From the Fjord to the Finca, Sauna Style is Sweeping Mallorca

ast April, I booked a sauna and cold plunge session with Sauna Tramuntana, just ten minutes from Palma, with seven girlfriends. Each of us had already experienced a sauna, whether at a gym, spa or hotel. However, this time, the setting changed everything. We were in the countryside, facing green hills and surrounded by citrus groves, in a small Ibizan-style finca. Between curiosity and excitement, we left our clothes, and worries, on chairs at the foot of a pine tree before entering the sauna.

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Built of wood, this round sauna is shaped like a caravan and has large windows that offer an immediate connection with the landscape. We were surrounded by lemon trees, flowers, early-spring blossoms and the deep pink sunset sky. In front of the sauna, chairs invite you to sit down and chat, enjoy a cup of tea or lemonade, and nibble on a few almonds, clementines or grapes. This is where you can relax, cup in hand, continuing your conversation before taking a cold shower outside or diving into the cool water of the pool, and returning to the enveloping warmth of the wood. After several trips back and forth between hot and cold, time seems to have expanded. Tensions dissolve, giving way to a feeling of absolute fulfilment. You leave feeling as though you have “cleansed” both your mind and body, while having enjoyed a pleasant time with friends.

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Jonathan and Kikki, the couple behind Sauna Tramuntana, embarked on this adventure in 2024, but the project had been germinating for several years in Oslo. At the time, Jonathan was working in documentary film production. Travelling constantly between Pakistan, China and the United States, he saw little of his family and worked himself into exhaustion, eventually suffering burnout. He then spent a year with his family in Mallorca. Back in Oslo, he threw himself into a community sauna project to regain balance. “We set up a sauna for the neighbours by the very clean river that runs through Oslo. It worked very well. After renting a sauna for a few weeks, we were able to buy one and make the project permanent,” he explains.

Courtesy Sauna Tramuntana

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inland remains the gold standard, along with Russia; these are the two historic home countries of the sauna,” says Jonathan. "In Finland, the sauna is an institution: everyone has one. In summer, it's a gathering place for families and friends; people eat, drink, and go in and out of the sauna throughout the day. “Since the pandemic,” he continues, “this way of life has spread rapidly. In Norway, the change has been spectacular: while in 2018 the fjords were almost empty of saunas, today there are more than fifty.” In Oslo, this phenomenon has taken the form of a village of floating saunas opposite the Munch Museum. The most famous of these, Trosten, has even been ranked among Time Magazine's ‘World's Greatest Places’ (2025). Designed by Spanish studio Herreros, Trosten features terrazzo walls and floors by Huguet.

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“In England, saunas are booming, it's crazy!” enthuses Jonathan. This revival is fuelled by books such as Emma O'Kelly's Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat, which has become the bible for heat lovers. Far from being a luxury reserved for an elite few, the sauna is celebrated as a social pillar and a radical way to reconnect with nature. Through immersive photographs, the author documents the phenomenon of ‘Wild Saunas’. We discover saunas, both nomadic and sedentary, installed on lake pontoons, braving the sea spray, or nestled in the heart of pastures, surrounded by sheep and goats. London has also succumbed to the trend with places like the Sauna Social Club, a hybrid wellness space where the younger generation now comes to socialise without drinking alcohol. Jonathan observes this paradigm shift: “Today, the sauna has become the ‘new bar’, the ultimate healthy meeting place.”

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Armed with their experience, Jonathan and Kikki decided to change their lives. “I knew I wanted to work on something physical and local,” says Jonathan. The idea of setting up a mobile sauna in Mallorca took root, but one question nagged at them: could the sauna culture work under the Mediterranean sun? Their doubts vanished when Jonathan discovered that a similar concept was a huge hit in Ibiza, even in the height of summer.

“When you enter the sauna your heart rate accelerates. It simulates physical exertion: your pulse rises and your heart activates.”

Courtesy Sauna Tramuntana

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n Bunyola, where they settled, Kikki and Jonathan are pursuing their ambition to build a community around the benefits of saunas in the great outdoors. Around the stove, you'll find Spaniards, Czechs, English, Brazilians, Koreans and French people... Their wooden sauna travels according to demand: it can be found at yoga retreats and festivals such as Naua. The base for their activity is in Ca na Xesca, 10 minutes from Palma. Every Sunday, they organise sessions open to all, allowing everyone to discover this unique experience in the heart of nature.

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In summer, when temperatures soar, Jonathan offers an ice bath to guarantee a striking thermal contrast! Even at 35°C, immersing yourself in water that is around 2 or 3°C is a challenge... one that I took up in July. Jonathan, who is a certified cold plunge instructor, prepares us mentally: “You'll feel like you're being stabbed and your first instinct will be to get out, which is normal because your brain thinks you're in danger. But it doesn't know that you have a method,” he says with a big smile. That method is breathing. “Once you're in the water don't move,” he advises. “A thin film of water warmed by your skin forms and protects you from the cold. If you move, you break this protection and feel the bite of the cold again.” So be it.

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Once in the ice, his instructions become an anchor: “Breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth. Then breathe normally.” By staring at the horizon and focusing on this deep breath, calm returns. It's a true spiritual practice: you let go of your ego, you stop wanting, and you accept being there. Jonathan starts the timer. I lasted two minutes. What I felt in that barrel was not just a simple sensation: it was a powerful biological reaction. The thermal shock causes a massive release of noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter that reduces inflammation, optimises muscle recovery, boosts mood, reduces stress and improves sleep.

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The alternation between hot and cold is a matter of biological performance. “When you enter the sauna,” Jonathan explains, “your heart rate accelerates. It simulates physical exertion: your pulse rises and your heart activates.” This observation is validated by the famous study by Dr Jari Laukkanen, who proved over a period of twenty years that regular use drastically reduces cardiovascular and neurodegenerative risks. Jonathan also quotes longevity expert Bryan Johnson: among all his ‘bio-hacking’ protocols, the sauna remains the number one tool for detoxification.

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But the most important thing is the experience itself. After two hours of ups and downs, your body and mind change frequency. For Jonathan, the conclusion is clear: “The sauna makes everything better. Music sounds purer, flavours are heightened, your mind is sharper. Whatever you do after a session, it will be better.”

Sauna Tramuntana

@sauna_tramuntana

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