Ghieno A Nziambe IBOGA Ceremony (Babongo Bwete Miobe Ombudi Lineage) Costa Rica

5.003 reviews
Location icon
Portalón, Puntarenas Province, Savegre de Aguirre, Costa Rica
Users icon
Up to 5 in group
Date
January 13 - 17, 2025

Retreat Highlights

  • The deepest urge in the soul of every man is to find his inner Self.
  • IBOGA is the awakening of the God consciousness within
  • The Iboga Ceremony we offer here at Ikara is called “Ghieno A Nziambe” which translates as God’s Mirror. From God’s mirror you can see and discover aspects of oneself and gain a new understanding of the creation of all
  • Our Nganga was selected by His Majesty King Adumangana to train in one of the original branches of Bwete called Miobe. He was initiated by the first nations people the Babongo;s whop were the originators of the Bwete Spirituality
  • We come to the temple together on the first day of arrival and we do not leave the retreat centre until the work with Iboga has been done.
  • This retreat is about deep healing not about distractions, trips to the beaches and waterfalls can be done after.
  • Watch the jungles come alive with the iboga spirit in this totally immersive experience.
  • We provide additional aftercare services free of charge.
  • We are protectors of ancestral knowledge, tradition and rituals. We work under the Ebota A Manghana NGO (Not for profit) and proceeds from each retreat go directly back to the traditional village Mboka A Nzambe as well as the 7 other Babongo villages they support in Dibois., Gabon.

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

Is it time for you to move from the world of sensing to that of knowing, from the visible to the invisible?

O Timoyi! Ikara is a natural medicine hospital & spiritual healing retreat centre in ​Southern Costa Rica. We have trained with the First Nations People, The Babongo, They are the originators of the BWETE spirituality and the people that shared IBOGA with the other BANTU nations in Gabon and the rest of the world.

The IBOGA Ceremony we offer, through His Majesty King Adumangana, here at Ikara is called “GHIENO A NZIAMBE" which translates as "God’s Mirror". From God’s mirror you can see and discover aspects of oneself and gain a new understanding of the creation of all

Iboga is a spirit that connect you directly to your soul. Iboga, being a root, takes you inward so that you can learn to live in this physical reality with joy and spontaneity, through a direct connection to your soul. Iboga is not a medicine, it is you, it provides a conduit to your soul and through this connection it can heal all physical, emotional and spiritual maladies. This is because we live in heaven on earth where thoughts create our experience, Iboga shows you this. It is intense but when used in a true traditional context, as taught by the first national people of Gabon, the Babongo, it allows you to heal yourself. It is a powerful tool for spiritual advancement and has applications to all facets of LIFE!

IBOGA´s healing capacities are universal. Become awareness in totality, without separation. Dissolve the illusions which causes dissension in your life. See your Self unite with TETA NZAMBE (God) consciously through a MIOBE IBOGA retreat in Costa Rica.

​Ikara proudly represents Mboka A Nzambe (The Universal Village of God) & Le Don de Vie (The Gift of Life Hospital) in the West. ​We work towards the preservation of traditional Bwete practices and the application of them to the Western mind. ALL proceeds from our retreats go the NGO Ebota A Maghanga in Gabon. Our pricing remains affordable to those in need as we do not personally profit from any retreat.

“Through Brotherly Love,
let us build a world of Life and Peace
which will lead us to Divine Grace
for the Salvation of Humanity”

Credo of NGO Ebota A Maghanga

Schedule

Monday - ​Transport provided from San Jose (hotel) to Ikara Retreat Centre. First Iboga Ceremony tonight
Tuesday - Processing Day
Wednesday - Second Ceremony night.
Thursday - Processing Day
Friday - Return transport to San Jose
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change

Getting Here

Location icon Ikara Retreat, Portalón, Puntarenas Province, Savegre de Aguirre, Costa Rica

Directions

We are located in the beautiful lush subtropical jungle zone of Costa Rica. International travelers should book a flight to Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose. Travel time is 2.5hrs (130km) hours south of San Jose. If you prefer to self drive there is plenty of parking available at our retreat centre. A 4wd is recommended when renting a car in Costa Rica.

Accommodation

The jungle cabinas are located a short, less than 1 minute, walk from the main residence. Each person will have their own private room with their own half bathroom (sink and toilet) and ceiling fans. Showering is done over at the main residence. There are 5 showers in total. Enjoy the ocean view from the shared deck All rooms are light and bright with a cool ocean breeze.. You can listen to the waves as you drift off the sleep.

Accommodation
Shared twin room with private ensuite. Choose this option if you and a family member are booking together and are happy to share a room.
Accommodation
Private Room with private ensuite (toilet & sink) in the Jungle Cabinas.

Venue & Amenities

Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
At Ikara Retreat center, we have the most magnificent views of the pacific ocean visible from all parts of the property. The vista is so overwhelmingly large that it feels like the oceans horizon is higher than us. Being above the ocean but also in cool mountain air, we are ionized here. The center is quiet and as a result we have regular animal visitors to the property. Our retreat centre has a purpose built yoga deck overlooking the ocean, a pool where you can sit and watch the capuchins.

Meals

Menu Types

Vegetarian kitchen with food sourced from local organic farms, Home made food to make sure you are nourished before and after ceremony.

What's Included

  • 2 traditional Bwete Miobe Iboga Ghieno A Nziambe Ceremonies
  • IBOGA prepared by King Adumangana, the King of the Babongo Pygmies who are the original peoples to use IBOGA and those who share it and the secrets of the BWETE spirituality with the rest of the world.
  • Miobe Cleansing Rituals using plants from the forest of Gabon
  • Optional spoons of Iboga between ceremonies for those who wish it. We do not charge for the sacrament of IBOGA so each guest is welcome to consume as much or as little as they wish under the guidance of the Nganga. This increases the spiritual connection that Iboga offers and it is how it is given, on a daily basis, in Mboka A Nzambe.
  • 5 days, 4 nights accommodation at Ikara Retreat Centre
  • All guests will have their own private room with ensuite (toilet and sink) immersed in the jungle. Our rooms have two twin beds, so if you are attending with a friend/family/partner, you can choose to share a room.
  • Our Nganga acts as the bridge between the spiritual and physical and provides integrative support during your stay
  • We provide care 24 hours a day care & are on call to assist at anytime
  • Vegetarian meals prepared with local, organic ingredients that are ethically obtained from within the southern pacific zone. We can cater for any additional dietary needs.
  • Airport/hotel pickup service will be available on the first and last days of the retreat.
  • Continued integration support after you leave at no additional charge
  • We are protectors of ancestral knowledge, tradition and rituals. We work under the Ebota A Manghana NGO (Not for profit) and proceeds from each retreat go directly back to the traditional village Mboka A Nzambe as well as the 7 other Babongo villages they support in Dibois., Gabon. When you come to us, your money goes directly back to the originators of the Bwete Spirituality. There is no other retreat centre that offer this..

What's Not Included

  • Distractions. You will have plenty of time to visit the sights of Costa Rica after your healing experience. This is an immersive experience where you will concentrate solely on yourself to enable maximum healing.
  • We do not sell additional activities or modalities. Our retreats are about IBOGA and traditional BWETE rituals only, with 100% focus on the GOD in SELF & the true teachings of IBOGA as given to us by the Babongo Pygmies.

Customer Reviews

5.00 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
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Incredible experience
Attended for my first iboga experience in Aug 2023. I can honestly say I have never experienced dedication such as been shown to me by Manga and Kuma. They truly live this medicine, and I am incredibly grateful for the hard work they put in. Even though it’s only the two of them, at times it felt like there was a staff of 1/2 dozen with the amount they’re able to attend to. They have continued to support me in the months following the retreat. Know that if you come, you will be incredibly safe & held. Iboga’s power to heal is directly correlated with the context in which it is served: you won’t find the medicine being served in this traditional way anywhere else in the west. My life has been transformed, and I am incredibly thankful I found Ikara; I’m not sure I would trust any other westerner to serve the medicine knowing what I know now. If you’re called to the path of Iboga, this is the place!

5.0
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Very thankfull for everything that happened in Ikara
The place is great, Kuma and Waganda were amazing and attentive. The place is clean and confortable. Food was delicious and the support during the ceremonies was great too as well as their previous guidance.

5.0
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Fantastic experience that I would highly recommend
My experience doing an Iboga Retreat with Melinda and Kuma at the Ikara Retreat Center was life changing and can't recommend it enough.

This was the first true "plant medicine" retreat I had gone on - quotes because that is a Western term and Iboga itself in Bwete thought is taking in a spirit. I found Ikara Retreat Center through Retreat.guru and it was one of the least expensive plant medicine retreats, which was one reason I chose it but also made me a little nervous as to why - was the retreat center less nice? Was it location in Costa Rica? Was it lower doses?

Turns out that Melinda and Kuma are just super dedicated to introducing people to the traditional Bwete Iboga Ceremonies and aren't out to just make a buck like so many others centers. They work directly with the Bwete people in Gabon, running an NGO to benefit the village they work with, and are extremely dedicated to bringing the traditions, ceremonies, and philosophy to Western audiences through their retreat center. You could tell just how much they care and how genuine they are about helping others experience the wisdom of the spirit they offer.

The property itself is also gorgeous. It overlooks the Ocean, has rain forest on the property where we actually bathed in a waterfall at one point, and the grounds are really nice. The housing is nice but very simple in a bit of a monastic way, which is actually perfect for introspection. If you're looking for a super luxury, bougie experience with plush queen beds and big screens in your room, this isn't the center for you, and frankly they keep it simple but comfortable and nice to allow you to focus and reflect. It is very much the way a retreat should be. They also have a no cell phone rule during the retreat, which was so helpful in being able to really be one with everything and present.

In terms of Iboga, we had two ceremonies and I felt particularly well taken care of by both Kuma and Melinda, who when you consider the number of hours they put in to hold their retreats, they probably sleep only 8 hours over 4 days with just how attentive they are to everyone both during ceremony and integrating after ceremony. They're very chill about things too and not the more pushy retreat leaders. Just very caring and very knowledgeable having done so many retreats over the years. I still stay in touch with them now as they check on how I'm doing after and we continue to have a mentorship / friendship post the retreat.

They also administer Iboga grown by the Bwete which has all of the alkaloids of the full Iboga plant, not the synthesized, single alkaloid Ibogaine often derived from plants other than Iboga itself and isolated through chemistry. They also weren't stingy with the Iboga, checking how you were feeling and giving you seemingly whatever amount you felt you needed, though I opted to take lower doses and what they recommended was plenty.

The experience itself was tremendously valuable for me as I was already doing heavy amount of work on unresolved past traumas and it really gave me some epiphanies that resolved certain past memories, improved my self-love, and made me understand some of the things holding me back. Truth be told, some of the breakthroughs and insights may have been equivalent to years of therapy. It also had unexpected positive effects in alleviating a slew of long-Covid symptoms and what I found was that Iboga really resets your whole body and mind. I will say, the hard part of that is I did purge a lot, and that come-and-go nausea resolves over time - sometimes meaning you're tentative with eating sometimes for 24 hours from ceremony but varies from person and just how much your body had to purge. The retreat hosts though were great at giving just the types of foods that would help that process and really making sure you were feeling okay. You do feel it was ultimately a necessary part of your body reseting and also the experience overall is well worth some purging.

Overall it was an incredibly profound experience well worth the money. Honestly, I came away feeling like I got a really great value after seeing all that Kuma and Melinda put into the retreat hours wise including tending to people pretty much non-stop the entire time, then also including transportation to and from airport, providing food, snacks, and healthy drinks, and then the housing at the gorgeous grounds the retreat is on with view and a pool, along with so much else in terms of purification rituals. I'm particularly happy I chose this retreat over others that I had looked into which I now know wouldn't have been as genuine to the underlying ceremonies. They even speak to the head of the Bwete King Adumangana about each person doing the retreat, tying them into the process. You can check out the retreat centers Youtube and Instagram and has more that shows you just how genuine they are about spreading the experience and truth of Iboga. Also, feel free to reach out to them to ask questions because they were tremendously helpful in prepping me for the retreat, dispelling false notions, and just talking to me about how to get the best from the experience.

I will likely go back at some point and have certainly recommended this retreat to friends.