Women's Healing Retreat in Otavalo, Andes

Warmi Kawsay: A Sacred Healing Retreat for Women in the Heart of the Andes

Join us in the majestic mountains of Otavalo, Ecuador for Warmi Kawsay — “the living spirit of woman.” This deeply nourishing retreat is a sacred space for women to reconnect with their inner wisdom, release what no longer serves, and awaken their divine feminine power.

Through traditional healing practices, a San Pedro ceremony, ancestral rituals, womb healing, and visits to sacred lagoons and waterfalls, we gather in sisterhood to heal, remember, and rise. Guided by experienced facilitators and the revered Andean healer Mama Mercedes, this journey invites you to restore harmony in body, mind, and spirit — supported by the Earth, the ancestors, and the loving power of the feminine.

Come home to yourself. You are held here.

Warmi Kawsay Retreat

Women's Andean Healing Retreat in Otavalo, Ecuador

"Warmi" means woman, in Kichwa, and "Kawsay" is a deeply spiritual word often used to describe sacred or conscious life.

Upcoming Dates:

December 3-9, 2025
February 12-18, 2026

Join us in the sacred Andes for a 7-day Women’s Healing Retreat in Otavalo, Ecuador—an immersive journey of traditional Andean medicine, feminine empowerment, and soul connection.

Designed exclusively for women, this transformative retreat is guided by beloved Andean healer Mama Mercedes, who brings decades of experience in ancestral healing, womb work, and herbal medicine. You’ll be held in a nurturing space where your body, spirit, and heart are deeply honored and supported.

Mama Mercedes is an indigenous healer from Imbabura Province who from a young age was visited by spirits who initiated her into her path of shamanic healing. Through these spiritual experiences in childhood, her psychic and healing abilities were awakened. She continued her spiritual studies with her grandmother, who was a traditional healer and midwife. Mercedes is the president of Otavalo's midwifery organization, and is seen as a leader in her community. She serves her community tirelessly, beginning her day at sunrise, and finishing long after sunset, working in the clinic Jambi Wasi, and then seeing patients in their homes, weekday and weekend. Though she has had a very challenging life, she is one of the most positive, funny, energetic people I know! She is always laughing and making others laugh with her big personality. We are truly blessed to work with her!

Over the course of the retreat, you’ll experience:

Energetic cleansings and plant bath rituals
Healing ritual in powerful, sacred Lagoon Mojanda
Ceremony for Pachamama
Herbal medicine prescriptions specific to each guest
Visits to sacred lagoons, waterfalls, and volcanoes
Daily women’s circles, meditation, and movement
Workshops about Andean cosmology, mind, body + spirit healing
Gentle hikes, grounding practices, and rest
Nourishing, locally sourced meals to support your healing
Accomodations in beautiful house near Otavalo, surrounded by sacred volcanoes

Set in the beautiful highlands of Otavalo, this women’s retreat is ideal for those seeking reconnection to their inner wisdom, spiritual renewal, and feminine energy. Whether you are healing physical disease, emotional wounds, seeking clarity, or stepping into a new phase of your life, this journey offers powerful tools rooted in nature and ancestral tradition.

Here, you are invited to awaken your sacred feminine energy, restore balance, and remember who you truly are—held by the Earth, guided by spirit, and uplifted by a circle of sisters.

Healing in sisterhood, honoring tradition

Location

We will be in a gorgeous housenestled in the Andes of Otavalo, surrounded by several powerful, sacred volcanoes. The house has a gorgeous view of the Taita Imbabura Volcano and Lake San Pablo.

Accomodations are humble but comfortable.

We offer fresh, local, organic meals and can cater to your dietary needs. We mainly serve vegetarian foods but also offer fish and chicken, and always have an assortment of fruits to snack on, as well as herbal teas + cacao.

Sample Itinerary:

Day 1: Welcome! We will enjoy a snack and get to know each other and the reteat house, lighting a fire to start our retreat. We will begin with a ceremony for Pachamama, with a limpia and plant bath ritual to begin the retreat honoring the sacred elements, the land, and begin the process of cleansing. Then, we will enjoy a home cooked meal.

Day 2: We will have a morning meditation and yoga session, enjoy breakfast, and then take a trip to Cotacachi to visit the sacred lagoon, Cuicocha, going for a hike (you will be able to decide how far you'd like to walk). We will have lunch in town, and then head back to the house for massages with Mama Mercedes. We will all have dinner together at the house. Later, we can have a fire, or just relax, journaling.

Day 3: We will start the morning again with meditation and yoga, enjoy breakfast and then take a trip to Otavalo to retrieve the prescibed herbs. We will make our herbal medicines, and share a women's circle, with a womb workshop. Lunch, and then we will take a trip to Laguna Mojanda for a special healing ritual with Mama Mercedes. We will come back to the house, enjoy dinner, and rest.

Day 4: Today we will start the day with meditation and yoga, enjoy breakfast, and take a trip to Otavalo to see the famous artisan market. This is the biggest craft market in Ecuador. We will have lunch in town, and then head back to the house for a workshop about mind, body + spirit healing. We'll share dinner, and have time to rest, enjoy a fire.

Day 5: Again we will start the day with yoga and meditation, enjoy breakfast, and go to visit Peguche waterfall and sacred caves. We will walk around this area, get a tour of the caves and bring offerings for the energies of these places. We will then return to the house, have lunch, and enjoy a workshop with Mama Mercedes about the Andean cosmovision.

Day 6: Today we will have meditation and yoga in the morning, enjoy breakfast, and then take a trip to Quito to visit the ancient ruins of Catequilla, the location of the true middle of the Earth. We will enjoy lunch in Quito, and then return to Otavalo. We will have a Cacao ceremony to give gratitude to the spirits and connect with the medicine of our hearts, followed by dance and music by the fire, and dinner.

Day 7: We will have breakfast together, have a sharing circle and finish the retreat in the morning.

ALTHOUGH THIS IS THE BASIC PLAN, WHEN WORKING WITH MAMA MERCEDES, THINGS USUALLY POP UP WHICH MAKE THE EXPERIENCE EVEN MORE SPONTANEOUS AND FUN. BE OPEN TO SOME POSSIBLE CHANGES.

"This retreat was one of the most deeply healing and life-changing experiences I've ever had. The land itself holds such powerful, nurturing energy—it felt like being held by the earth. Every ceremony was guided with so much intention, care, and integrity. I felt safe, seen, and supported in ways I didn’t even know I needed.
The connection with the plants, the rituals, the nature, and the community opened something inside me that I had long forgotten. I left feeling clearer, lighter, and more connected to myself, my purpose, and the world around me. I’m beyond grateful for this experience and can’t recommend it enough to anyone feeling called to reconnect with their spirit and the natural world. Thank you thank you thank you!"

- Sara, 2025

Mama Mercedes

Mama Mercedes is an indigenous ancestral medicine healer from Imbabura Province, near Otavalo. Since she was a young girl, she began working with her special gifts, learning from her grandmother how to work with herbal medicines, traditional midwifery, and energy healing. She has the unique ability to be able to see the problems and illnesses of others, and cures these issues with plants, massage, and energy cleansings and ritual baths. She was elected president of the traditional midwifery organization of Otavalo and is a leader in the indigenous community. She is a woman of wisdom with a big heart and a great laugh.

Katie

Founder of this center, a spiritual medicine guide, and ceremonialist of Wachuma, San Pedro. Born in the US, she has been walking the spiritual path for 8 years and holding space in ceremonies and retreats for 6 years. She has studied under the guidance of her partner Miguel, a mestizo shaman in Andean + Shuar lineage, as well working with Mama Mercedes, an indigenous Kichwa Andean healer and midwife. Her role at the healing center is to lead, guide, and empower people to reconnect with themselves, Spirit and Mother Earth.

She holds space and serves San Pedro medicine, supporting the healing process of visitors. With a loving and compassionate nature, her wish is for everyone to experience the magic of love and self-healing through different elements, including sacred plants.