Sunset Ashram – Playa de Cala Conta, Ibiza
Every so often, you stumble upon a place so beautiful, so unexpected that it launches a tiny grappling hook at your heart and stays with you always. Sunset Ashram (known as the “Último paraiso perdido de Ibiza” –Ibiza’s last hidden paradise), is one such place.
Playa de Cala Conta lies nestled among tiny rugged coves in the San Antonio area to the East of Ibiza, appearing almost by surprise after a winding drive through the unexpected lushness of the island’s interior.
Mother of pearl mobiles clink; the most soothing wind chimes imaginable, as the ocean gently breaks. A breath-taking spectrum of peach and cream foam fizzes on the shore just below. The steady beat of Balearic Chillout music streams from DJ Lenny Ibizarre (once resident DeeJay at Café Del Mar and Amnesia); effortlessly chic in the laid back bohemian milieu. The establishment’s resident daytime DJ is Ramón Castells, with a different local DJ or live act for each of the daily sunset sessions.
No amount of studio fluorescents or pyrotecnics on earth can compare to the caramel light of Ibiza’s golden hour, caressing all it touches into a more beautiful state. Champagne bubbles appear to rise slower, floating to the surface keeping time with the crashing waves, audibly effervescing.
The show itself is a blaze of colour – an aggressive citrus explosion at first, fading to deep dusky pastel hues, mirrored in the slowly shifting glassy sea.
After the applause drifting over the Mediterranean as the sun bids its final goodbyes, a dream-like glow emits from beneath the circular woven canopy as lanterns are illuminated. The heady scent of incense amalgamates with the cool evening breeze, carrying notes of the ocean.
“The pale stars were sliding into their places. The whispering of the leaves was almost hushed. All about them it was still and shadowy and sweet. It was that wonderful moment when, for lack of a visible horizon, the not yet darkened world seems infinitely greater—a moment when anything can happen, anything be believed in.” ― Olivia Howard Dunbar, The Shell of Sense
The evening menu is an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and Indian cuisine. However I would recommend diving into an enormous sharing platter from their separate sushi menu.
“Believe in the nature that you represent, the way a sunset makes you feel, the fusion of your inner self and the natural beauty that surrounds you. The moment when without knowing why, you cease to think. This is the ethos of Sunset Ashram, just feel, and let your intellect unwind…” – Sunset Ashram Lounge Sessions
Top Tips: Always book in advance to guarantee the perfect sunset vantage point – forcefully request a seafront perch. As Sunset Ashram lies fairly (very) off the beaten track, make sure that you have arranged transport home again. The main taxi number is +34 (0) 971 800 080 but annoyingly, tends be engaged for up to an hour between 11pm-1am.
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Sunset Ashram ~ Playa de Cala Conta, Ibiza Sunset Ashram – Playa de Cala Conta, Ibiza Every so often, you stumble upon a place so beautiful, so unexpected that it launches a tiny grappling hook at your heart and stays with you always.