Forest bathing and hay baths: 5 innovative wellness retreats in the Dolomites

National Geographic

31-03-2025

At 95°F, the air is charged with a tangerine tang as a man twists and whirls a towel like a whip, unleashing blasts of hot air to the beat of jungle drums. This is Aufguss: a multi-sensory sauna ritual that's part purification, part fever-dream.
Deep in the Dolomites — the UNESCO-capped mountains — wellness has long been part of the landscape itself. Here, ancient remedies are reimagined with a contemporary twist and a touch of the surreal, all infused with the rugged spirit of the Alps.
The journey begins in Bolzano, capital of South Tyrol and gateway to the Dolomites. A melting pot of Italian and German culture, locals toast beer and wine in Piazza Walther , savor boiled dumplings at Batzen Häusl , and cycle down cobblestone streets beneath sweeping mountains. Its most famous resident, Ötzi the Iceman, can be seen in the Museum of Archaeology Bolzano , a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy who was discovered complete with a pair of prehistoric hiking boots.
Hotel Hörtenberg Castle is located within
Bolzano, where visitors will find the cathedral, cafes, and shops.
Photograph By Camillo Balossini/Robertharding, Getty Images
It all feels like a fairytale, particularly when approaching Hotel Castel Hörtenberg, a luxurious hotel-spa set in a former Renaissance castle complete with turrets and a coat of arms. Carefully restored by the Podini family owners, it's now a blend of luxury and history. Period frescoes and original stucco adorn the suites; guests can dine in their torch-lit dungeon restaurant, Le Segrete ; and unwind in a spa complete with a Finnish sauna and hammam, overlooking an expansive outdoor pool nestled between jasmine and hydrangeas. It's the perfect Alpine launch pad.
(Related: Why choose the Alps for your next summer adventure)
The bus from Bolzano snakes along orchard-lined rivers and tight mountain switchbacks to Siusi, where a gondola whisks residents up to COMO Alpina Dolomites. There's a certain thrill the first time one catches sight of the snow, as mottled green turns to blinding white. This ski-in, ski-out resort has direct access to the slopes, with an elegant lounge showcasing magnificent views of Europe's highest Alpine plateau. The modernist building reflects its surroundings, with immense windows flooding the space with light; even the beds are turned down to form mountain peaks. Three restaurants offer refined takes on local classics, like the Tyrolean Gröstl — roasted potatoes, speck, eggs, and dried flowers — an indulgence well worth waking up for.
COMO Alpina Dolomites has direct access to the slopes, making it a great choice for active travelers.
Photograph By Martin Morrell, Como Hotel
Adventure-seekers will find incredible skiing, hiking, and more directly on their doorstep, but COMO is synonymous with spa treatments.
Signature therapies include their Shambhala massage and the "traditional hay bath," described as an "ancient mountain wellness treatment." After warming themselves with a sip of ginger tea, guests are led into a dedicated space to be plunged into a bath of hot hay, a practice long hailed by South Tyrolean farmers as a cure for arthritis and aching muscles. The air hangs heavy with herbal flowers and balsamic scents, and feels like a pungent weighted blanket. This unique experience concludes with a rejuvenating goat milk cream facial, leaving participants refreshed and renewed.
For the more daring, COMO offers nightly Aufguss sauna rituals, a sweltering show that pairs fierce steam, tribal music, and biting scents of lavender, mint, and citrus released from melting, essential-oil laden snowballs. It's a sensory experience that creates a profound sense of tranquility.
Accessible only by gondola from nearby Lana, Vigilius Mountain Resort is a high-altitude, eco-friendly hideaway. With monastic solemnity, clients are compelled to pause and let the Alps work their restorative magic. Designed by architect Matteo Thun with nature at its core, Vigilius brings together clean lines, local larch wood, natural stone, and clay so that it appears as if the hotel completely disappears into the surrounding forest.
The hotel's unique design makes it appear as if the property disappears into nature.
Photograph By Tobias Kaser, Hotel Viglius
Vigilus Mountain Resort's Aquiléia Spa has a pool, sauna, steam room, and much more.
Photograph By Tobias Kaser, Hotel Viglius
The property features the authentic Stube Ida , open to visiting hikers, and a communal piazza that hosts nightly aperitivo. In an effort to encourage genuine disconnection, Wi-Fi is disabled at 11 p.m., leaving guests to enjoy a fire-lit library.
At Vigilius, massages feel elemental: Delivered with heated wooden sticks and sculpted stones applied with warm pine oil. Guided woodland walks (complete with crampons) reveal the wavering rhythms and folkloric histories of every tree, rock, and fern.
For those who want to venture higher still, an almost otherworldly single-seater chairlift transports visitors through the trees to San Vigilio Church , one of the highest in all of Tyrol, a place steeped in quiet, ancient mysticism.
Further south in Pinzolo, Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti stands as a cathedral to wellness. Carved into the mountains, it feels effortlessly lavish, with stunning views at every turn and an enormous state-of-the-art spa with four distinct water areas. The temptation on arrival is to make a beeline for the heated indoor-outdoor pool, where a warm haze veils Trentino's pine-topped peaks.
Lefay's philosophy is centered around harmonizing yin and yang: the Active and Balance program springs from movement and rest, taking you into the wild before back into relaxation. Inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, it merges the five elements with an Alpine sensibility and begins the moment you arrive. There's a consultation, a custom itinerary, and a tacit request to give yourself to the process.
Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti's heated indoor-outdoor pool.
Photograph By Frieder Blickle/laif/Redux
In the morning, balance takes on a new meaning: A guided snowshoe alpine ascent fills the lungs with crisp, mountain air. Upon reaching a frozen mountain lake, guests are invited to embrace the snow, be it face-first, shirt off, or a full immersion cold plunge. The shock is electric, inciting sharp breaths that reveal mental clarity. After a few moments standing in the blinding snow, heart bounding, sun blazing, it's time to descend back down to Lefay where warmth and stillness await. In the afternoon, it's a float in a saltwater pool, weightless and adrift with whatever epiphanies might surface.
Perched atop of Merano, Miramonti Boutique Hotel feels like a cinematic world unto itself. It's no surprise that it's not far from where James Bond once dodged assassins on skis: This landscape was made for high drama. Born from the shared dream of Carmen and Klaus Alber, the hotel exudes a warm, Nordic aesthetic which mirrors its rugged surroundings.
Miramonti Boutique Hotel has a renowned spa, but it's also well-known for its forest bathing practice.
Photograph By Markus Edgar Ruf, Miramonti
The Sky House sits at its peak, a suite anchored into the rock. Spanning three floors, it features an open fireplace and a secluded deck concealing a hot pot pool. Furnished with Fritz-Hansen furniture and centered around ineffable views, it's the pinnacle of Alpine relaxation.
The spa feels like a constellation scattered across the wilderness, offering a network of timbered walkways leading to a steaming onsen, an infinity pool that hovers on the edge of the world, and a spacious Finnish sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Alps. At dinner, the panoramic restaurant is like looking at the world from an airplane, the lights of Merano valley twinkling distantly below.
Among their many offerings, guests can experience the art of forest bathing with therapist Monika Laner , a practice which fosters a deep connection with nature by way of a mindful walk. There's a tree greeting ritual which involves shaking hands with a spruce, wrapping one's arms around its bark like an old friend, and communing deeply. Sipping pine needle tea in arboreal silence, participants find accord with the intimate acoustics of the surrounding snow. A small pine cone is offered as a memento as a reminder of the day's lesson.
In the Dolomites, relaxation is something earned through transformative experiences. Be it sweated out in extreme heat, buried in steaming hay, or plunged face-first in the snow, the mountains strip everything away until only clarity remains. Balance isn't found, it's felt — in the heat, the cold, the silence. If you're lucky, you get to bring it home.
(Related: Why this Austrian Alpine town is forever linked to James Bond)
Rupert Clague is a director, producer, and writer drawn to extraordinary people in unexpected places. He's filmed with Indigenous Peruvian tribes and Vietnamese shamans, been on ride-alongs in Arizona and down a waterslide with Jeff Goldblum. Based in Paris, he's currently directing a feature documentary about transcendental pianist Lubomyr Melnyk.