5 Ecuadorian yoga retreats and wellness centers offering you inner peace and serenity
It’s been a long year; hell, it’s been an agonizingly long two years! At this point, most of us are feeling stressed out as we try to adjust to the ever-changing “new normal.” To fully relax, make time for yourself, and let go of your everyday worries, a luxury yoga and/or wellness tour may well be just what you need and deserve.
Here in the remote and strikingly scenic Ecuador, we’ve vetted our country’s very best yoga and wellness retreats in each of the nation’s four regions. These are relaxing getaways that focus on the personal care and attention needed to give your body and mind the strength and peace you require.
In the following, we present the top five retreats that we include in our luxury Ecuador/Galapagos island tours:
Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands: Semilla Verde Boutique Hotel
If nature, science, or wildlife moves you as much as yoga, there’s no better place to visit than the unparalleled Galapagos Islands. You’ll find this legendary archipelago to be a truly unique UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers the perfect melding of yoga and an unblemished example of a wild and natural world.
Based at the Semilla Verde Boutique Hotel, seasoned yoga therapists and somatic educators will be your instructors as well as your island guides offering a daily class to balance your daily nature-centered activities – where the islands themselves will offer the inspiration!
Following your physically and spiritually rejuvenating sessions with a small, private group, you can enjoy the rich biodiversity of the islands’ protected native wildlife, many of whom are unafraid of humans. Swim with sea lions and benign sharks, spot tiny Galapagos penguins and elegant flamingos, and watch the dance of dragon-like marine iguanas and comical blue-footed boobies on volcanic rocks. Overall, this experience offers a chance to connect with yourself and nature like few others.
Andean Cloud Forest: Mashpi Lodge
Situated in a 40,000-acre subtropical reserve in the heart of the undulating hills of the Andean cloud forest, Mashpi Lodge is a unique hideaway. Regularly voted one of the best lodges of its kind in all of South America, this boutique lodge offers an unforgettable experience, combining cutting-edge luxury and immersion into nature.
In addition to practicing your favorite asana on the lodge’s welcoming yoga deck, indulge in the lodge’s Samay (“soul” in native Kichwa) Wellness Center, which is a space where care is highly personalized and life itself is celebrated. This area features a Jacuzzi framed by eye-catching carved wooden panels, open to the breezes and sounds of the forest, perfect for relaxing after hikes.
Specialized massages and treatments using natural local ingredients such as earth, stones, herbs, and leaves from the reserve are given in an adjoining room, from which guests are left refreshed and revived. This wellness area is accessible via a short path that winds through the lush foliage, offering great opportunities for viewing numerous species of birds, relaxing in the covered open-air hot tub, and reconnecting with the essence of life itself.