A temazcal in Tulum · before you come Frequent questions

A ritual steam bath and a wellbeing practice, whose origins go back to the pre-Hispanic medicine of native peoples across the American continent.

It is a low, closed dome that represents the womb of Mother Earth. Inside, water steeped with herbs falls on red-hot volcanic stones and turns into steam.

They are cousins, not twins. In English a temazcal is often called a Mexican sweat lodge, and that is a fair way to find it — but the name flattens what makes it its own thing.

A temazcal is a built dome of masonry or adobe, not a frame covered with blankets. The heat comes from volcanic stones warmed for hours outside and carried in, and water steeped with herbs is poured over them. And the ceremony has its own form: the seven chakras outside, the four doors inside, each one a direction with its colour and its element.

So: if you searched for a sweat lodge in Tulum, you are in the right place. What you will find is a temazcal, and it is worth calling it by its name.

$10,000 MXN per ceremony, for a group of one to six people.

It is not per person: whether one comes or six, the price is the same. It is a private ceremony, prepared for your circle.

Two to three hours, start to finish: the chakra alignment and breathing exercises beforehand, the four doors inside, and the closing with the flower tea, the fruit, the seeds and the rest.

That closing is not filler — it is part of the ceremony too. Nobody leaves in a rush.

A swimsuit, a towel, water, a dry change of clothes, and an open heart.

That is looked at case by case, and not over a message: every guest fills in a health questionnaire before the ceremony. It covers pregnancy, high blood pressure and the other conditions that matter.

It is not paperwork. It gets very hot inside and the body works; knowing what you arrive with is what lets us accompany you properly — or tell you honestly if this is not your moment.

Yes, and it is the one condition we ask of everyone: no alcohol and no drugs in the 24 hours before the ceremony. Every guest agrees to this when booking.

It is about the body. It gets very hot inside and you will sweat a lot: arriving dehydrated, or with something in your system, turns a safe practice into a bad time.

As early as you can. Ceremonies are private and prepared for your circle — the fire is lit hours ahead and the herbs are cut that same day — so dates get taken quickly.

No, and we work precisely so that it is not confused with one. The temazcal is a wellbeing practice with ancestral roots, and that is how we treat it.

No. It is not esoteric and it is not a matter of faith. The heat, the steam, the herbs and the breathing do something very concrete to the body, and you will notice that yourself, whatever you believe.

No, and we would rather not be called that. Nobody here heals anybody: what we do is look after the fire, the stones, the herbs and the timing, and explain what is happening at each moment so you understand what you are going through.

There is a phrase the original peoples of Mexico taught us that sums up how we see it: «Tú eres tu propio enemigo, y tu propia medicina» — you are your own enemy, and your own medicine. The work inside is yours; we accompany and explain.

You will sweat, and a lot. That part is true, and it is what most people have in mind when they search for «detox»: sweating makes the body lose water and salts, and small amounts of some other substances.

What we will not promise you is a detox as it tends to be advertised. Detoxifying is the job of your liver and kidneys, every day, and no ceremony replaces them or speeds them up. We would rather tell you before you come in: the heat, the steam, the herbs and a stretch of silence do something very concrete, and you feel it the same day. It is not a medical treatment and it does not replace the care of a health professional: we do not cure anything.

The fire is lit hours ahead to heat the stones. Outside, in a circle, we do a breathing meditation that travels through the seven chakras. Then you go in.

Inside, the temazcal opens and closes four times: those are the four doors. Between one and the next the entrance opens, fresh air comes in, and the circle breathes again. When you come out you rest, and there is water, fresh fruit and seeds.

The four moments of the ceremony. Each door is a direction, with its colour and its element: east, yellow, the sun and fire; south, blue, water; west, red, earth and fertility; and north, white, wind. The circle travels through all of them, in that order.

Lemongrass, rue, basil, eucalyptus and chamomile, among many others. They are prepared fresh the same day and chosen according to what the circle asks for.

All our ceremonies are private. We do not put strangers together: the people you invite come in, and no one else.

In Tulum. And since we are a project in motion, we also take the ceremony wherever it is needed: write to us and we will look at it.

Yes. We plant temazcales as permanent altars in housing projects, regenerative communities, hotels and private homes. We design them, build them, and hand them over with their first ceremony.