help us get out of our usual controlling thinking mind, and access more freedom, creativity and flow.

NATURE CONNECTION

We invite you on a break from the disconnecting effects of technology and city life and into an engagement with the natural world, which can make us feel more resourced, grounded, alive and remind us of our belonging to and interconnectedness with all of life. Observing nature, we learn about the way of life, and we learn about ourselves. Being immersed in it, we reconnect with our own life force and regain access to the creativity and resilience that flows through all life.

HEALTHY, EXQUISITE FOOD

“Let food be thy medicine” (Hippocrates). “We are what we eat” (folk wisdom). Food is one of life’s extraordinary expressions of love: full of abundance, richness and creativity. On our retreats we honour and celebrate that by cooking with the same spirit of love and creativity, and sourcing produce locally and organically where possible to do our part in taking care of the Earth in turn.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Creativity is our birthright. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that we are not creative and artistic, that we cannot sing or dance. At Alalaho, we believe that if we can speak, we can sing, and if we can walk, we can dance. Creative, non-linear expression has been a key part of what it means to be human across culture and time. Our retreats offer easy, accessible exercises to support each participant to let go of some self-limiting beliefs at their own pace, and to let themselves be guided by the creative life force living at their core.

RITUAL AND CEREMONY

“Ritual allows us to transcend passivity and become active agents in changing our own lives” (Caroline Casey). Rituals and ceremonies allow us to mark important moments in time, such as navigating big life transitions, processing grief, or setting intentions. We learn to gather our awareness and conscious energy and pour it into the moment, transforming a seemingly mundane act and imbuing it with power and meaning.

Retreat Types

CORE & RETURNERS

Our Core Retreats offer an accessible entrypoint into psychedelic and other forms of inner exploration and personal growth work. These retreats introduce you to the foundational pillars of our approach: relationship with self, relationship with others, relationship with nature, relationship with the Mystery.

They are available to all sufficiently mentally and physically healthy individuals, regardless of prior experience of psychedelic substances.

Our Returners Retreats allow returning participants to delve further into their personal growth and healing journey by expanding upon their Core Retreat experience. In these retreats, we offer advanced preparatory and integration exercises, with a greater focus on contemplative practices and therapeutic inquiry.

5 DAYS

All our retreats have at least two full integration days, honouring the precious window of time when one is still open and bathing in the ‘afterglow’ of the experience. This is a crucial time to harvest the insights and start weaving them into our way of being.

This format allows space for the stillness and quiet that is actually so necessary for integration but that is often lacking in the hectic pace of modern life. It also gives you time to further unpack and deepen any insights gained from the ceremony, through facilitator support and the various integration exercises on offer, the design of which is informed by the very best of personal and spiritual growth modalities.

The retreat was a wonderful and life-changing experience. The two full days of integration were invaluable. I guess my expectation before the retreat was that the ceremony would be pretty much everything, and the integration days just a nice extra, but it turned out to be the other way round. Ben, 45 years

Sample Schedule

Day 1: Landing
2.00pm Meet at the airport + travel by coach together
6.00pm Arrive at the venue
7.00pm Dinner
8.30pm Opening Circle
9.30pm Group connection activity
Day 2: Preparation
9.00am Morning practice
10.00am Breakfast
11.00am Preparation activities
1.30pm Lunch
3.00pm Preparation actitivies
4.00pm One-to-one’s with facilitators
6.00pm Preparation activities
8.00pm Dinner
Day 3: Ceremony
9.00am Morning practice
10.00am Breakfast
11.30am Opening Ritual
1.00pm Ceremony begins
6.00pm Closing ritual
8.00pm Dinner
Day 4: Integration
9.00am Morning practice
10.00am Breakfast
11.30am Sharing Circle
1.30pm Lunch
3.00pm One-to-one’s with facilitators
4.00pm Integration activities
8.00pm Celebratory Feast
9.30pm Celebration
Day 5: Leaving
8.00am Morning practice
9.00am Breakfast
10.00am Integration Talk
11.30pm Closing Circle
12.30pm Departure

Upcoming dates

 

June 14 – 18, 2025

The Returners Retreat

Almeria, Spain

You’ve already experienced the magic of Alalaho, and now you’re feeling called to go deeper. This is your chance.

Set in a hidden oasis in the wild beauty of southeastern Spain, a lush eco-sanctuary surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean.

Find out more

July 8 – 13, 2025

The Dharma retreat

Almeria, Spain

Psychedelic exploration guided by Buddhist wisdom: a 6-day immersion into the powerful synergy of Buddhist meditation, psychedelic medicines, and therapeutic practices.

Set in a hidden oasis in the wild beauty of southeastern Spain, a lush eco-sanctuary surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean.

Find out more

July 30 – August 3, 2025

The Core Retreat

Groningen, Netherlands

Our signature retreat: a transformative 5-day journey designed to help you go deep and create the changes you seek.

Set in a lush haven in the heart of the Dutch countryside, designed in partnership with nature, with a wood-fired sauna and a pristine lake to dive into.

Find out more

August 29 – September 2, 2025

The Therapist Retreat

Almeria, Spain

A Core retreat designed exclusively for therapists and other health professionals seeking firsthand experience in the therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Set in a hidden oasis in the wild beauty of southeastern Spain, a lush eco-sanctuary surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean.

Find out more

October 14 – 18, 2025

The Core Retreat

Groningen, Netherlands

Our signature retreat: a transformative 5-day journey designed to help you go deep and create the changes you seek.

Set in a lush haven in the heart of the Dutch countryside, designed in partnership with nature, with a wood-fired sauna and a pristine lake to dive into.

Find out more

October 22 – 26, 2025

The Returners Retreat

Almeria, Spain

You’ve already experienced the magic of Alalaho, and now you’re feeling called to go deeper. This is your chance.

Set in a hidden oasis in the wild beauty of southeastern Spain, a lush eco-sanctuary surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean.

Find out more

November 14 – 18, 2025

The Core Retreat

Almeria, Spain

Our signature retreat: a transformative 5-day journey designed to help you go deep and create the changes you seek.

Set in a hidden oasis in the wild beauty of southeastern Spain, a lush eco-sanctuary surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean.

Find out more

Disclaimer

  • Our retreats are for people in good mental and physical health. We do not offer therapeutic or medical treatment.
  • Reasons for not being able to participate in our retreats include serious cardiovascular (e.g. recent stroke or heart attack) or neurological issues (e.g. epilepsy or brain trauma), use of antidepressant (e.g. SSRI/TCA), mood stabilising (e.g. lithium) or antipsychotic (e.g. Abilify) medications or severe mental health problems (e.g. psychosis, bipolar disorder, personality disorder).
  • Even though the vast majority of our participants have very meaningful and beneficial experiences, there is no guaranteed outcome from participating on a retreat.
  • The majority of research indicating the positive effects of psilocybin was done in a clinical setting, which is very different to that of a retreat environment. More research is needed to explore the benefits offered by group psilocybin experiences.