The Swedish InsiderA DIFFERENT KIND OF NORTH

Into nature

Adventuremine: A Sauna 80 Metres Below Ground

In October 2024, I visited Adventuremine in Tuna Hästberg for a sauna and a dip deep inside a disused mine. Getting there took some effort. The water alone helps explain why it was worth it.

By Lina Skandevall

Published

A person in a red swimsuit sits inside a wooden sauna beside a large window overlooking blue mine water and rock.
The wooden sauna beside the mine water, during my October 2024 visit. Photo: Lina Skandevall

A long way to a sauna

Eighty metres underground. A sauna, a pool of turquoise water and rock all around. In my notes, I called this the world's most extraordinary sauna experience. A rather large claim. But look at the setting.

The journey was part of it. My photographs show a long wooden staircase running through the rock, and a helmet being adjusted. My record of the visit also includes climbing on metal rungs fixed into the rock. Getting to this sauna required a little more commitment than walking down a hotel corridor.

Hands adjust equipment on the back of a white helmet worn by a person in an orange jacket.
A helmet adjustment, photographed during the October 2024 visit. Photo: Lina Skandevall
A long wooden staircase with handrails and electric lights runs through a rock shaft.
The staircase through the mine: part of the journey underground. Photo: Lina Skandevall

Wood, rock and water

The sauna itself was built in wood, with a large window looking out towards the mine water. Outside, a wooden platform sat at the water's edge, with ladders leading down into the blue. You could see the rock beneath the surface.

I recorded both the air and the water at 4°C. That was the cold half of this sauna experience, and I went in. In the images from my visit, the turquoise water almost steals the show from the sauna.

Two ladders descend from a wooden platform into clear blue mine water beneath a rock ceiling.
The bathing platform and the clear mine water, 80 metres underground. Photo: Lina Skandevall

There was Gruvfrun, too: the mine's legendary guardian. Adventuremine draws on her story for its sauna ritual, giving the setting a connection to the folklore of the mine.

My verdict at the time was simple: getting here took some effort, but it was so worth it.

Planning a visit today

This account reflects my visit in October 2024. Adventuremine currently offers the guided Gruvfruns Basturitual in Tuna Hästberg. See Adventuremine’s official sauna page for the current format, visitor requirements and booking details.