Why Your Next Wellness Retreat Might Take You Underground

Underground retreats from Oregon to Thailand are drawing travelers with yoga classes, meditation workshops, and sound baths. Caves have long been central to the human experience, serving as early forms of shelter and sacred religious sites. Recently, wellness caves have become popular destinations, offering travelers darkness, quiet, solitude, and spiritual enlightenment.

These subterranean escapes vary from rustic to luxuriously stylish. Some, like Sky Cave Retreats in Oregon or Dark Retreat Earth Domes in Thailand, are man-made. Others, such as Dungeshwari Cave near Bodh Gaya in India, are naturally formed. While caves were once a last resort, they are now used for recreational activities like yoga classes, sound baths, and meditation, providing a retreat for reflection and resetting.

Caves as Sacred and Social Sites

Throughout history, caves have been gathering places for religious and social groups. In Central America, the Maya used caves for offerings to gods, consuming mind-altering substances, and even human sacrifices. Tibetan Buddhist "dark retreats" involve meditating on mortality in caves for extended periods. Ancient Christians in Greece and Rome likely used catacombs for private worship and to escape persecution.

Travelers today can experience brief cave retreats, such as hiking to meditation caves in Bhutan's Dochula Pass or visiting the "Cave of the Mothers" near Tulsa, Oklahoma, a converted storm shelter at the Forest of Peace retreat.

"There is a curiosity about sensory deprivation practices that can alert us to something greater in ourselves," says Tim McHenry, chief programming officer at New York City’s Rubin Museum of Art, which has hosted dark meditation in its cavelike spaces. "It is so rare that we experience being in the utter dark."

Caves to Cure What Ails You

Spending time in the dark can be beneficial for health. In the 1960s, scientists began researching Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST), finding it beneficial for soothing the nervous system and relaxation. Darkness therapy, popularized in the 1960s by German anthropologist Holger Kalweit, has been used to treat bipolar disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and migraines. Recent studies also show positive effects for amblyopia, or "lazy eye."

Dark retreat centers have opened across Europe, and the therapy is gaining popularity in North America, partly due to endorsements from NFL player Aaron Rodgers and actress Rosario Dawson. Dawson noted that her retreat at Sky Cave made her recognize the need for a deeper relationship with her body.

"The underground teaches us to respect mystery," argues author Will Hunt in his book, Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet. Hunt’s excursions into tunnels and caverns led him to realize that "not everything should be revealed, not all the time."

How to Take a Cave Retreat

At Sky Cave Retreats, visitors stay in 300-square-foot underground suites with beds, floor pillows, rugs, and wood-burning stoves. These caves are warm, lightproof, and soundproof, providing a visceral experience of timelessness. Staff deliver meals, and each suite has a private bathroom, a flushing toilet, and a bathtub for hot soaks.

Samaya Meditation Center in Indonesia offers similar accommodations, encouraging guests to book three days in cozy dark rooms. Plant-based meals are provided, and earplugs are available for soundproofing.

One need not commit several days to experience the benefits of cave retreats. Himalayan salt caves, rooms carved into the side of Tres Cuevas Mountain in Texas, or cave yoga sessions at Olentangy Caverns in Ohio offer shorter, yet impactful, experiences. Visitors can now find various ways to explore the benefits of darkness, whether for an hour or a month.