A 12 Day Visionary Retreat of Inner Transformation in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador
February 1 - 12, 2026
The founders of Evolutionary Journeys warmly invite you to be part of this unique alchemical experience – elegantly designed for modern humans who desire to heal & transform their lives – awakening your Inner Beauty through the alchemy of ancient spiritual technologies such as Ceremony, Botanical Medicine, Nature Communion, Meditation, Yoga, Arts, and Community in a safe, loving environment.
This is a call to live a heart centered life,
This is a call to lead with vision and creativity,
This is a call to renew our vows with existence,
This is a call to make our lives a masterpiece.
May We Walk THE WAY OF ALCHEMICAL BEAUTY Together
Love is the alchemist’s stone that transforms entire mountains into gold.
Has anyone ever seen such an elixir like Love?
It makes the Earth heavenly, it makes dust Divine.
-Rumi
Overview
The Way of Alchemical Beauty is a 12 day holistic wellness retreat (February 1 – 12, 2026) hosted in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador within a 8-week program of holistic support. This is a safe and highly curated shamanic wisdom pilgrimage, with a strong emphasis on integration, inner alchemy practices, detox, creativity, community and connection with nature. This immersion is a sacred invitation of remembrance and healing.
Casa del Sol Retreat Center will host us in the mystical valley of Vilcabamba, located in the South of Ecuador, and also known as the Valley of Longevity for the purity of its waters and climate of eternal spring. The sanctuary sits at the entrance to Podocarpus National Park, where the Andes mountains embrace the Amazon rainforest and one of the most wild and magical portals of Mother Earth.
Through the alchemical union of traditional ceremonies, ancestral rituals, and holistic healing practices guided by expert facilitators, you will embark on a journey of awakening and illumination. Our aim is for you to not only experience profound inner healing but to begin to embody a new way of being, aligned with beauty, purpose, and truth – nurturing a lifelong relationship with your inner healer and guide.
Why Join This Journey?
“If not now, when? If not us, who?”
In a world crying out for healing and renewal, your inner transformation is a sacred act.
As you evolve, you evolve the world.
We are living in a time of a great turning, an era marked by uncertainty, collapse, and awakening. Amidst the global crises we face, there is also an invitation: to remember what truly matters, to reconnect with the sacred within and around us, and to participate in the healing of our hearts, our spirits, and the Earth itself, and to offer it back to Life.
As we illuminate our inner world, we illuminate the collective.
“As within, so without.”
Your healing, your awakening, is not only personal, it is a luminous offering to your family, to your community, to humanity, to all sentient beings, to Life itself. It is a quiet yet powerful act of service to the greater unfolding of human and planetary transformation.
We stand at the threshold of a new era, a time when ancient wisdom and future vision meet. This is an opportunity to step into the highest alchemy: weaving the golden threads of ancestral teachings with the silver strands of personal revelation to co-create a more beautiful, conscious, and regenerative world.
What to Expect in this Container?
The Alchemical Vessel
Preparation
(Jan 18th - Jan 31st)
Pre-retreat preparation program with Psycho-Spiritual Mentorship in 1:1
and group sessions.
Led by Munay and Brian
Pilgrimage
(Feb 1st - Feb 12th)
12 day
Visionary Retreat
in the Andean Mountains
of Ecuador, hosted by
Casa del Sol (House of the Sun) Wellness Sanctuary
Integration
(Feb 13th - Mar 15th)
Post-retreat integration program with Psycho-Spiritual Mentorship in 1:1 and group sessions - including indigenous wisdom keepers and elders of lineage.
The Healing & Alchemical Experience
Our journey is structured around foundational pillars sourced from ancient spiritual lineages and ancestral wisdom. The entire program is elegantly designed for the wellbeing of your body, mind, heart, and soul and to evoke a safe, lasting, and powerful transformation of your life.
This is a call of deep transformation,
to integrate every space within you,
to return to the origin,
to remember your essence of
love, harmony and beauty.
It is a path of Alchemical Beauty,
of surrender to the infinite love,
of complete offering to the Unity,
of returning to God, with every breath.
Here, you begin to feel.
Here, you begin to see.
Here, the present reveals itself within you.
This gathering is a gateway, a threshold to the purity of the heart.
It is the child you once were, the elder you are becoming.
Inviting you to recognize the expansion of love
and within its vastness, discover the miracle of simply being alive.
The Sanctuary: Vilcabamba, EC
Casa del Sol Retreat Center
Imagine bathing in the pure water of Río Uchima, contemplating the beauty of nature while resting on a hammock in the foothills of Huaranga mountain, surrounded by flower gardens and the symphony of nature. This is a territory of immense biodiversity, land of centenarian San Pedro Cactus, sacred elder Wilca trees and orchestrated by the diverse fauna of Andean tropical birds.
Casa del Sol Retreat Center is nestled in the valley of Vilcbamba, a sacred ecosystem of pristine mountains, crystalline waters, and fertile soil, a natural portal for transformation. We will be hosted in this sacred territory of peace by Santiago Ayala and Ximena Morales, the founders and guardians of Casa del Sol, which has been their family home and medicine sanctuary for many years. They are the parents of four children and recently welcomed their first grandchild, and have supported the healing journeys of hundreds of guests.
Here you will receive beautiful accommodations, nourishing local food, medicinal gardens, and sacred ceremony spaces, with the unique and authentic frequency of a home. This land holds ancient memories and potent healing energy that will support your journey every step of the way.
Who is this for?
This journey is for those who feel a deep inner calling to:
- Step into a new chapter of their life with clarity and purpose
- Reconnect with the sacred, the Earth, and their true essence
- Embody beauty in all aspects of their life, both inner and outer
- Awaken their highest creativity & visionary potential
- Activate their inner alchemist, healer, & guide
- Heal emotional, physical, or spiritual wounds
- Engage in a deep, guided transformational process
- Explore the power of spiritual ceremonies with reverence, structure, and safety
- Renew their vows of love with life
- Nourish or learn devotional wellness practices
It is ideal for seekers, creatives, leaders, visionaries, healers, and those navigating personal or professional transitions.
Detailed Itinerary
Honoring the fundamental connection alchemy has with the sacred elements – and their role as the fabric of all Life – we have designed this experience guided by the wisdom of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Akasha.
This program draws upon our 20 years of combined experience with spiritual retreats and plant medicine to create the most holistic, beautiful, and evolutionary container we have shared.
During the retreat, you are invited to listen to your inner wisdom and heart as guidance for your participation in the proposed activities: all are optional (except for the opening and closing circles).
As this retreat has a strong emphasis on integration and transformational alchemical practices, everyday we include in our calendar mindfulness practices, spiritual lectures, movement, and meditation. Our aim is that you learn these practices to take back home, as tools for well-being and vitality in your life.
We assure you that the experiences proposed will awaken your Inner Beauty and inspire the most authentic expression of your life’s potential.
EARTH
WATER
FIRE
AIR
AKASHA
GOLD
May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity.
-John O’Donohue
Investment
Prices listed below are comprehensive of the entire 8 week journey: preparation, retreat, and integration (including 1:1 mentorship support with the Founders of Evolutionary Journeys, Munay & Brian + 5 Tribe Zoom calls & online community + 12 day visionary retreat in Ecuador).
You will receive three premium offerings in one holistic program that will open a new chapter of your life, creating the foundation for an incredible year in 2026.
Please reference the What’s Included section below for a complete description and the FAQ section for more details, including the option of payment plans.
-
Shared Accommodation (enrolling by January 17) $3,777
-
Private Accommodation (enrolling by January 17) $5,222
What's Included?
- All activities mentioned on the itinerary
- Guidance in 1:1 sessions and 1 group call as preparation before the retreat
- 12 day visionary retreat in Vilcabamba guided by experienced facilitators, healers and wisdom-keepers
- 4 sacred ceremonies
- Daily embodiment and integration practices
- Ancestral rituals and teachings
- Individual healing sessions with therapists and traditional healers
- Post-retreat integration program, including teachings by wisdom keepers of the Andes, 1:1 sessions, and 4 group calls
- Accommodation in private or shared rooms*
- All gourmet, organic, and locally sourced vital meals during the 12 days of retreat, (vegan/vegetarian options)**
- Excursions to sacred sites, and nature walks
- Community circles and creative expression labs
- Andean spirituality teachings
- Welcome Kit
- Farewell Gift
* There is an option to upgrade into a single room stay – talk to our team when booking
**Food will be mainly vegetarian, with healthy fat and no processed sugar. (diet recommended for plant medicine processes)
Ayni
From our humble beginnings, Evolutionary Journeys has made a steadfast commitment to honor the Andean principle of Ayni – sacred reciprocity and heart-felt generosity.
When joining the Evolutionary Journey’s community as a voyager, you also become an integral part of our mission of sacred activism. You will support an organization that has assisted multiple families and indigenous lineages, founded scholarships for the healing and growth of activists and conscious leaders around the world, and generously donated to the protection of our sacred Mother Earth – home of humanity in a process of divine remembrance.
Through its Founders, we have donated over $45,000 to support the regeneration of Life on Earth. One of primary recipients has been Pachamama Alliance and the Alliance for the Sacred Headwaters, a visionary prayer of renewal and rebirth led by 30 indigenous nations of Ecuador and Peru who serve as guardians of the Northwest Amazonian rainforest – one of the most bio-diverse ecosystem in the entire world.
For this journey, we are excited to pilot a new way of giving, inviting our voyagers to nominate their favorite philanthropic organizations and together, via a democratic and communal process, choosing the recipient. 5% of all profits from The Way of Alchemical Beauty will be donated by Evolutionary Journeys and voyagers will be invited to supplement this gift with any additional funds that they would like to share.
We have experienced first hand the infinite blessings that flow into our lives when we give back, and we believe that this is the most noble pathway to ensure a safe, beautiful, and life-changing pilgrimage.
Lead Facilitators
Karo Munay
Munay is a human in love – an explorer of the art of living – born in the Andean mountains of Ecuador. She is a multidisciplinary woman in sacred service, offering gestalt, corporal and emotional psychotherapy and holistic mentoring. Her core guidance in her life is her relationship with God rooted in deep devotion. With a Master’s degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy, she specializes in psilocybin-assisted healing and has over 14 years of experience with ancestral medicines, including extensive experience learning and collaborating with teachers in the Amazon rainforest.
Her path started at a young age, and she embodied her gifts for service nourished by a spiritual pilgrimage that unfolded over a decade exploring the world. Guided by her intuition and inner call for self knowledge, she has trained with masters of diverse lineages and indigenous elders, and has received multiple initiations, leading her to be invited to guide and share her presence and experience on retreats, ceremonies, and one-on-one sessions in many countries.
She is the founder of Vida Munay, an initiative that bridges healing arts, social activism, and spiritual ecology. Co-creator at NunAndes, a conscious startup of botanical beauty for women. Leader of Dances of Universal Peace, yoga teacher, body worker, sun and water dancer, vision quester, student of Sufism, Buddhism, the Q’ero teachings and many other spiritual, healing, and meditative modalities. This diverse experience allows her to hold space for transformation in a very unique way, weaving together art, ritual, and science with grace and beauty. A devotee of Love, Life, nature, music, art and meditation, her life is one of continuous coherent practice and devotion – and empowering others to remember their true essence through love in action and presence.
Brian Dunham
Brian is an activist, artist, explorer, and guide whose greatest passion is to weave elegant chrysalises for the evolution of human consciousness with a life-changing journey embedded in the heart of the experience.
He is the founder of Evolutionary Journeys, a social enterprise startup that brought to life the visionary pilgrimages – A Celebration of Sacred Convergence and A Prayer for the Sanctuary of the Sacred Headwaters – and migrates between the ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay, Mt. Shasta, and Latin America.
Brian is a graduate of Coactive Coach Training, Marysia Miernokowski’s Apprenticeship to the Sacred Wild, Chloe Rain’s Wisdom of the Four Directions, and Pachama Alliance’s Game Changer Intensive training in evolutionary activism. He is currently walking the initiatory path of the Turpo and Q’ero lineages of the high Peruvian Andes, studying Sufism, as well as remembering the wisdom of his Celtic ancestors.
His most sacred apprenticeship was living at the base of Mt. Shasta in 2021: spending each day in a prayer of rewilding and right relationship, learning from plant allies, studying the books of visionary elders such as Arkan Lushwala, Lynne Twist, and Bill Plotkin, and communing with the rivers, lakes, and forests of this holy mountain that serves as the guardian angel of the sanctuary of the sacred headwaters.
In response to his love for our planet and the intertwined ecological and social justice crises facing humanity, Brian has made one unifying commitment to serve as his north star: the regeneration of Life on Earth in one generation – by the year 2050 when he turns 70 – and is calling in all allies who share the commitment to this dream.
Supporting Guides
Santiago Ayala
Santiago is a highly respected Shaman and a gifted healer. He has learned sacred teachings from many ancestral traditions. Santiago carries the blessings of his tribal chiefs, family and many indigenous elders. He is a Sun dancer, carrier of the sacred Chanupa (sacred pipe), and holds space for Vision Quests.
Santiago devoted his life to the shamanic path at age 26 after overcoming a serious illness. He is the co-founder of Casa del Sol and the guardian of one of the last San Pedro and Willka trees forests in southern Ecuador, preparing it in the traditional way to be used for healing purposes. His medicine songs, prayers and blessings carry a powerful intention to heal the heart and awaken the spirit.
Ximena Morales
Ximena is a mother, vision seeker, and co-founder of Casa del Sol. Her childhood was spent during the bloody internal conflict that occurred in Peru during the 80’s and 90’s, which profoundly marked her spiritual search from early on. She has lived in nature since the age of 21, next to rivers and mountains which feel like family for her in the Sacred Valley of the Longevity, Vilcabamba. Here she welcomed her children into the warmth of her home. Becoming a mother of four was her most sacred spiritual INITIATION, both challenging and sublime.
Ximena is initiated as a Pampamisayoc (Andean Priest) within the Andean Q’ero cosmovision and in the Turpo lineage – indigenous guardians of the sacred mountains, Apu Ausangate and Apu Qoyllurit’i – in the high Peruvian Andes. She also walks the red path of North American native traditions such as Sun Dancer and Vision Quester.
Yachak Waski Oscar Santillan
Yachak Waski Oscar Santillán is a respected Yachak (Teacher/Shaman) and ancestral Andean spiritual leader with extensive experience in ancestral medicine rooted in the wisdom of the Otavalo Kichwa people of Imbabura, located in the North of Ecuador. He has dedicated his life to preserving and sharing the wisdom of his ancestors, and has studied with great masters of Andean wisdom.
As the founder of the Yachay Wasi School, he has created a space dedicated to education and preservation of Andean ancestral culture for future generations. He has performed public ceremonies and rituals of great magnitude, including the inauguration of the first indigenous woman elected to deputy minister in Ecuador.
As a community and political leader, he is committed to cultural reaffirmation and the application of indigenous rights, and has been recognized by his community for his leadership and spiritual guidance.
Yana Bartova
Yana Bartova, known as Tatzimoi (“the bird that accompanies families with its song”), is a healer and teacher rooted in ancient traditions. Originally from the Czech Republic, she spent 10 years in Mexico studying medicine, temazcales, moon dances, and sacred singing. After a transformative experience with Amazonian master plants, she moved to South America to deepen her connection and work alongside her husband, Mira Jempe, guiding healing ceremonies worldwide.
In the Vilcabamba Valley, Yana founded the Agua Women’s Collective, a space for women to explore ancestral medicines, art, and singing. She lives with her family in the mountains, nurturing a sanctuary dedicated to the sacred mother, and is deeply grateful for the life and wisdom she shares.
Mira Jempe
Mira Jempe, born in the Czech Republic, faced debilitating body pain from a young age, ultimately diagnosed with “incurable” rheumatoid arthritis. Determined to find healing, Mira journeyed to Spain, where he discovered the power of movement and meditation with his teacher, John, a Chen-style Tai Chi master. These practices, combined with his creative expression through painting, helped him release physical and emotional blockages.
Mira’s path then led him to the Amazon, where he studied under Shuar healer Miguel Shiriap and other jungle healers, learning the transformative power of Sacred Master Plants. Over three years, Mira fully healed his body, overcoming the pain that had plagued him for years. Since 2010, Mira has been leading healing ceremonies worldwide, alongside his wife, Yana.
The name Jempe, meaning “Hummingbird,” was given to him by his teacher, symbolizing infinite energy, creativity, and a joyful spirit.