Bufo
Two ceremonies. Eight guests. A ten-week framework built around them. One of the very few dedicated Bufo retreats running in Europe.
Apply NowWhat Bufo actually is
Bufo is 5-MeO-DMT.
A naturally occurring compound, originally identified in the secretion of the Sonoran Desert Toad. The experience lasts roughly fifteen to thirty minutes. It is typically non-visual. What it does, reliably and completely, is dissolve the sense of being a separate self.
This is the distinction that matters. Most medicines show you something. Bufo removes the one who is looking. People come back describing unity, love, and a certainty that does not translate into language. Then they have to work out how to live with what they saw. That second part is the reason this retreat exists in the shape it does.
From administration to return. Brief, total, and unlike anything else.
Never in a group. Each guest is held individually, with continuous support.
Within your session you have the opportunity for up to three takes, guided by your facilitator and by what you are ready to meet.
Consecutive days. The second is often described as the more significant of the two.
The conversation has arrived
Bryan Johnson, one of the world's most visible voices on longevity and human performance, recently shared his Bufo experience publicly and described it as among the most significant events of his life. That has moved 5-MeO-DMT from the fringe into serious conversation. Dedicated Bufo retreats, though, remain genuinely rare in Europe. Most offerings here bolt a short session onto a longer medicine week. This is not that.
Ego Dissolution
A complete, temporary release from the constructed self. Widely described as the deepest rest the nervous system is capable of.
Mystical Unity
A direct encounter with non-dual awareness. Participants consistently report unity, love, and a profound sense of belonging.
Psychological Reset
Emerging research suggests reductions in anxiety, depression, PTSD and existential distress following single sessions, with many reporting lasting shifts.
Reorientation
Founders and leaders frequently describe a radical reordering of priorities: a clarity about what matters that outlasts the ceremony by months or years.
The retreat is week five of ten
Anyone can put you in a room with a medicine. The harder question is what happens to the experience afterwards. Fifteen minutes of dissolution can become a story you tell at dinner, or it can restructure how you live. The difference is almost entirely integration. Our retreat sits inside a ten-week depth psychology container built for exactly that, with two one-to-one coaching calls, one before and one after.
Four nights in the
Portuguese countryside.
The shape below is indicative. Each retreat is shaped by what the group and the land call for. Woven throughout: nature walks, sound, yoga, breathwork, and unstructured time to do nothing at all.
Arrival and Attunement
Arrive, settle, meet your fellow travellers. Opening circle and intention setting, followed by a full talk on Bufo: what it is, how it works, what to expect, how to meet it. Time to rest and arrive properly.
First Ceremony
Your first session, held one to one with continuous support. Within your ceremony you have the opportunity for up to three takes of the medicine, guided by your facilitator and by what you are ready to meet. The remainder of the day offers a menu of options as you feel called: nature, rest, sound, movement, or simply being. Evening sharing circle.
Second Ceremony
Your second session, often the more significant of the two. Many describe a qualitative shift from the first. Again, up to three takes, held individually. The same menu of supported options follows. There is no obligation to do anything other than be with what happened.
Integration and Meaning-Making
Facilitated depth psychology work using the Numinity framework. Shadow, archetype, and the slow work of bringing something wordless into language and into life.
Closing and Return
Final sharing circle, closing ceremony, and a curated integration resource pack. The connections and commitments that carry the medicine home.
"The most profound experience of my life.
I connected with the divine.
Pure love."
Ten weeks. Two ceremonies.
Eight people.
· Five days and four nights residential in rural Portugal
· Ten-week depth psychology framework
· Two one-to-one coaching calls, pre and post retreat
· All meals and accommodation
· Pre-retreat screening call
· Integration resource pack
Before you apply
Where is the retreat held?
In the Portuguese countryside, at a private venue chosen for its seclusion, its natural surroundings, and the quality of the air. Full venue details and travel guidance are shared once your place is confirmed.
What does "up to three takes" mean?
Within each one-to-one ceremony, there is the opportunity for up to three separate administrations of the medicine. This is not a fixed schedule. Your facilitator works with what is present, and how many takes you have is a decision made together, in the room, based on what you are ready to meet.
Do I need previous psychedelic experience?
Previous experience with plant medicine or psychedelics is strongly preferred. Bufo is among the most intense non-ordinary states available and we do not generally recommend it as a first psychedelic experience. Every applicant is screened individually and speaks with a facilitator before acceptance.
Is Bufo safe?
5-MeO-DMT carries real risks and requires careful screening. Cardiovascular conditions, a personal or family history of psychosis, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, and certain medications including SSRIs and MAOIs are significant contraindications. Everyone completes a detailed health screening and speaks with a facilitator before acceptance. Ceremonies are held one guest at a time with continuous support.
How long does the experience actually last?
Fifteen to thirty minutes from administration to return. The integration period is considerably longer, which is exactly why we built a ten-week container around a five-day retreat rather than selling the five days on their own.
What support is there outside the retreat itself?
Two one-to-one coaching calls are included, one before you travel and one after you return. Alongside those, the ten-week framework provides structured group work either side of the retreat, and you leave with a curated integration resource pack.
What happens after I apply?
We read every application personally. If it looks like a fit, we arrange a call to talk properly, answer your questions, and make sure this is genuinely the right work for you at this point in your life. Applying is not a commitment.
Eight places
Applications are read personally and places are offered after a conversation. If something in this page has landed, that is worth paying attention to.
Begin Your ApplicationApplications close when the retreat is full.