What is a Finnish sauna
Finland has more saunas than cars. It is not a luxury or a spa: it is an everyday habit, as ordinary as a shower and as social as a coffee.
The room, the stove and the wood
A Finnish sauna is a small wooden room with benches at different heights and a stove full of stones. The air is heated to 80–90 °C, but it is a dry, breathable heat, quite unlike a steam room. The wood, usually pine or spruce, does not burn to the touch and smells of forest as it warms.
Löyly
Löyly is the Finnish word for the steam that rises when water is thrown on the hot stones. It is the heart of the sauna: a wave of moist heat rolling down from the ceiling. You throw a little, with a ladle, and ask the others first.
Heat, cold, rest
A session is several rounds. Ten to fifteen minutes of heat; then cold water, in a tub, a lake or the snow; then rest in the open air. And again. The contrast is half the experience: the body relaxes in the heat, wakes in the cold and settles in the rest.
A social ritual
In Finland the sauna is where deals are closed, friends are made and people talk without hurry. There are no ranks and no phones. That is why Nórdika welcomes thirty people a session and a host introduces those who have not met.
What it is like at Nórdika
Each session lasts 90 minutes. From 5 to 9 pm there are four saunas, two cold plunges and a hot tub on a rooftop overlooking Medellín's valley; by day, one sauna and one cold plunge by reservation. Bring a swimsuit and sandals; we provide the towel, fruit and hydration.
Before you come
Drink water before and after, do not come on a full stomach, and leave the heat when your body asks. If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or are pregnant, check with your doctor first.