Book an Appointment

and next, we travel...

Thailand is calling.

Travel Retreat · Chiang Mai, Thailand · July 18–23, 2027

Healing with Elephants

Six days in northern Thailand with a small circle of women who understand loss. Rescued elephants, ancient temples, hands-on Thai cooking, and time that is entirely your own.

A word before you come

This is an experiential journey, not a class or a course of teaching. It is a chance to travel somewhere beautiful alongside a safe, supportive community of people who understand loss — to move through a new place side by side, held by a group that quietly attunes to one another and to the hardship each of us carries.

Our week in Chiang Mai is full — elephants, temples, markets, and shared meals leave little room for sitting in circle or structured reflection. That is by design. If it is guided learning and time in circle you are seeking, our Healing with Horses retreat is built with more space for that work. Here in Thailand, the medicine is companionship, presence, and the place itself.

Angela with an elephant in Thailand
July 18–23, 2027 · 16–24 Women

Healing with Elephants

Six Days · Shangri-La Chiang Mai · Optional Bangkok Extension

Travel has a way of loosening what daily life holds in place. We stay in the heart of Chiang Mai and let the city set the pace: slow mornings, shared meals, and evenings that end by candlelight.

  • A morning walking alongside rescued elephants at Elephant Nature Park
  • Three signature experiences: Thai cooking school, traditional Thai massage, and the Bo Sang umbrella village
  • Group dinners anchoring each day, from a riverside welcome to a candlelit farewell
  • All meals included, apart from a few evenings on your own

From $4,500 per person

Reserve Your Spot
DatesJuly 18–23, 2027
WhereChiang Mai, Thailand
LengthSix days
Circle16–24 women
From$4,500 / person

306 steps up...

and the whole city below.

The Heart of the Week

A morning with rescued elephants

Two rescued elephants walking beside the river at Elephant Nature Park
Wednesday · Elephant Nature Park

Elephant Nature Park

Sanctuary Day · No Riding, Ever

Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary for elephants rescued from logging and tourism. We spend the morning walking alongside them at their pace, watching them in the river, and learning each elephant's story.

Elephants grieve in community. They remember, and they stay close to one another in loss. Spending a morning beside them is its own kind of teaching.

A vegan buffet lunch at the park, then back to the city for a restful afternoon.

Angela Schellenberg, who leads the retreat, in a lavender sweater

A Note From Angela

Grief asks for good company

I'm Angela. I have spent years alongside grief, my own and other women's. What I have come to trust is simple. Grief does not ask to be fixed. It asks for good company.

I lived in Chiang Mai from 2013 to 2016, and it became dear to my heart. A city changes in the years you are away, and I have planned this week with care for how it is now. It is still gentle, it is still safe, and you are cared for at every turn.

I created this week for women who are carrying a loss they have mostly carried alone. The days are gently paced. We share meals, meet the rescued elephants, and walk the old temples together. Nothing is asked of you that you do not want to give.

You do not need to arrive strong, or ready, or sure of anything. You only need to come. I will be with you the whole way.

Is This For You

You may recognize yourself here

There is no right kind of grief for this trip, and no timeline you are supposed to be on. Women arrive carrying many kinds of loss. If some of this feels familiar, you belong here.

You do not have to be sure. Curiosity is enough to begin.

Why This Week

We arrive as Buddhist Lent begins

Our first two days fall on Asahna Bucha and Khao Phansa, two of Thailand's most sacred Buddhist holidays. Monks make vows to remain in their temples for three months. Candle offerings line the old lanes, and the city holds a quiet reverence few travelers ever see.

On Monday evening we walk the Old City temple district together as the first candles of Lent are lit. It is one of the most memorable evenings of the week.

July is also low season in Chiang Mai: fewer crowds, soft green hills, clear mornings, and dramatic afternoon rain that gives you full permission to rest.

Candle offerings glowing beside a teak temple and ancient chedi at night

For the Early Risers

Mornings that begin in saffron

On Tuesday, anyone who wants to can join the dawn almsgiving. Monks in saffron robes walk their morning routes through the old streets collecting food offerings, unhurried and quiet, as the city wakes around them.

And on our last morning we walk together to Wat Chedi Luang at sunrise. The ancient chedi in first light, monks, incense, stillness. Almost no one else is there.

Both are optional. Sleep is also sacred.

Monks in saffron robes walking at dawn almsgiving through the Chiang Mai old city

The Itinerary

Six days, gently paced

Mornings are for experiences. Afternoons leave room to rest. Group meals gather us back together at the end of each day. Nothing is mandatory, and quiet is always welcome.

Day One

Sunday, July 18

Asahna Bucha

Arrival & Welcome

  • Arrivals throughout the day. The retreat begins at 4:00 PM.
  • Welcome gathering at the Shangri-La with a traditional Thai dance performance
  • Orientation and community circle: introductions and intentions for the week
  • Opening dinner on the banks of the Ping River
  • Optional late-evening wander through the Night Bazaar, steps from the hotel

Day Two

Monday, July 19

Khao Phansa · Buddhist Lent begins

The Old City by Candlelight

  • Morning experiences: cooking school, Thai massage, or a free morning. The moss-covered terracotta arts garden is a quiet favorite.
  • Afternoon massage session for some, garden cafes and rest for the rest of us
  • Early group dinner at a teak house
  • Evening in the Old City temple district as the first candles of Buddhist Lent are lit: candle offerings, a chanting ceremony at a golden teak temple, lantern light in the old lanes

Day Three

Tuesday, July 20

Mountain Day

  • Optional dawn almsgiving, joining locals as monks walk their morning routes
  • Wat Pha Lat, a hidden jungle temple of mossy chedis and waterfall
  • Doi Suthep: 306 steps to a golden chedi with views over the whole city
  • A Karen hill-tribe village, then lunch at a garden restaurant in the hills with a stream running through the grounds
  • Evening browse of hand-beaten Lanna silverwork and the Night Bazaar

Day Four

Wednesday, July 21

Elephant Nature Park

  • A full morning at Thailand's most respected elephant sanctuary
  • Walk alongside rescued elephants, watch them in the river, and learn each one's story. No riding, ever.
  • Vegan buffet lunch at the park
  • Restful afternoon back in the city
  • Garden dinner together, lush and green in July

Day Five

Thursday, July 22

Craft & Farewell

  • Optional early visit to Warorot Market, where the city itself shops
  • Cooking school for some, the Bo Sang umbrella village for the rest
  • Khao soi lunch at a beloved local spot east of the Ping River
  • A free last afternoon in Chiang Mai
  • Farewell dinner in a historic colonial-era building on the river: art, antiques, and candlelight

Day Six

Friday, July 23

Sunrise & Goodbye

  • Sunrise walk to Wat Chedi Luang: the ancient chedi in first morning light, monks, incense, stillness
  • Farewell breakfast at the hotel
  • Flights home, or a short flight to Bangkok for the optional extension

Arriving a day early? The retreat begins Sunday at 4:00 PM, and your pre-trip packet includes favorite brunch spots, markets, and quiet corners for the weekend before.

Optional Extension · July 23–25

Two more days in Bangkok

Wooden long-tail boats loaded with fruit and flowers at a Thai floating market
Two Nights · Shangri-La Bangkok

The Bangkok Extension

On the Chao Phraya River

For anyone not ready to head home, the week can end with two nights in Bangkok at the Shangri-La on the river, with its own pier and pools.

  • The short flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, included
  • Chatuchak Weekend Market: one of the world's largest, 15,000 stalls of antiques, textiles, and street food
  • Jim Thompson House and the open-air riverfront at Asiatique
  • A rooftop dinner with panoramic city views
  • An early morning boat tour of the Damnoen Saduak floating market on departure morning

+$1,200 shared room  ·  +$1,550 single room

Pricing

Your place in Chiang Mai

Five nights at the Shangri-La Chiang Mai, every group experience including Elephant Nature Park, the three signature experiences, and all meals apart from a few evenings on your own. International flights are not included, and alcohol is each guest's own.

Shared Room

$4,500

per person

Share a room with another woman on the retreat. Many guests arrive alone and leave with the friend they roomed with.

Reserve · $4,500

With the Bangkok extension · $5,700

Single Room

$5,200

per person

Your own room to return to. Solitude at the end of each day, with the group just down the hall.

Reserve · $5,200

With the Bangkok extension · $6,750

Bangkok extension

Two nights at the Shangri-La Bangkok, the Chiang Mai to Bangkok flight, and everything above. Choose the with-Bangkok option when you reserve, or add it later by emailing Angela.

+$1,200 shared · +$1,550 single

Enrollment opens soon · reach out to join the interest list and hear first

Good to Know

The practical details

Getting there

Fly into Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX). International flights are not included. Plan to arrive by 4:00 PM on Sunday, July 18.

Where you'll stay

The Shangri-La Chiang Mai, Club Level, steps from the Night Bazaar. On the Bangkok extension, the Shangri-La Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River.

The season

July is green season in northern Thailand. Mornings are usually clear, afternoons bring dramatic rain, and the hills are at their most lush.

Sacred days

Our first two days fall on major Buddhist holidays, when public alcohol sales pause across Thailand. We dress modestly at temples and keep those two evenings alcohol-free in public, out of respect.

Chiang Mai, In Color

The Thailand that stays with you

An elephant spraying river water in golden light A gilded temple glowing over the Sunday night market at dusk Candlelit krathongs of marigolds and orchids floating on dark water A bowl of khao soi topped with crispy noodles, lime, and shallots Colorful Lanna lanterns strung across a temple courtyard at dusk A red tuk-tuk passing an ornate temple at night The ancient brick corner of the old city wall above the moat

What This Retreat Is About

New experiences, outside the loss

I lost my parents young, and I carried that grief into adulthood the way so many of us do. Somewhere along the way I started saying a little phrase to myself: travel heals trauma. I can't promise you that — no one can. But I can tell you what travel has done for me. It gave me new experiences to stand on, and it reminded my body that a life outside of my loss was still possible.

There is something about moving through the world — new places, new sights, walking side by side with others — that seems to gently teach us a new lesson: that we can have experiences beyond our grief, and be okay. Not that the grief disappears. It can hurt and it can be okay, both at once. Over a week together, it slowly becomes easier to move between those two — to feel the enormous waves of loss, and to find our way back to steadier ground.

“For me, I’ve come to understand it as my body slowly learning it can hold new experiences alongside the grief.”

So much of that happens in community. When your body is in a safe place beside other people who have lost someone too, something settles. We understand one another without much explanation. We hold space for each other. That kind of quiet companionship does something words alone can't.

And this is the part I hold closest: you will always miss your person. You can surrender to that grief — yes, it is dark — and still go on. They don't have to be left behind just because they died. We can bring their memory with us. We can take them on our travels, imagine what they would say, and find comfort in the relationship we still carry. That is what this week is really about: creating new experiences, in a safe and loving community, without ever leaving our people behind.

My family and I have lived overseas, and we know Chiang Mai from the inside — its temples and its water, its sacred hills, its gentle giants. These are the places and moments that helped me find my footing again in my own grief. I would love to walk them with you.

Come with us.

travel heals trauma...

Thailand is waiting.

Ask About the Retreat

Before you come

Frequent Questions, Answered

More Retreats

Explore the other retreats

Malibu, CaliforniaHealing with HorsesOctober 22–25, 2026 For Teams & CompaniesCorporate RetreatsCustom dates