The Sanctuary Return: Huni Kuin Ayahuasca Retreat | Libélula | Costa Rica
The Sanctuary Return: Huni Kuin Ayahuasca Retreat | Libélula | Costa Rica
Libélula Healing Center, Esperanza, Esperanza, Turrubares, CR, 11605
Up to 12 in group
Mar 14 - 15, 2026
A preparation course valued at $109 is included with the retreat at no extra cost
Retreat Highlights
- Indigenous Teachings & Experiences
- Indigenous Communities
- Land & Community Reciprocity
- Bodywork & Pain Management
- Rest & Integration
- Community
- Organic Land Grown Food
- Heart & Soul
- Jungian Psychology Undercurrent
About this Retreat
Kene is the co‑founder of Libélula and a long‑time walker of the ceremonial path. His work is rooted in lived experience, humility, and deep respect for Indigenous wisdom. Through plant medicine, meditation, and embodied practices, Kene supports others in reconnecting with themselves and remembering their innate capacity to heal.
Maisie is the co‑founder of Libélula, a lifelong lover of nature, creativity, and sustainable living. Her work is rooted in connection — to the land, the body, and the wisdom of plants. She is deeply devoted to creating spaces of safety, beauty, and nourishment where authentic transformation can unfold.
Txua is a Txana of the Huni Kuin people from Yube Nawa village, carrying a lineage of deep relationship with the plants, the forest, and the unseen worlds they reveal. For Txua, this work is not something learned in theory or chosen as a role. It is something listened for, something remembered & something that grows through years of devotion and discipline.
His first teachers were his grandmother and the elders of his community, who passed on both the knowledge of the plants and the permission to work with them. In Huni Kuin tradition, becoming a pajé is not a title that can be trained for or claimed. It is a calling that unfolds through long diets, prayer, and direct relationship with the medicine itself. Txua will tell you that the training never truly ends with these works!
Txua began drinking medicine at a young age, entering more deeply into the work as a teenager. Over the years, he has completed two major dietas working with the plants for very long extended periods of time; these dietas span years. He continues walking the path toward the third, a stage in which the medicine itself reveals which role a pajé is meant to carry.
In his tradition, there are different ways of serving: those who pass the medicine, those who heal through spiritual work during ceremony, and those who work intimately with the plants themselves, understanding their qualities, spirits, and teachings.
Txua regards the plants as professors who teach how to care for the body, how to restore balance & how to work with the spirit world in service of healing. During ceremony, he works closely with specific plant spirits, including the spirit of the muca plant, which is the spirit of a specific potato which guides his prayers and songs. His icaros (Sacred chants) are living tools used to cleanse, protect, and hold people through different stages of their process
When someone’s journey becomes difficult or intense, Txua listens carefully to what is needed in that moment. Different icaros serve different purposes: some clear heavy energy, some protect, some soothe, some help restore balance.
What Txua hopes guests carry with them after ceremony is not just insight, but realignment. A return to the heart. A sense of happiness, protection, and right relationship with their path in life. For him, the medicine is ultimately about reconnection: with oneself, with others, and with the joy of being alive.
Beyond ceremony, Txua also carries a deep responsibility to his family and village. While the forest holds abundance in plants and knowledge, there is often scarcity in practical resources needed to support healers and connect communities, such as tools, instruments, and transportation. His work is rooted in service: helping his people, supporting his home, and bringing prosperity back to the village so the tradition can continue.
He describes his village as holding an essence of the desire to help - help humanity transform & move closer to the path of love in all they do.
Txua walks this path with humility, gratitude, and devotion. He does not claim to know how long he has been with the medicine. In his words, the medicine has simply always been there, guiding the work as it continues to unfold.
Syriani carries the medicine of the feminine force of the forest. As a Txana, her role is to bring balance, sacred geometry & the wisdom of the serpent into ceremony, embodying the receptive, intuitive, and deeply listening current of the medicine.
She works in relationship with the jiboia which is the great boa constrictor spirit & is a living intelligence that moves through geometry, breath & sensation within the body. Through this connection, Syriani listens to what is unfolding inside each person who has received the medicine, allowing her songs to arise directly from the process being lived
For Syriani, the serpent is not symbolic. It is a presence felt within the body itself. By attuning to this spirit, she can sense where energy is moving, where it is held, and what is ready to be softened or released. Her ícaros help guide guests back into their centre, anchoring them through breath, slowness, and embodied awareness.
When someone’s process becomes intense, Syriani meets them gently. She first asks whether support is needed, honouring choice and consent. If assistance is welcomed, her songs work to calm the nervous system, reconnect the person with their core, and restore inner rhythm. In keeping with tradition, women support women and men support men, preserving safety and energetic integrity.
Syriani hopes guests leave with a deeper sense of happiness, peace & alignment with their life path. Her wish is that the strength found in ceremony continues long after the retreat, supporting each person to walk their path with clarity and heart.
She carries deep gratitude for her family and the Great Spirit & for the opportunity to share the knowledge passed down through her lineage. Her journey with the medicine began at the age of eleven alongside her father. She has been working ceremonially since her teens and continues to walk a lifelong path of learning, dietas, and devotion
For Syriani & the other Txias this work is never finished. It is a living relationship with the forest, the ancestors, and the unfolding wisdom of the medicine — offered in service, song, and alegria!
Kaya Isa carries the path of the Txana as a living relationship with the spirit of the medicine, the ancestors, and the joy that moves through song. For him, this work is not learned in the mind, but remembered through listening: to the plants, to prayer, and to the guidance of those who walked before him.
His journey with the medicine began at a young age, first drinking alongside his brother Txua and his uncle. Like all his brothers, his grandmother has been his greatest teacher, transmitting the lineage through presence, prayer, and lived experience rather than instruction alone.
Kaya Isa understands the medicines as teachers that work through vibration, sound, and feeling. When he sings, he channels the spirit of the Txana itself: the spirit of music, play, joy, and healing. His songs are guided by ancestral presence and arise in direct response to what is needed in the moment.
In ceremony, Kaya Isa meets each person with attentiveness and respect. When processes feel intense, he first listens deeply, sensing whether support is needed or whether the medicine is already doing its work. From there, specific ícaros are offered to cleanse, hold, or restore balance, always guided by the spirit.
What Kaya Isa hopes guests carry with them is an open heart, happiness, and a renewed sense of alignment. His focus is alegria: a joy that comes from reconnection with oneself and with life. A prayer often heard in ceremony, Eskawata Kayaway, reflects this understanding: the healing is already happening. The cleaning is already working. Everything is in motion, and everything is well.
Kaya Isa feels deep honour to share the ancestral knowledge he carries alongside his family, offering this work with humility, devotion, and love.
Eskawata Kayaway, Kayaway Kiki - Constant Transformation Through Love.
Originally from Argentina, Fito has walked the medicine path from a young age, guided by lived experience, travel, and a deep listening to life’s unseen currents. Leaving home at twenty-one, he spent many years travelling through Brazil, often living simply and working on the road, gradually being drawn into relationship with sacred medicines.
A profound life-changing event marked a turning point, leading him into deeper study with the medicines in Brazil and later in the Amazon, where he lived and learned alongside different Indigenous tribes. His path eventually carried him to Peru, where he connected deeply with Huachuma and the spirit of the Condor, spending over a decade in the Sacred Valley holding ceremonies, living in community, and weaving medicine work into daily life.
Fito’s journey has included powerful spiritual initiations & deep inner transformation. With the guidance of trusted teachers, these experiences were gradually grounded into disciplined practice, purification, and humility, shaping a steady and embodied way of working with the medicines.
He later trained with Shipibo teachers and continued his path with the Huni Kuin, supporting ceremonies with quiet presence, care, and respect for lineage. For Fito, the medicines are teachers rather than experiences, and ceremony is a living relationship rooted in responsibility and devotion.
At Libélula, Fito brings the wisdom of a long and deeply lived path, offering grounded support within ceremony and holding the space with integrity, warmth, and reverence.
Jesse is a holistic health practitioner, bodyworker, and guide working at the intersection of somatic healing, depth psychology, and ceremonial practice. His work is rooted in lived experience, long-term devotion, and a deep respect for the intelligence of the body, psyche, and spirit.
What began with a series of deep mental challenges followed by years of health problems became a calling leading him to move from mechanical engineering into body engineering working with complex pain cases before moving into deeper aspects of Jungian based holistic health coaching understanding that the root of a client’s pain often is not just physical but mental, emotional & even spiritual in origin.
Trained as a holistic lifestyle coach, CHEK practitioner, pain therapist, and fascia based bodyworker, Jesse has have spent many years supporting others through physical pain, trauma, and life transitions.
His work is strongly informed by somatic intelligence, fascia-based therapy, nervous system regulation, and Jungian psychology, with a particular sensitivity to shadow material and the inner landscapes that can emerge during deep healing work.
Alongside clinical and body-based approaches, Jesse has walked a long ceremonial path under guidance, learning how prayer, ritual, plant medicines, and embodied presence can support transformation when held with care, humility, and integrity.
At Libélula, as manager Jesse looks after the ecosystem of the center, ensuring that each guests holding begins long before they walk through our doors & he supports guests through preparation, embodied integration, 1:1 holding & bodywork during retreats & ceremony.
Viiktoria is a ceremonial practitioner and nutritionist whose work bridges Indigenous traditions, embodied healing, and nutritional support. Her approach is rooted in lived experience, deep listening, and respect for the body as an intelligent system.
Mikhail is a ceremonial practitioner and highly skilled bodyworker with advanced academic training in the human body. His work integrates Indigenous wisdom, somatic intelligence, and deep respect for the body as a gateway to healing and self‑remembrance.
Details of this retreat
Huni Kuin Ceremony at Libélula
The Sanctuary Return is a short, powerful retreat held in the rainforest mountains of Costa Rica at Libélula Retreat Center.
This journey is designed for guests who feel called to work with sacred medicines in a safe, supportive setting, but who may not have the time (or desire) for a longer immersion.
It is a focused container: two nights of ceremony, intentional preparation, and spacious integration, all held with warmth, care, professionalism, and love
Our ceremonies are guided by Huni Kuin medicine carriers (Txanãs / Pajes) from the Yuba Nawa village and held within living Indigenous tradition, where prayer and song are the foundation supporting the work.
The Yuba Nawa village differentiate from other villages in that the Txanãs have been trained by their grandmother, the community Maje - which is A-typical for tribes that are mostly trained by the masculine.
Because of this the Txanãs bring a unique feel with the feminine force being strong with them.
In this lineage, the medicines are approached as intelligent, relational forces that respond to humility, intention, and respect.
Throughout ceremony, you may hear a phrase spoken or sung repeatedly:
Eskawata Kayaway, Kayaway Kiki
Often translated as: “Constant transformation through love.”
This is offered as a prayer and reminder of the spirit in which the work is held: healing unfolds through patience, trust, and right pacing, not pressure.
What’s included:
One Grandmother ceremonies held by the Huni Kuin lineage
Prayer, ícaros and ceremonial music throughout the night
Opening intention circle and guided preparation
Organic breakfast prepared on the land (food as medicine)
Optional spa and body-based therapies (bolt-ons), such as:
massage / bodywork
red light therapy
sauna
cold plunge
Bodywork treatments, kambo and spa treatments are bolt on options for an additional investment.
Kambo treatments will take place towards the end of each ceremony.
This retreat is not designed to chase intensity.
It is designed to support real, grounded transformation through safety, pacing, and integration.
The Schedule
This is a sample schedule. Timing and flow may adjust slightly depending on group needs and ceremonial guidance.
Arrival & Opening
12:00–2:00pm | Arrival, Welcome Buffet & Tea
Guests arrive into the sanctuary and are welcomed with grounding tea and a light buffet. This is a slow arrival designed to help you settle after travel.
3:00–6:00pm | Opening Circle, Orientation & Intentions
We gather in the maloca to meet one another, open the retreat container, and guide you through intention-setting.
The intention setting's aim is to bring clarity about what you’re coming for, and creating a simple inner orientation that will guide your weekend.
6:00–8:00pm | Free Time & Preparation
An opportunity to deepen into your intention, explore the space & get to know your fellow retreat guests before the first ceremony.
8:00pm | Grandmother Ceremony
The space is opened in prayer and held through the night with ícaros and live ceremonial music.
Experiences with Grandmother vary widely. Some guests feel deep calm, clarity, connection, or emotional release. Others experience cleansing, purging, or the surfacing of difficult material.
Whatever arises is approached as part of the healing process. The retreat is held with strong support, clear boundaries, and trauma-aware pacing.
Closing & Departure
7:00am | Breakfast
A gentle breakfast and time to ground.
8:00am–1:00pm | Rest, Sleep & Integration
1:00–2:00pm | Departures
A note on support & holding
Retreat work can open a full spectrum: deep peace and connection, emotional release, insight, and sometimes challenging internal material.
At Libélula, this is held with care. We take seriously the responsibility of creating a safe space for transformation. Guests are never pushed toward intensity, and consent is central throughout.
We look forward to welcome you to our home for The Sanctuary Return :)
The Sanctuary Return is a short, powerful retreat held in the rainforest mountains of Costa Rica at Libélula Retreat Center.
This journey is designed for guests who feel called to work with sacred medicines in a safe, supportive setting, but who may not have the time (or desire) for a longer immersion.
It is a focused container: two nights of ceremony, intentional preparation, and spacious integration, all held with warmth, care, professionalism, and love
Our ceremonies are guided by Huni Kuin medicine carriers (Txanãs / Pajes) from the Yuba Nawa village and held within living Indigenous tradition, where prayer and song are the foundation supporting the work.
The Yuba Nawa village differentiate from other villages in that the Txanãs have been trained by their grandmother, the community Maje - which is A-typical for tribes that are mostly trained by the masculine.
Because of this the Txanãs bring a unique feel with the feminine force being strong with them.
In this lineage, the medicines are approached as intelligent, relational forces that respond to humility, intention, and respect.
Throughout ceremony, you may hear a phrase spoken or sung repeatedly:
Eskawata Kayaway, Kayaway Kiki
Often translated as: “Constant transformation through love.”
This is offered as a prayer and reminder of the spirit in which the work is held: healing unfolds through patience, trust, and right pacing, not pressure.
What’s included:
One Grandmother ceremonies held by the Huni Kuin lineage
Prayer, ícaros and ceremonial music throughout the night
Opening intention circle and guided preparation
Organic breakfast prepared on the land (food as medicine)
Optional spa and body-based therapies (bolt-ons), such as:
massage / bodywork
red light therapy
sauna
cold plunge
Bodywork treatments, kambo and spa treatments are bolt on options for an additional investment.
Kambo treatments will take place towards the end of each ceremony.
This retreat is not designed to chase intensity.
It is designed to support real, grounded transformation through safety, pacing, and integration.
The Schedule
This is a sample schedule. Timing and flow may adjust slightly depending on group needs and ceremonial guidance.
Arrival & Opening
12:00–2:00pm | Arrival, Welcome Buffet & Tea
Guests arrive into the sanctuary and are welcomed with grounding tea and a light buffet. This is a slow arrival designed to help you settle after travel.
3:00–6:00pm | Opening Circle, Orientation & Intentions
We gather in the maloca to meet one another, open the retreat container, and guide you through intention-setting.
The intention setting's aim is to bring clarity about what you’re coming for, and creating a simple inner orientation that will guide your weekend.
6:00–8:00pm | Free Time & Preparation
An opportunity to deepen into your intention, explore the space & get to know your fellow retreat guests before the first ceremony.
8:00pm | Grandmother Ceremony
The space is opened in prayer and held through the night with ícaros and live ceremonial music.
Experiences with Grandmother vary widely. Some guests feel deep calm, clarity, connection, or emotional release. Others experience cleansing, purging, or the surfacing of difficult material.
Whatever arises is approached as part of the healing process. The retreat is held with strong support, clear boundaries, and trauma-aware pacing.
Closing & Departure
7:00am | Breakfast
A gentle breakfast and time to ground.
8:00am–1:00pm | Rest, Sleep & Integration
1:00–2:00pm | Departures
A note on support & holding
Retreat work can open a full spectrum: deep peace and connection, emotional release, insight, and sometimes challenging internal material.
At Libélula, this is held with care. We take seriously the responsibility of creating a safe space for transformation. Guests are never pushed toward intensity, and consent is central throughout.
We look forward to welcome you to our home for The Sanctuary Return :)
Schedule
Each day of our retreat structure is different but typically you will experience;
Rising with a morning ritual of yoga, movement, breathwork & heart connection
Morning activities which may be ceremonial or workshop based
Spa treatments
Rest & integration
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Evening or daytime ceremonies depending on the retreat schedule
Rising with a morning ritual of yoga, movement, breathwork & heart connection
Morning activities which may be ceremonial or workshop based
Spa treatments
Rest & integration
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Evening or daytime ceremonies depending on the retreat schedule
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Libélula Retreat Center, Libélula Healing Center, Esperanza, Esperanza, Turrubares, CR, 11605
Directions
*The Above Map Is Not Accurate!*
We are a 45 minute drive into the mountains from the seaside town of Jaco. If you head for Bijagual there are two routes - the route near the Tarcoles bridge is well paved whereas the Jaco road just outside Jaco is quicker but you will need a 4x4 vehicle.
Once in Bijagual if you take a left from the Tarcoles road or go forward from the Jaco road past the shops & ferretaria we are a further 4 miles along the mountain range just outside Esperanza. Don't head for Macaw lodge - we are the other left turning.
Please contact Jesse on +447376124981 if you need further guidance.
From Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO), Costa Rica's main airport hub Libélula is just a 2 1/2 hour shuttle trip to either the center or Playa Hermosa
If we are collecting you from Playa Hermosa the journey is 45 - 60 mins up the mountain to the village of Bijagual.
From there the center is 4 miles further into the mountain range near the small village of Esperanza.
We are a 45 minute drive into the mountains from the seaside town of Jaco. If you head for Bijagual there are two routes - the route near the Tarcoles bridge is well paved whereas the Jaco road just outside Jaco is quicker but you will need a 4x4 vehicle.
Once in Bijagual if you take a left from the Tarcoles road or go forward from the Jaco road past the shops & ferretaria we are a further 4 miles along the mountain range just outside Esperanza. Don't head for Macaw lodge - we are the other left turning.
Please contact Jesse on +447376124981 if you need further guidance.
From Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO), Costa Rica's main airport hub Libélula is just a 2 1/2 hour shuttle trip to either the center or Playa Hermosa
If we are collecting you from Playa Hermosa the journey is 45 - 60 mins up the mountain to the village of Bijagual.
From there the center is 4 miles further into the mountain range near the small village of Esperanza.
Accommodation
Concession
Normal Investment
Abundance
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Yoga Shala, lodgings, maloca, pool, guest hub & cuisine area
Meals
Our cuisine is organic, gluten free is vegan/vegetarian based and is grown in our gardens on the land as much as is possible prepared with love by our dedicated chefs.
What's Included
- Indigenous Huni Kuin facilitated ceremonies
- Live music
- Pre & post integration calls
- All programmed activities included
- We can provide shuttle from the airport at an additional cost
What's Not Included
- Additional activity bolt ons such as kambo & spa treatments
- Airfare
- Shuttle from airport to Playa Hermosa
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