Soft music, warm lights, soothing colors and, above all, the healing therapy of salt.

These are the therapeutic pleasures awaiting visitors to the salt cave at Saltana Cave Spa, an exceptional facility in the Western Connecticut town of Ridgefield.

With Himalayan salt crystals underfoot and in the walls, ionized salt enriching the air, even a fireplace made of salt, Saltana replicates the interior of caves that have long been known for their healing powers in Europe, where breathing the air in salt mines is believed to relieve symptoms of asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions. The salt vapors travel into the deepest parts of the respiratory passages.

Proprietor Anna Husted became interested in salt therapy on a trip to her native Poland when she saw how much it helped her daughter Michelle, who suffers from asthma. In April, 2013, she opened one of the few such facilities in the United States.

The treatment is a unique form of alternative therapy that may provide relief from many respiratory ailments, she says. It also offers a sense of peace and serenity from simply breathing in the salt particles, much like breathing fresh sea air.

Patrons are asked to wear white socks and remove their shoes before walking on the floor, which is covered in fine white rock salt, and feels much like walking on the beach. They relax in ergonomic lounge chairs in the salt-infused atmosphere, surrounded by tranquil music, for 45-minute sessions.

Sessions take place on the hour from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.  Special sessions for children ages 1 to 8 and their companions are scheduled Friday at 12 noon and 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Guests are asked to arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to be signed in.  For information and reservations, see www.saltanacave.com or phone (203) 969-4327.

Several nearby hotels, including the Danbury Crowne Plaza (crowneplaza.com/Danbury) are offering packages with Saltana. For more information about lodging and other activities in the area and a free copy of UNWIND, a full-color, 152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.visitwesternct.com