Behold Retreats — 148 Des Voeux Rd Central, Hong Kong

Small-group plant medicine retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico and Portugal

The evening ceremony is the centre of the week at Behold Retreats, but the days around it are where the work is built. Mornings open with movement and one-on-one time with a facilitator. Afternoons are left for rest, journaling and walks. The group gathers for sharing circles, and by the time the first ceremony begins the guests have already met the team, been oriented to the land and slept a full night. Behold runs its retreats at properties in three places. The Costa Rica centre sits at Esterillos on the Pacific Coast, among jungle and near the ocean. Its grounds include a saltwater infinity pool for quiet between sessions, and guests have private rooms with en-suite bathrooms. In Mexico the retreat is in the jungles of the Yucatán Peninsula, in structures the team calls the Domes. The pages single out the icaros there, sung with instruments and vocal technique by a facilitator named Puka, and the retreat includes temazcal, the traditional Mesoamerican sweat lodge ceremony. In Portugal, guests stay on a private estate on the country's southern coast. Group size is the organising principle. The ayahuasca retreats run six nights with three ceremonies and up to eleven guests. The Portugal version runs five nights with two ceremonies. The weekend 5-MeO-DMT retreats, called Bufo retreats on the pages, last three nights with a single ceremony and no more than four guests. A women's ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica adds female-led facilitation, women's circles, sound healing and temazcal. A more accessible eco-retreat, run with partners, offers dorm, shared and private rooms. Every guest goes through an application and medical screening, followed by a preparation program that includes guidance on the pre-retreat dietary protocol. Meals are plant-based and prepared fresh. Integration support continues after departure, and guests keep access to the Behold Alumni community. Behold states that it operates only where the medicine in question is not scheduled as illegal, and that its ceremonies are held with respect for traditional lineage.

Traditions: Ayahuasca ceremony, 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo) ceremony, Psilocybin ceremony, Temazcal, Sound Healing, Breathwork

Programs: Costa Rica Ayahuasca Retreat, Costa Rica 5-MeO-DMT Weekend Retreat, Costa Rica Women's Ayahuasca Retreat, Costa Rica Ayahuasca Eco-Retreat, Costa Rica Psilocybin Retreat, Mexico Ayahuasca Retreat, Portugal Ayahuasca Retreat, Portugal 5-MeO-DMT Weekend Retreat