A guide to ethical spiritual travel: reflections from Colombia

Charting a path through the hazy maze of spiritual travel

Living in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, each year I see large numbers of travellers coming to the region to take part in a growing selection of retreats and ceremonies. On one hand, it’s wonderful to see many people - myself included - engage in their spirituality, and come to meet this place in ways that offer deep discovery and healing. On the other hand, I see a growing trend of commercial operators and at worst a slide towards new forms of appropriation, individualism and colonisation.

There’s so many wonderful things to say about the increasing availability of spiritual travel, but when these experiences have become transactional, money-making exercises, and when local culture and place is completely forgotten, something deeply damaging is happening. The mirky world of spiritual travel is a difficult space to navigate, but for those of us who recognise the importance of this travel being ethical, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia provides a good and widely-applicable example.

Is spiritual travel authentic or exploitative?

The quick answer is it’s more complex than that. But I do believe there are ways to ensure we are doing more good than harm. This is, of course, true in general, but perhaps even more so when we’re seeking experiences of a healing or revelatory significance in our lives.

In the age of conscious travel, many seek spiritually awakening experiences when exploring destinations in Colombia, Perú, Bali, India, and México. Retreat centers promise cacao ceremonies, ayahuasca, somatic healing, ecstatic dance, yoga, sound baths, women’s groups, men’s groups, and much more.

Sometimes these are sold in a similar way to spa treatments or weekend getaways that we have in Europe or North America, and sometimes these are marketed as ancient indigenous rituals that will transform your soul. Sometimes, they make claims about curing disease, depression, anxiety, relationships and much besides.

But how many of these practices are truly rooted in the indigenous traditions in places like here in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta? And how can we, as travelers, ensure we’re engaging with these experiences respectfully? How do we honour the other, the world out there (in places such as this) as well as ourselves and our personal development?

If you’re planning a spiritual journey to Colombia, the Amazon, or even another destination around the world - or you’re looking into ceremonies and retreats you’re considering while there - this guide may help you navigate this complex space with a bit more awareness.

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Ways to travel consciously and respect the sacred traditions of others

Here are some brief ideas:

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1. Research carefully before booking or attending a ceremony

If you’re seeking spiritual transformation through travel, it’s important to approach these experiences with due consideration. Above all, it’s wise to plan your spiritual experiences with a very high level of care, integrity, both for your own safety and wellbeing, and for that of the place, culture and community hosting you. Before travelling, do your research and ask yourself:

• Is this practice truly part of the local culture or is it something completely different? Is it really connecting you to the place you’re visiting? Or, conversely, is it just another way to consume cultural capital, boost your ego, and potentially disconnect you from the place you're visiting?

• Some local traditions are not intended to be shared with outsiders, and ceremonies and other cultural activities can often be deeply meaningful for local communities. In other words, these events are not always not designed as spectacles for travellers. Check in with this, and make sure you are invited.

• Who’s leading the ceremony and who’s benefiting from it? Are they really an indigenous elder or actually just a wellness entrepreneur out to make a quick buck? What lineage, training and experience do they have? Who are they? In addition, is the experience being shared with permission?

• Is the ceremony a money making exercise? If it’s expensive for locals, or feels overly commercialized, then it probably is, and should be avoided. The promotion of paid-for, money-making retreats is a very Western phenomena, and authentic healers are definitely not in it for the money.

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2. Support indigenous and locally-led initiatives

Instead of attending a commercialized retreat, seek opportunities to:

• Learn directly from indigenous communities, and local people on the ground. This is often not possible before you arrive, but when you arrive at your destination, do what you can to meet real, local people and not just other travellers. This is easier said than done, but even small interactions go a long way to make your experience genuinely meaningful.

• Support local artisans, farmers, craftspeople, land-workers, and traditional healers. Think about how you spend your money, how you behave, and more broadly how your travel is having an impact locally. You’re likely in a beautiful place, how can you ensure your travel is adding to that and not taking away from it?

• Participate in cultural exchanges that benefit both visitors and locals. In other words, seek to give back when you travel. Be yourself, yes, but be in relation to the place you find yourself in. Through this you can have a positive impact in the lives of those you encounter. Intercultural exchange sounds abstract, but meeting people openly and with empathy really can change lives. This is true for travellers and hosts alike.

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3. Avoid “shaman for hire” scenarios

Check in with who your spiritual guide is:

• Not everyone wearing traditional clothing and burning sage is a real shaman. Many self-proclaimed healers exploit indigenous wisdom for financial gain. Most tribe elders do not sell their ceremonies, instead sharing knowledge is part of a larger responsibility to their community. Again, if it's expensive, it's probably a fraud.

• If you are being invited by a spiritual leader to participate in a ritual or ceremony, ask what you can offer in exchange. Keep in mind, financial support is not always the greatest need, and you might be surprised by what they find valuable.

• Connecting with these leaders or communities does not always require a monetary exchange, but it does require open engagement, respect, and transparency. Part of this is about your own safety too, so don’t be afraid to ask questions, to have boundaries, and to seek the greater good (i.e. beyond your own collection of experiences).

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4. Be mindful of the land and the environment

Protecting the place your learning from:

• Be mindful of your behaviour whenever you’re participating in these ceremonies or any local rituals. Often this is about being present, and connecting authentically with people not as objects in your experience but as full, subjective lives with rich histories and wisdom. Go into these experiences with humility and reverence.  

• Respect sacred sites and natural spaces. Not every place should be used for ritual. Places, particularly in rural settings, often have immense community value beyond what is immediately obvious. For instance, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia the high mountains are sacred as a source of water (and thus life) and Los Picos is the origin of our existence according to the cosmology of the four tribes.

• Leave no trace. This should go without saying but spirituality should not come at the cost of environmental harm. Locals will likely be more than aware of this, and as a traveller you should be too. Avoid bringing or buying single use plastics, or in any other way contributing negatively to the landscapes you visit. Again, make efforts to have a positive impact.

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5. Conscious travel should involve gratitude and responsibility

Personal development needs personal responsibility and gratitude:

• Through my own experiences, I have found that real spiritual connection is not found in overpriced retreats or trendy ceremonies: it’s found in the way we move through the world. It comes from our day-to-day interactions with the external world. So let’s remember to embark on our journeys with awareness and respect for the wisdom of the cultures we will encounter, as well as a recognition of the impacts of our participation.
  

• In my life and travels, I’ve come to understand that gratitude is essential to day-to-day life, and this is the case for many people around the world. For me, it feels important to recognise that spiritual travel is a huge privilege, and that as creative beings we have power to affect change in the world. Indigenous groups in the Sierra Nevada practice “pagamentos” as an act of reciprocity with ritual offerings given to nature for the life we receive. This is as simple as an energy exchange that helps to restore balance.  

• So much of spiritual travel revolves around intentionality. It's less about taking medicines, and more about making medicines! Song, dance, and being in nature herself, these things are deep energetic forces for healing and happiness. For example, the Wiwa grandmothers in the Sierra Nevada gather to sing and dance as a form of offering to the land for what it provides. Your intention to connect and move in a way that helps you bond with something beyond yourself, this is where healing and discovery are to be found.