Maailman parhaat saunamaat, listattuina

Every culture that has access to heat has, in some form, built a bathing tradition around it. The Roman thermae, the Japanese onsen, the Turkish hammam, the Russian banya, the Finnish sauna — these traditions developed independently, across thousands of years and thousands of kilometres, because the combination of heat and water appears to be a fundamental human need.

Today, the world's great sauna nations offer travellers an extraordinary diversity of heat bathing experiences. Here is how the leading countries compare.

1. Finland — The Undisputed Original

Sauna density: ~3.3 million saunas for 5.5 million people UNESCO status: Listed (2020) Defining experience: Lakeside smoke sauna with birch branches and ice swimming

There is no serious argument against Finland's position at the top of any ranking of sauna countries. The statistics alone are extraordinary — more saunas than cars, more saunas than supermarkets, saunas in parliament buildings and presidential residences. But what makes Finland truly exceptional is not quantity but depth.

The Finnish relationship with sauna goes beyond recreation or wellness. It is embedded in the national psychology, in the language, in the philosophy of life. The Finnish concept of sisu — roughly translated as resilient determination — is forged, Finns will tell you, partly in the sauna.

2. Estonia — The Smoke Sauna Nation

Sauna density: Very high, particularly in rural south UNESCO status: Listed (specifically for smoke sauna tradition, 2014) Defining experience: Traditional smoke sauna (suitsusaun) in a rural farmhouse

Estonia was the first country in the world to have its sauna tradition added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list — ahead of Finland by six years, and specifically for the smoke sauna tradition of the Võru region in south Estonia.

Estonian sauna culture is somewhat quieter and less internationally known than Finland's, but it is no less deep. The smoke sauna experience here is raw, elemental, and utterly unlike anything available in a modern wellness centre. Wood is burned for hours. The room fills with smoke. The smoke clears. Then you sit in the most perfectly heated room imaginable.

3. Germany — The Aufguss Masters

Sauna density: Extremely high in spa towns and urban areas UNESCO status: Not listed Defining experience: Aufguss ceremony in a large spa complex

Germany approaches sauna with characteristic thoroughness. The country has hundreds of large spa complexes (Saunalandschaft — literally "sauna landscape"), and the Aufguss tradition — in which sauna masters perform elaborate steam infusion ceremonies with towels and essential oils — is uniquely German in its theatrical sophistication.