A women-only wellness retreat in Cyprus offers an unusual kind of reset

Four months ago, The Secret Forest in Cyprus opened a women-only space called Hava, and one Israeli reporter went to see whether it could live up to the hype. The retreat, in the woods near Paphos, is part of a larger wellness complex that combines nature, lodging, spa treatments and workshops. The experience, she writes, feels distinctive from the moment guests arrive and can quickly draw strangers into unusually open conversations.

Hava is designed for women only and sits within The Secret Forest, which was founded in January 2023 by Yoni Kahana in Milieu village in the Paphos mountains. The women’s section has seven double rooms in the main building and eight wooden cabins among orchards and groves. A weekend from Thursday to Sunday costs 1,000 euros per woman, including flights, while a week costs 1,125 euros, also including flights. Guests can use the broader complex’s spa, sulfur pools, saunas, jacuzzi, treatments, and workshops.

Kahana says the idea came from women who wanted to feel freer. He describes Hava as a place for “any Israeli woman who wants a place with Freedom,” meaning, in his words, no makeup, pajamas all day, bare feet, and less self-consciousness about simple things like entering the pool or leaving the room. He says the goal is “internal freedom.” The retreat’s smaller scale and female-only setting, he argues, make that possible, even though male staff, drivers, maintenance workers and security personnel do appear at times.

The program is full, with women’s yoga, Pilates, breathwork, movement, limiting beliefs, body awareness, Shabbat reception, shared meals and an optional boat trip to the Blue Lagoon. The reporter says the key lesson was not to try to do everything. Instead, leaving time to sit, talk, read, float in the pool or skip a session made the retreat feel more like an actual break. The food is kosher, halal? no, kosher, dairy and fish, and the property serves vegetables, fruit, fish, grains, smoothies, juices, nuts, free wine and even cheesecake and chocolate soufflé. In the end, she concludes that the retreat will not suit everyone, but for exhausted Israeli women looking for a short escape without having to carry everyone else, it can be powerfully restorative.