Colorado’s “Spiritual Capita” Where Shamans, Sufis & Carmelite Monks Live in Harmony Under a 14er

Crestone, Colorado

Welcome to Crestone, where Tibetan prayer flags flutter next to Colorado ranch fences.

This tiny mountain town at the foot of 14,000-foot peaks has somehow become America’s unexpected spiritual capital, with the highest concentration of religious centers per capita.

But don’t expect some new-age tourist trap. It’s still a raw, real mountain town where cowboys and monks share the same coffee shop.

A Town With Virtually Every Religion on Earth

Imagine walking down a street where you pass a Buddhist temple, a Hindu ashram, and a Catholic monastery all within minutes. That’s normal in Crestone, which has more spiritual centers per person than anywhere else in America.

The variety is remarkable, covering traditions from all over the world in this tiny mountain community. You can visit specialized centers like the Dharma Ocean community for meditators or the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center established by a renowned Tibetan Buddhist master.

How a Rich Couple Created a Spiritual Hub

Money can build a lot of things, including spiritual communities. When Maurice Strong, a wealthy Canadian businessman and UN diplomat, bought land here in 1977, he changed Crestone’s destiny.

After a wandering mystic told him about the land’s special qualities, Strong and his wife started giving parcels away to religious groups.

They created the Manitou Foundation to manage this spiritual land donation program, getting financial backing from the Rockefeller family. What was meant to be a retirement community transformed into a global spiritual gathering place that continues to grow.

Where Bodies Return to Fire and Air

Ever wondered what happens at an open-air cremation? In Crestone, you can find out. The End of Life Project runs the only non-denominational outdoor cremation site in the country. The process involves intense heat reaching over 1,500 degrees, with family and friends placing juniper branches on their loved one’s shrouded body.

It’s surprisingly efficient, needing just one-third cord of wood and taking about three hours. There’s a catch, though – you need to register before you die and must have lived in Saguache County for at least three months.

The Night a Bush Burst Into Flames for a Journalist

Even skeptics find themselves scratching their heads in Crestone. Take respected journalist Bill Moyers, who was walking with friends in the Baca Grande development when they watched a sagebrush suddenly burst into flames with no apparent cause.

The director of the Crestone Historical Museum keeps this story in their records, as Moyers himself called it the only truly unexplainable event of his entire life. This happened at night with no lightning or other obvious explanation for the combustion.

Crestone & the Love Has Won Cult

Crestone became infamous in news headlines when police found the preserved body of Amy Carlson, known to her followers as ‘Mother God’ of the Love Has Won cult, wrapped in Christmas lights in a local home.

Before this macabre discovery, the group had been using Crestone as one of their bases. HBO later made a documentary about the case, bringing unwanted attention to a town that usually stays under the radar.

The Psychic Mom Who Vanished Without a Trace

Some people come to Crestone seeking answers but instead become mysteries themselves. This happened to Kristal Reisinger, a 29-year-old mother and self-described psychic who vanished from her apartment on July 13, 2016, after moving from Denver to pursue spiritual growth and recovery.

Her story captured nationwide interest through the popular ‘Up and Vanished’ podcast series. The case took a strange turn when her young daughter and another medium separately reported visions of Kristal in ‘a cold place near a river, possibly a mine shaft,’ leading investigators to search abandoned mines throughout the area.

A Tight Community of Kindred Spirits

Getting to Crestone requires intention. There’s just one road leading in and out, creating a natural isolation that the town’s mayor poetically described as ‘the end of a road that goes nowhere… Or perhaps… everywhere.’

This geographic seclusion helps preserve the community’s unique character while adding to its mystique. Being so cut off from major routes means people who live here really want to be here, creating a tight community despite diverse beliefs.

UFO Watching on the Side of the Highway

Just south of town lies a road with a special reputation. Highway 17, nicknamed the ‘Cosmic Highway,’ is home to the famous UFO Watchtower where, according to 25 different psychics, two energy vortexes similar to those in Sedona, Arizona exist.

The Watchtower’s visitor logs document nearly 300 UFO sightings, with the owner personally witnessing about 30 unexplained aerial phenomena.

Visitors can also see the preserved skeleton of ‘Snippy,’ a horse whose strange death in 1967 became one of the earliest documented animal mutilation cases connected to UFO activity in American history.

Visiting Crestone: What You Need to Know

You’ll find Crestone about 13 miles from Highway 17 and Moffat on County Road T. The drive from Denver takes around 3.5 hours. Sitting at 8,000 feet elevation, you might need time to adjust to the altitude when you arrive.

Don’t expect chain hotels here. Your options include vacation rentals, rooms at spiritual retreat centers, and unique architecture like dome homes.

The Mystic Rose Inn offers a central location, or you might try one of the geodesic structures with mountain views and hot tubs that have become local signatures.