Travel

Relax 262 Feet Below the Ground in This Swedish Sauna

Your Itinerary Includes Gourmet Food and Spending the Night in a Luxury Barn

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Image: Malin Englund

We've seen enough movies to know that if you find yourself 262 feet below the ground in a mine, something has gone terribly wrong.

But we've also seen enough unique travel experiences to know that, occasionally, something has gone very right.

This is the latter. Because this is a new Sweden travel itinerary that combines subterranean wellness with a luxury stay and gourmet food.

The five-day/four-night trip is dubbed Savouring Swedish Serenity... which, sure, isn't the best alliteration we've heard. But it was put together by the experts at Off the Map Travel, who know their way around a great vacation.

It's centered around the new Lady of the Mine sauna ritual that includes bathing in crystal-clear natural spring water 262 feet (that's 80 meters if you're metrically inclined) below ground. The combination of Swedish sauna, natural surroundings and good food is meant to promote wellness, relaxation and peacefulness. Three things we could all use more of.

lady of the mine sauna in sweden
malin englund

Guests access the cave via a series of tunnels and steps, which gradually descend to the sauna below. The sauna has large windows that look out onto the natural spring. The experience is "designed with a mix of story, song, hot and cold temperatures, and tranquility," and it's all guided by a sauna master.

Between sessions, you'll emerge from the heat into the opening of the cave to cool down in the chilly water. Because such an excursion is likely to whet your appetite, local food and drinks are available throughout the experience. So you can replenish all that lost sweat with beer, cheese and smoked meat from a nearby farm.

At night, you'll bunk down at Hello Sunnanhed, which is a barn, but not the kind of barn you're thinking about. It's a luxury property in Dalarna, Sweden, with soaring ceilings and big windows that look onto the surrounding nature and provide easy access to Lake Oreiön. So, not a bad place to spend time after a day at the cave mine sauna.

two women lounging inside sweden's hello sunnahed hotel
hello sunnahed | Sara Rönne

The trip also features meals from a private chef, who celebrates local produce in his menus. Said chef is also available to take guests on hiking and foraging experiences, so you can search for wild blueberries and other edible flora, which will then be incorporated into the meals.

You can also prepare dinner alongside the chef, if you so desire. But come on, you already found some mushrooms—leave something for the other guests to do.

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