Jungle Fiesta · Handstand Festival, Riviera Maya

Ozen Retreat Centre from above, 18 hectares of jungle

Handstand Festival · March 12–17, 2027 · Riviera Maya, Mexico

Jungle Fiesta

Five days of handstand training in the jungle. All levels, from first handstand to one-arm.

5 nightsAll mealsAll workshops

Teachers: Mikael Kristiansen · Mau Jara · Dora Skelton · Eamonn Doran & more to be announced

Pay in full$999 Reserve now$333 depositthen 2 × $333

Early bird · ends 31 Oct ~~$1,245~~

Full refund until 12 December

Accommodation, meals and training included.
Only 15 private studios left · Questions? WhatsApp

See the timetable ↓ FAQ ↓

The Festival

Five days of handstand training at Ozen.

A five-day international handstand festival in the jungle. You train in Buddha Hall, a marble floor under a hand-painted dome, open to the forest on every side, in the middle of 18 hectares of private jungle.

Beginners and one-arm specialists share the same floor, each in their own group. Wherever your handstand is now, there's a workshop built for you.

Mornings upside down, afternoons by the pool, evenings together. Fully catered, with something on every evening: performances, music, ceremony and celebration.

Temazcal ceremony. Performance nights under the jungle canopy. A 572m² pool threading through orchids and wild palms.

Which group are you?

Beginner

The foundations and fundamentals. Theory, practice, alignment, and balance techniques — a full spectrum from the ground up.

You've never held a handstand, or you're just starting at the wall.

Intermediate

Take your practice further. Refine what you have, deepen your understanding, and break through the next plateau.

You can hold a wall handstand for about 30 seconds and you're working on freestanding.

Advanced

One-arms, presses, figas, flags, hops — the full range of advanced technique, pushed as far as you want to go.

You hold a freestanding handstand and you're working on presses, one-arm or shapes.

Reserve your place — $999 →

Handstand Fiesta, Valencia: workshops from past editions. Same teaching team, same format.

Inside Ozen Retreat Centre

Photos of the venue.

The night begins

As the week moves, so do you

Buddha Hall at dawn

Your track. Your session.

Zorba Zing pool

The afternoon is yours

18 hectares of jungle

The Art Hub

Cooked for you, every day

Three meals a day

Open-air dining hall

Ozen Retreat Centre, Riviera Maya

Rest

Your cabin

The night begins

As the week moves, so do you

Buddha Hall at dawn

Your track. Your session.

Zorba Zing pool

The afternoon is yours

18 hectares of jungle

The Art Hub

Cooked for you, every day

Three meals a day

Open-air dining hall

Ozen Retreat Centre, Riviera Maya

Rest

Your cabin

Buddha Hall aerial view, Ozen Retreat Centre

The rhythm

A typical day.

06:00Meditation, then yoga at 07:00
08:00Breakfast
09:30Warm-up, then a two-hour handstand workshop
13:30Lunch
14:30Free time: pool, rest or open training
16:00Second warm-up and workshop
18:30Dinner
20:00Evening: yin yoga, temazcal, performances or dance

Every day is a little different. See the full timetable ↓

Not every day runs exactly like this — some days push harder, some breathe out. This is the shape of it.

Where You Stay

Where you stay.

Sixty private jungle studios spread across 18 hectares of Riviera Maya land. Your ticket includes a shared cabin — twin beds, your own space, surrounded by trees. Everything is on-site and walkable.

Upgrade — +$100

Private studio

Your own cabin. Same on-site location.

Book private studio — $1,099 →

Teachers

From Ireland, Norway, Costa Rica and the USA.

Eamonn Doran

Ireland

Irish handbalancer and circus artist, training for over a decade. Trained under Sainbayar Janchivdorj at the London School of Handbalance. Founder of Handstand Fiesta.

Mau Jara

Costa Rica · INAC Circus School

Mauricio Jara is a Costa Rican handbalancer with over 20 years in the discipline — performer with Punto Muerto, teacher at INAC Portugal and Fontys Circus Netherlands.

Mikael Kristiansen

Norway · Handstand Factory

Norwegian handbalancer and contemporary circus artist. BA from DOCH Stockholm. Co-founder of Handstand Factory. Toured with 7 doigts de la main and Cirkus Cirkör.

Dora Skelton

USA

New York-based handbalancer and contortion coach, known for her rigorous approach to technical training.

Poder compartir con todos los profes y estar presente en una bonita comunidad de verticalistas.
Getting to share time with every teacher, inside a beautiful community of handbalancers.
— Handstand Fiesta attendee, Valencia

Reserve your place →

The Venue

Ozen Retreat Centre. Riviera Maya.

Buddha Hall Morning sessions
Star Palapa Training floor
Zorba Zing Pool 572m² · through jungle
Art Hub Open studio
Full Moon Stage Performance nights
Temazcal Ceremony

What's Included

What's included.

Accommodation — shared jungle cabin, 5 nights, on-site. Private upgrade +$100.

3 meals a day — freshly cooked, every day.

Full workshop programme — 3 tracks plus open level sessions.

Masterclasses — flexibility, physical prep, and technical work.

Performance nights — multiple nights under the canopy.

Morning meditation — in the Buddha Hall, daily.

Temazcal ceremony — a traditional Mesoamerican sweat lodge.

Thai massage & recovery — built into the programme.

Not included — flights, travel insurance and the airport shuttle (optional extra).

Well organised, with a lot of experienced teachers to learn from — and fun classes and experiences at the end of each day. Thai massage, for example!
— Handstand Fiesta attendee, Valencia

The Schedule

Day by day.

The event is a few months away and we'll likely make some tweaks — but expect a rich week that looks like this:

Swipe, or use the arrows, to change day

Jungle Fiesta 2027 · Ozen Retreat Centre, Riviera Maya

Tickets

Early bird: $999. Ends 31 October.

The regular price is $1,245. Book by 31 October and the same week is $999 — $246 off. After that the price goes up, and it doesn't come back down.

Ends 31 Oct

Early Bird — limited offer

Full price ~~$1,245~~

$999

You save $246

Ends 31 October 2026 — then $1,149

Pay in full$999 Save your place$333 todaythen 2 × $333

Early-ish Bird

$1,149

1 Nov 2026 – 31 Jan 2027

Opens 1 November. $150 more than early bird.

Regular price

$1,245

From 1 February 2027

The standard price for the week.

All prices in US dollars (USD), per person. All tiers include a shared jungle cabin, 5 nights on-site, all meals and the full programme. · Private studio: +$100 — book it here

Included

5 nights in a shared jungle cabin
Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day
Eight two-hour handstand workshops
Morning meditation and yoga
Evening programme: performances, music, Temazcal ceremony
Pool and grounds

Not included

Flights
Airport transfer (Cancún, about an hour)
Travel insurance
Private studio upgrade (+$100, 15 left)

Secure payment with StripeSAMYA ENTS LIMITED, Ireland · Company no. 804973WhatsApp Eamonn

La puntualidad, el profesionalismo, el carisma de los profesores, la empatía. Todo estuvo excelente.
Punctual, professional, charismatic teachers, real empathy. Everything was excellent.
— Handstand Fiesta attendee, Valencia

Early Bird — Until October 31

Days

Hrs

Mins

Secs

until early bird closes

$246 off the regular price.

After 31 October the price moves to $1,149, and to the regular $1,245 from February.

Book now — $999 →

Getting There

Getting there.

Ozen Retreat Centre is 41 km (25 miles) from Cancún International Airport (CUN), about 50 minutes to an hour by road. We run a shuttle on arrival and departure days. It's an optional extra, not in the ticket price — just let us know if you want a seat. Most people arrive together, and it starts there.

Coming from Playa del Carmen? It's 8 km, about 20 minutes by taxi. Share your flight details when you book and we'll handle the rest.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Not at all. Jungle Fiesta runs three parallel training tracks — beginner, intermediate, and advanced — so every session is built for where you actually are. Complete beginners are welcome. You don't need a freestanding handstand to come; you just need to want to learn.

Yes. The beginner track starts from scratch — wall holds, wrist prep, core stability, overcoming the fear of falling. The teachers have worked with complete beginners many times. You'll leave with a real foundation and the tools to keep going at home.

Most days: meditation at 6:00am and yoga at 7:00am, then breakfast, then a two-hour handstand workshop in the morning. Afternoons have open training, massage, or recovery. A second workshop runs in the late afternoon, then dinner and an evening event — performance night, Temazcal, or the closing fiesta. See the full day-by-day timetable above — tap "Timetable" in the nav or jump straight to it.

Eight handstand workshops across the week, each two hours long, plus daily yoga and meditation, masterclasses and open training. The gala performance is on Day 4 and the closing open stage on Day 5.

Fly into Cancún International Airport (CUN) — direct flights from most of Europe, the US, and Latin America. Ozen Retreat Centre is 41 km (25 miles) south by road, about 50 minutes to an hour. We run a shuttle service from the airport on arrival day (Friday 12 March) and departure day (Wednesday 17 March). It's an optional extra — if you'd like a seat, let us know. Share your flight details after booking and we'll coordinate everything.

Yes — five nights in a shared jungle cabin at Ozen Retreat Centre is included. The shared option pairs you with one other attendee (twin beds, private bathroom). Private studio upgrade is an additional $100. Both are on-site, steps from the training spaces.

Three meals a day — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — freshly cooked and served in the open-air dining hall. Afternoon snacks are served between sessions too.

Yes, many people do. With shared training, meals and evening events, you'll know people by the end of the first day.

A Temazcal is a traditional Mesoamerican sweat lodge ceremony. It's a ritual using steam, medicinal plants and chanting. It happens on the evening of Day 3. Participation is optional.

Training clothes for warm weather — it's Mexico in March, expect 28–32°C. Wrist supports if you use them. Swimwear for the pool. Light layers for evenings. Sunscreen. A yoga mat if you have one, though mats are available on-site. You'll get a full packing list after booking.

No. Jungle Fiesta is an alcohol-free week.

Visitors from the US, Canada, the UK and the EU don't need a visa for a short stay in Mexico. Some Latin American passports need a visa or an electronic authorisation — check Mexico's official consular site (gob.mx/sre) for yours.

Yes. We strongly recommend it, covering cancellation and sports injury.

Tell us when you book. The kitchen cooks fresh every day and handles most diets.

Classes run in English. Several teachers also speak Spanish, and so do we. Hablamos español.

Until 31 December 2026: full refund.

From 1 January 2027: no refunds, but you can transfer your place to someone else at any time. Get in touch and we'll sort the name change.

Email EamonnDoran1@gmail.com or DM on Instagram at @jungle.fiesta. We reply to everything.

March 12–17, 2027