Join us for a soul-nourishing escape to the lush forested valleys of Central Portugal for six days of yoga, mindfulness, forest walks, and deep rest at the beautiful Vale de Moses Retreat. Nestled in a remote, rewilded corner of the Serra de Estrela foothills, Vale de Moses offers the perfect sanctuary for reconnecting with nature – and with yourself.
Our beautiful venue, Vale de Moses has been featured in the National Geographic as one of the top 5 retreats in Europe and listed by Forbes, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Yoga Journal, OmYoga Magazine and others as one of the best retreats in the world!
Led by experienced retreat facilitators Siôn Jones and Rosanna Gordon, this 6-day retreat invites you to immerse in the rhythms of the forest and the stillness of inner being. You’ll be guided through daily yoga and meditation practices, forest bathing walks, delicious homemade food, and time spent in community and solitude alike.
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Vale de Moses is more than a retreat centre – it's an invitation to come home to the Earth. You’ll practice in a stunning wooden yoga shala suspended above the valley, share stories by the fire under the stars, plunge into river pools, sweat in the forest sauna, and sleep peacefully in charming stone cottages or belle tents under the canopy of wild strawberry trees.
The Retreat Includes:
– 5 nights stay at Vale de Moses Retreat Centre
– Daily Hatha Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Guided Meditation sessions
– Mindfulness workshop with practices for daily life
– Evening Yoga Nidras for deep rest
- A day excursion to the beautiful Rio Zêzere
– Daily vegetarian/vegan breakfast, lunch, and dinner, made from local and homegrown produce
– Teas, coffee and fruit available throughout the day
– Guided nature walks through forest trails and river valleys
– Access to the forest sauna, river pools, and hammocks
– Time for relaxation, reflection and connection
– Optional massages and Ayurvedic treatments (booked separately)
Whether you’re seeking to reset your nervous system, rekindle your connection with nature, or simply enjoy a beautiful break from the busyness of life – this retreat is a chance to truly exhale, and be.
Who It's For?
All levels of yoga and meditation experience are welcome. Whether you're new to practice or looking to deepen your journey, our retreat offers a welcoming, supportive and non-judgmental space for exploration and rest.
About the Location: Vale de Moses, Portugal
Vale de Moses is a peaceful retreat centre located in the forested mountains of Central Portugal, about 2 hours from Lisbon and Porto. Once a traditional mountain farm, it’s now a space dedicated to rest, healing, and reconnection with nature.
Surrounded by pine and eucalyptus forests, the centre includes rustic stone cottages and comfortable belle tents, a beautiful wooden yoga shala with panoramic valley views, forest sauna, river pools for wild swimming, and walking trails that wind through ancient terraces and streams.
Meals are freshly prepared using homegrown and local ingredients, and the environment is designed to support deep relaxation. It’s an ideal setting to step away from the demands of daily life and reconnect with yourself in nature.
Passing Time
Between classes and shared meals, you’ll have space to enjoy your free time however you wish. We encourage you to make the most of this immersion in nature—whether through forest bathing, gentle walks, invigorating hikes, wild swimming, or simply soaking up the sun and listening to the natural world around you.
Emerging research into forest bathing reveals the healing power of simply being among trees. Pine forests release phytoncides—natural compounds with therapeutic effects—into the air we breathe. This revitalising atmosphere supports our wellbeing with every mindful breath. When we bring awareness to bodily sensations in nature, we’re reminded of our deep connection to the living world. The trees respond. The birds harmonise with our presence.
Surrounding the valley are countless scenic trails through wooded hillsides and flower-filled meadows—perfect for wandering, hiking, or running in solitude. You’ll find secluded paths untouched by time, leading to hilltops with sweeping views over the Zêzere River, all the way to Portugal’s highest mountain, Serra da Estrela.
Fresh mountain water flows throughout the land in the form of streams, waterfalls, and tranquil pools. These clear waters invite you to dip, splash, and float in their cool embrace. If you're up for a longer adventure, the Rio Zêzere is about an hour’s walk through the forest and offers a wider stretch for swimming.
Scattered across the valley, you’ll discover quiet corners and hidden nooks—hammocks, benches, chairs, and tucked-away spots—where you can rest, reflect, read, or nap in the restorative stillness of the forest. Let the sound of flowing water and birdsong wash over you. Breathe in the deep, earthy scent of the trees.
Travel:
We suggest flying into Lisbon or Porto and enjoying time in the city or by the beach before heading up to the retreat centre. The retreat starts on Monday giving you a few days in Lisbon over the weekend before if you so wish.
For those looking to reach the centre by public transport, we recommend travelling via Lisbon for regular Rede Expressos coach services to the local town of Oleiros, where we’ll pick you up for the short drive to the valley. You can buy your coach tickets online (only visible a month in advance), via the Rede Expressos or via the MyRNE app on Apple or Google Play, from Lisboa Sete Rios to Oleiros . The Sete Rios coach station in Lisbon is located close to both the airports and city centre and easily accessible by metro, shuttle bus or taxi.
For those driving from Lisbon or Porto, you’ll find the most up to date and accurate directions on Google maps, as some roads don’t always featured on sat navs.
. Please note that flights and transfers are not included in the retreat cost.
Meals:
Here's some information from the hosts about the meals we will be eating:
You won't be hungry as we feel it's important to nourish your body while staying with us. We're feeders! We lovingly prepare three delicious and nutritious vegetarian/vegan meals every day. Fresh vegetables, salads and fruit available from our own or our neighbours' gardens during the season and from our favourite local greengrocers in Oleiros.
Our talented plant-based chefs bring passion and joy to their cooking. They have years of experience with vegetarian and vegan food in a variety of settings around the world. Their fusion of ingredients, spices and flavours, according to the principles of Ayurveda, mean every dish is not only tasty but also easy to digest.
Acoomodation:
All accommodations include:
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Storage space for your clothes
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Hot water bottles
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Easy access to hammocks or sun loungers
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Fully furnished with carpets and lighting
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Good quality pillows and duvets
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Heaters or wood burning stoves
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Mosquito nets
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Nearby access to indoor bathrooms
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Nearby access to 3 outdoor showers
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Personal towels for the week
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Personal bathrobe for the week
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Beds are either quality mattresses or superb Portuguese made futons
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Memory foam toppers, cotton sheets and blankets
Wherever you stay, you will have nearby access to a selection of indoor and outdoor bathrooms and showers. All the beds are quality Portuguese-made mattresses with memory foam toppers, cotton sheets, blankets, mosquito nets, good pillows and duvets. Restorative sleep is an essential part of your retreat with us. Single, double and shared accommodation options are available.
Since our hosts arrived in 2008, they threw themselves wholeheartedly into restoring the four Xisto stone cottages at Vale de Moses, with great care and respect to the old local Portuguese traditions of building with natural materials: clay, lime, stone and wood.
You can choose from private double bedrooms in the main farmhouse (none have en-suites), or more popular with our returning guests, a place in one of the shared, open-plan cottages in the river valley below (Moses/Adega Cottage). If you prefer a glamping experience, sleep in one of several belle tents each mounted on separate stone terraces, with hammocks hanging in the shade of strawberry fruit trees or medronheiras. Our hosts live on site so their animals will also be present: 2 dogs, 2 pot-bellied pigs and 3 cats! They don't go anywhere near accommodation or shared spaces but you might see them around the property.
Pricing
Glamp in a Strawberry Belle Tent (Single, double or twin occupancy - see images below)
Sheltered under the shade of strawberry fruit trees peppered along a stone-terraced valley, each belle tent has the same comfy beds as the cottages, electricity for lights and charging devices, and a wood-burning stove for the cooler spring and autumn nights. There are hammocks and sun loungers close by and wooden cabins with really nice compost toilets - so that all our guests can nourish the forest ecosystems every day during their stay - and private showers with spring valley water heated by the sun or in one of the gas-fired showers along your walk to the farmhouse.
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Private belle tent - £1,095
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Double or twin belle tent - £975
Moses & Adega Cottage (shared stone cottages)
The Moses Cottage is a Xisto stone house with four single beds over two open-plan levels. The spacious private bathroom to the side has a thermodynamic heated shower, dry compost toilet and its own wood burner. Below, there’s a spring water plunge pool and wooden deck with loungers, plus a number of hammocks and seating spaces along the terrace with dreamy views of the sunsets to the west. Moses has high speed WiFi connection should you need it.
Just beyond the Moses Cottage is the Adega. Another hand carved out of the mountainside cottage, originally for wine pressing and storage, the Adega is now a 3-bed shared cottage space equipped with wood burning stove, two single beds on separate levels with their own front doors and a third single bed above in a small private room we affectionately call the Ninja Suite.
Next to the Adega is a wooden and marble cabin with your dry compost toilet. The outdoor solar heated shower in the old grape pressing tank is an absolute treat in the warmer summer months. The thermo-dynamic heated showers at Moses or by the farmhouse are also available whenever needed.
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Own bedroom in a shared cottage - £1,195
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A bed in a shared open plan cottage - £1,075
Central Farmhouse Bedrooms
Finally we have three beautiful rooms available in the main house. Images of these are bellow.
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Private double bedroom - £1,245
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Shared double bedroom - £1,075
What's included:
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5 nights' accommodation
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Twice daily yoga practices
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Evening Yoga Nidra practice
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All yoga mats & props
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Special Mindfulness workshop with Siôn
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Day Excursion to the Rio Zêzere for a river swim and local cafès and shops
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3 plant-based meals a day
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Towels & bathrobes
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Pick-up & drop-off to retreat centre from Oleiros bus station
What's not included:
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Flights and transfers to Oleiros
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Travel insurance
How to book:
We accept a £200 non-refundable deposit to secure your place.
You can pay in instalments. Payment can be made by bank transfer to Rosanna and Siôn. To book your place please contact us via email below or feel free to call one of us if you have additional questions:
Contact us:
heartfulretreats@gmail.com
Rosanna: 07875 355 925
Sion: 07792 630 642
Retreat T&C's
Ticket prices include a £200 non-refundable deposit. Deposit to be paid on booking to secure your place, with the balance due before 31st January 2025.
Cancellations less than six months before the retreat arrival date are not entitled to a refund.
Cancellations between six and nine months before the retreat arrival date are entitled to a 25% refund, minus the deposit.
Cancellations more than nine months before the retreat arrival date are entitled to a full refund, minus the deposit.
We look forward to having you there!
What previous students have said about our retreats abroad:
Jennifer Hendry, Cambridge
“What an amazing week in Paros it was – just perfect! The care and attention that must have gone into the planning (thank you!) clearly paid off as it was a wonderful week of yoga, amazing food and cocktails, new friendships and beautiful scenery in what felt like a ‘home from home’ hotel. Would definitely recommend future iterations of this trip to others!”
Marion, Wales (Cymru)
“Thank you Rosanna and Siôn for a fantastic yoga retreat in Greece. Everything was so well organised. A perfect venue, lovely people, amazing food, lots of activities as well as twice daily yoga. The yoga studio is very well equipped and the hotel is first class and run by a lovely family who go out of their way to make you feel welcome.”
Heather, UK
“Great people, great yoga and meditation and amazing walks. I came home feeling relaxed and refreshed and would totally recommend”