Haramara Retreat

After dark at Haramara, the light comes from oil lamps and candles. The sleeping casitas have no electricity, and there are no phones, internet or fax on the property. Anyone who needs them walks into Sayulita. The retreat sits on 12 private acres between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific, in the coastal Riviera Nayarit, above a beach of its own. It holds up to 50 guests, and unpaved trails connect everything on the hillside.

The place began as a question, which its owner, Sajeela, puts in her own note. Could the principles of the yogic understanding of life take shape in a place "suspended in a state of meditation," where the eightfold path could be followed naturally? She calls Haramara her "personal and resounding response." One of the retreat's visiting groups describes the name as that of an ancient Huichol goddess of the ocean.

The yoga happens in two open pavilions with high thatched roofs, handcrafted hardwood floors and 360-degree views of mountains and sea, stocked with props. Down near the water, Larimar is the open-air healing center, where 12 therapists offer massage styles from Shiatsu to Thai, along with acupuncture, Biomagnetism and body treatments. On Wednesday evenings only, a Temazcal sweatlodge ceremony is held. The kitchen follows what the retreat calls the wisdom of the Vedas, treating each meal as a ceremony, with a daily menu built around seafood and vegetarian dishes.

Most weeks belong to visiting teachers and their groups, with retreats booked through autumn 2026 and into 2027. Individuals can also come on a personal retreat, whether a Basic Getaway of a casita and two meals a day or a Sampler Getaway they build themselves. The retreat asks guests to stay on the paths and to bring organic toiletries, and it advises that the steep, slippery terrain suits neither young children nor people with limited mobility.