5 Day Vegetarian Cooking and Amazon Yoga Holiday in Tarapoto, Peru
Cooking Course and Yoga Retreat Peru
If you love cooking and want fresh ideas for vegetarian cooking, if you want to learn to cook, if you're a foodie or a health enthusiast, or if you are looking to explore vegetarian, vegan, or raw food then you will love this culinary and yoga retreat. During this retreat, you will prepare and eat delicious food, learn, explore, practice yoga and meditation, rest, improve your health, and so much more. Vegetarian cuisine is both tasty and culturally diverse and this retreat aims to show you just that. Come discover new recipes, your talent as a cook, a new place and new people, as well as information that can inspire you to live a healthier and richer life. Proud winner of TripAdvisor 2022 Travelers' Choice Award, this award speaks to the great service and experience we at Tambo Ilusion provide their guests. Tambo team would love to have the privilege of treating you to the "Tambo Ilusion experience"!
Highlights
- Dive into the art of plant-based cooking with hands-on workshops led by Johanne
- Enjoy a highly personalized retreat with a maximum of two participants
- Rejuvenating yoga and meditation afternoon sessions
- Savor healthy, balanced vegetarian and/or vegan meals prepared with love and intention
- Gain hands-on experience in preparing a variety of dishes
- Expert guidance and support
- 4 nights in a cozy private bungalow with a screened porch and hammocks
- Experience the vibrant local culture with a visit to a nearby food market
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Yoga styles
5 days with instruction in English
Accommodation
Facilities
- Environmentally friendly
- Multilingual staff
- Yoga shala
- Laundry
If the luxury of a five-star establishment is what you are looking for, Tambo Ilusion might not be for you. Tambo Ilusion is not a resort, it is more of a countryside home. Tambo Ilusion is a place for nature lovers.
At Tambo Ilusion, guests sleep in rustic bungalows equipped with two very comfortable double beds and mosquito nets, its private bathroom with heated shower and a screened-in veranda with two hanging hammocks for your enjoyment. Each bungalow has electricity as well as a solar lamp.
Tambo Ilusion is dedicated to offer its guests a wonderfully rich experience at a reasonable price. Not only will you leave this wellness retreat feeling recharged, refreshed, and inspired, you will also have the satisfaction of having made a difference contributing in helping Tambo Ilusion protect a small part of the Amazon rainforest.
Striving for excellence
Tambo Ilusion is proud to share the award received from TripAdvisor: "Certificate of Excellence 2019". Tambo Ilusion has received this same recognition in 2015, 2016 and 2017. This award celebrates excellence in hospitality, and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great reviews on TripAdvisor.
Program
This tropical nature reserve, operated by Johanne and Armando, a Canadian/Peruvian couple, is ideal for a nurturing vacation. In 2014, Tambo Ilusion was chosen as one of Peru's top five yoga retreat centers in a publication of El Comercio. You are sure to enjoy your stay.
Johanne, Tambo Ilusion's host, is thrilled to share her passion and knowledge of healthy and delicious plant-based food preparation and yoga. You will experience time and again how wholesome food prepared with love and good intention is delicious, eye-pleasing, and fulfilling. Johanne holds a vegetarian nutrition certificate and a certificate from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.
She worked as a cook in a hostel in Costa Rica for over a year, as well as at Tambo Ilusion for 3 years. Johanne is happy to share her knowledge and passions with her guests. Johanne will teach you how to prepare and eat more plant-based and raw foods without dogma and fanaticism. Her goal isn't to convert anyone to vegetarianism but to encourage and inspire people to eat a balanced diet.
If you already follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you might become savvier and come away with delightful recipes, as the possibilities of vegetarian dishes are endless. There's so much you can do with fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, lentils, and peas), whole grains, nuts, and seeds, which are all part of a balanced vegetarian diet. Come learn to transform these into delightful dining experiences that are sure to excite your palate and engage your senses.
The content of the cooking workshops within this retreat is informative, easy to understand, and digest. You will receive hands-on experience preparing food, practical tips, and tricks, as well as taste delicious food.
You will learn to prepare nourishing breakfasts, learn about superfoods, sprouting, juicing, fermenting, dehydrating, making smoothies, plant-based milk, raw desserts, and more. Each workshop is hands-on, relaxed, and full of practical tips. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions as you prepare meals from start to finish—making the experience both educational and enjoyable.
Eating nutritious foods and exercising are two of the most important ways in which the actions you take on a daily basis contribute to your overall health and well-being. Thus, this program would not be complete without yoga practice.
Imagine five glorious days spent in a beautiful natural reserve, eating well, spending half the day in the kitchen learning the how-tos of vegetarian, vegan, and raw food preparation, including raw desserts! You’ll meet Johanne in the kitchen at around 8:30, prepare breakfast together, and take the time to sit down and enjoy our breakfast.
You'll then get started with preparing the midday meal together and will enjoy a sit-down lunch. The second part of the day will be spent rejuvenating by practicing yoga and meditation, swimming in a gorgeous freshwater lagoon, lying in your hammock, etc. The evening meals are prepared by Yermed, the assistant cook. Nights are meant to digest, rest, and observe the stars. You will surely leave Tambo Ilusion feeling rested, empowered, and inspired in many ways.
Sample daily schedule
- 08:30 Preparation of breakfast and enjoy a sit-down breakfast
- 10:00 cooking workshop preparing the midday meal
- 13:00 Lunch
- 14:00 Free time
- 16:30 Yoga and meditation practice
- 18:00 Free time
- 19:00 Supper
Included excursions
A visit to a local market is included in the program.
The market experience is one that should not be missed while traveling. You will visit a food market so you can be part of the local scene and get a feel of the local culture. You shall get to explore regional cuisine and witness the variety of products offered. You'll see the locals, including what they eat, how they dress, how they relate to each other, etc. This little adventure will enrich your travel experience. You could practice your language skills, take a few pictures, and you might buy a few souvenirs.
Retreat location
Tambo Ilusion Wellness Retreat Center is very well located and is easily accessible. It is located less than 20 minutes away from the local airport and 15 minutes from the center of Tarapoto city, yet, when one enters the property, one feels totally immersed in nature.
Tambo Ilusion is a beautiful nature reserve of 14 hectares (34.6 acres) recognized by the Ministry of Environment of Peru as a private conservation area. Tambo Ilusion is located in the rural area of Tarapoto situated in the San Martin region of Peru (in the Amazon rainforest); northeast of Lima. Here the Andes meet the Amazon and offer a spectacular view!
Tarapoto, Peru
Tarapoto is the main gateway to the northeastern jungle of Peru. Located in the San Martin province of the San Martin region, midway between the high jungle and the Amazon plains. Tarapoto is linked to the upper Amazon and the historic city of Yurimaguas by a relatively well-maintained newly paved trans-Andean highway. The city is located in the valley between the rivers Mayo and Ahuashiyacu and is the center of the terrestrial networks and of the areas between the mountains, the coast, and eastern Peru.
Tarapoto is the main tourist hub of this part of Peru and is often used as a jump off point for excursions into the vast Amazon rainforest where diversity in species reaches its maximum expression such as in Tingana and Pacaya Samiria national reserve and for tours of the northeast of Peru including the Chachapoyas culture in Amazonas with its fascinating but not well known archaeology and history, the Gran Vilaya ruins, and the Kuelap fortress (Machu Picchu of the North).
Furthermore, beautiful landscapes, amazing waterfalls, lagoons, orchids, and adventure tourism such as river rafting and hiking in the tropical Andes and bird watching attract numerous visitors to this area.
Tambo Ilusion
Tambo Ilusion is a beautiful nature reserve of 14 hectares (34.6 acres) recognized by the Ministry of Environment of Peru as a private conservation area (ACP). The objects of conservation are its natural spring and the forest. Tambo Ilusion is also a guest house and retreat center which offers alternative lodging and retreat programs. Located in the rural area of Tarapoto in the San Martin region of Peru, Tambo Ilusion will transport you miles away from the city life.
Tambo Ilusion is a place for nature lovers and for people who appreciate country living and who want to experience living on a conservation area in the jungle.
This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly
Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats
Food
Breakfast, lunch, and supper are included in the price. Wholesome vegetarian meals are prepared three times daily. You will prepare breakfasts and lunches during the workshops. Fruits and vegetables are fresh and seasonal. Some of the fruit comes from the retreats own trees and include citrus, papayas, mangoes, bananas, and star fruits. Special dietary needs can be accommodated with advance notice.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Lacto-ovo Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Raw food
- Lactose Free
- Whole food
- Other dietary requirements on request
Things to do (optional)
- Get a massage or Reiki session
- Optional tours
What's included
- 4 daily three-hour+ hands-on culinary workshops
- 3 delicious vegetarian meals a day
- 4 yoga and meditation classes
- Johanne's Nutrition guide and Recipe Book (PDF)
- 4 nights accommodation
- A happy hour sunset equine-imity stroll
- A visit to a local market
- Free time for swimming in the freshwater lagoon or relaxing in your hammock...
- Mind-body nutrition talks
- Transfer to and from the airport by mototaxi (15-minute drive)
- Complimentary limited Wi-Fi internet in the dining area
What's not included
- Optional activities (massage, Reiki)
- Optional tours
- Gratuities
- Bank fees
- Airfare
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Transfer included
Cad. FAP Guillermo del Castillo Paredes Airport[1]
5 km away from your destination
Arrival by airplane
The flight from Lima's International airport (LIM) to Tarapoto (TPP) takes one hour and fifteen minutes. There are four airline companies that fly daily to Tarapoto (Star Peru, LATAM, Sky, and Viva Air). Airport taxes and fees are now included in the price of the tickets for international as well as domestic flights. The flight from Iquitos (IQT) to Tarapoto (TPP) takes one hour. Tambo Ilusión is located 15 minutes away from the airport. Transfers to and from the airport by moto-taxi (similar to Thailand's tuk-tuk) are included.
Driving directions from Tarapoto
- From Tarapoto, head towards El Distrito de la Banda de Shilcayo on the highway to Yurimaguas.
- At kilometer 2.5 of the highway to Yurimaguas (just past the entrance to La Laguna Venecia), there is a dirt road on the right. Take that dirt road.
- You will soon come to a fork, keep right.
- Tambo Ilusion is about 500 meters from that fork.
Arrival by bus
There are two bus routes to get to Tarapoto. One is by passing through Chiclayo, to get to Tarapoto is a 30-hour bus ride (approximately 1500 kilometers or 930 miles) on a good highway. There are two decent bus companies: Movil Tour and CIVA. To make the trip easier, look into the possibility of cutting the trip by stopping in Chiclayo, a coastal city, for a day or two as the route goes that way anyway.
In Chiclayo, there are two important museums: Museo Nacional Tumbas Reales de Sipan and Museo Bruning. Getting to Tarapoto by bus from any town north of Lima along the Peruvian coast is relatively easy.
The other option is a bus route from Lima going through Tingo Maria. This route is about 500 kilometers less mileage than going through Chiclayo, and it takes about 23 hours. The bus goes through the Andes to get to the jungle; it passes through a city called Ticlio, which is at an altitude of 4818 meters.
Arrival by ferry
There is a three-day boat ride to Iquitos and Yurimaguas on the Huallaga, Maran, and Amazonas rivers. Once in Yurimaguas, take a bus to Tarapoto (2 hours and 30 minutes ride).
GPS
- Latitude - 0627 South
- Longitude - 7623 West
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 15% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 5 days before arrival.
Reviews
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