The lush jungles surrounding the ancient ruins of Tikal made us feel like intrepid explorers discovering primeval civilizations.

Before we get started, I must admit that this is NOT a hot spring. Rather, Los Vahos is a natural steam sauna, whose heat is generated from the volcano on which this "resort" is located. Nonetheless, we decided to add this to the list, since it still sated our desires to strip down to our swim suits, bask in some glorious heat, and clean ourselves off in the cold showers provided for contrast to the sweltering saunas.

While we were in the Quetzaltenango (Xela) region of Western Guatemala, we had become aware of the existence of volcanic heated springs and saunas that dot the surrounding area (we're always on the lookout for things like this). The day we went was oppressively hot, and as we drove up the very dusty and very rough road that leads to Los Vahos (which is really only about a 3 kilometer hike from the city itself), I questioned our sanity. Were we really going to go sit in a SAUNA on a day like today? When we arrived we pulled in next to the main building located on the top of a hill above the rest of the property. A friendly local with very little English greeted us and with my broken Spanish and his broken English we were able to determine that for the price of 20Q ($4 CAD) a person we could stay and enjoy the saunas for as long as we wanted, even though the sign in the saunas themselves say 20Q for 1 hora (hour).

Beautiful Lake Atitlan from it’s busy shores in Panajachel, Guatemala.

We first used the bathroom, which is located in its own small stone building in the parking lot. They were abysmal. One stall was very clearly now a storage shed, and the other housed a toilet without a seat (an ongoing mystery to us as we travel through Latin America....where do all these toilet seats go?), which you had to flush by dumping a bucket of water into once you had finished your business. The floor could have been given a sweep. Couldn't hurt, right?

The beautiful city of Antigua is known for its artisanal markets and vibrant colours.

Inside the steam house we were given the option of three saunas, and I think without realizing it, we took the hottest. Walking into our own private sauna area, there was ample room on a long bench to store our bags, towels, and toiletries. A second door leads you into the cold shower room, which is just that: a shower head and faucet with a tiled floor and a drain in the centre. To your right another door opens to the sauna itself. Ours was a very small, but very tall room, perhaps 6'x4', and about 10' high. Along one wall runs a bench and in the "far" corner sat a plastic lawn chair (a staple of Latin American decor). Against the wall opposite the door a small pipe sticks up from the floor. By placing our hands over it we deduced that this is where the volcanic steam comes from. The room was very hot. Within seconds we were sweating, our troubles (as if we have any as we travel our way through life) melted away. Braden even took his bathing suit off once we had determined that we would not be interrupted. We spent at least two hours hopping from sauna to cold shower, at times opening the sauna door to make it cooler, or closing it to languish in the extreme heat. The feeling of the cold water soaking my hair and then trickling down my back was exquisite.

Whether it’s hot springs, volcanic saunas, or cool, crystal clear lakes you’re plunging yourself into, Guatemala is sure to take away all your troubles. Be careful though, it just might take your heart right along with it.

The facilities themselves were, admittedly, run down. The door handle to our sauna was a small plastic coated copper wire that hadn't been cleaned in...well, ever. Signs outside suggest that there is a restaurant or cantina at which you can buy food and drink, but this didn't look operational. Los Vahos is also a hostel/motel and you can rent little cabanas there. To it's credit, the cabanas looked quite nice, although we didn't take the opportunity to peer inside. The proprietor was friendly and nobody gave us a hassle about spending more than our one hour in the sauna. I wonder if this could be a different story on a busy day.

If you're looking for more of a resort, there are plenty of options around, but expect them to be crowded with tourists and locals alike, and expect to pay much more for them than $4 CAD. If you're looking for a sauna at which you can hang out all day, alternating between heat and cold showers, in near solitude, Los Vahos is where you want to be. It might not be pretty, but we left relaxed, happy, and squeaky clean. But don't forget to bring your own water...

Majestic Tikal. Standing atop an ancient pyramid looking over these incredible ruins feels like stepping back in time. You can almost imagine that the tourists below are the original inhabitants of this once fine city, going about daily life the w… — Majestic Tikal. Standing atop an ancient pyramid looking over these incredible ruins feels like stepping back in time. You can almost imagine that the tourists below are the original inhabitants of this once fine city, going about daily life the way we still do today.

Cleanliness - 2
Amenities - 2
Exclusivity - 4
Scenery - 1 (hey, it's a sauna, you're inside... Also, if we’re being honest, while we enjoyed ourselves immensely, the place didn’t really inspire us to take photos. Looking back, since we decided to write reviews about all these places, we absolutely should have and we regret our lack of foresight! Instead, please enjoy pictures from our travels around Guatemala!)
Community - 1
Camping - 3/4
(We didn't stay, but I'll bet if you asked the owner he'd let you camp out in his parking lot for a small fee, or of course you can rent yourself a cheap cabana for the evening and be right next to the saunas and only a 3km dusty hike down to the city centre).