What is the difference between tourists and travelers? Tourists want an easy, relaxing trip focused on basic needs of accommodation, food, drink, and perhaps recreational activities. Travelers seek experiences and people that define a destination – they seek the essence of a place. Directly experiencing the traditions and rituals of the local culture is one of the best ways to learn about a place and its people. Such experiential travel is a luxury of its own whether you spend a lot or no money on a certain experience.

One of Mexico’s most honored and oldest rituals is the temazcal, a pre-Hispanic sweat lodge used in ancient Mesoamerica as part of a curative ceremony to purify the body after battle or aid the sick. Still used today in Indigenous cultures of Mexico and Central America, the temazcal has also become a spa-type service at many hotels and resorts around the world.

Casa de Sierra Nevada is part of the Orient Express brand’s collection of unique hotels around the world. The luxury hotel is a cluster of historic buildings in the town center of San Miguel de Allende, a UNESCO world heritage site city located in the hills of central Mexico.

The hotel offers their temazcal as a detoxifying spa service, though the ceremonial ritual is given more emphasis during the two-hour experience. The two young Mexican women who lead the ceremony have an intimate knowledge of the spiritual tradition of temazcal. Standing outside the dome-shaped stone temazcal in white cotton ceremonial robes, we watched a worker stoke a massive fire that was heating the stones that would soon heat us.

Our small group entered the temazcal and the heated rocks were brought in and placed into a pit in the middle of the dome. Our lovely priestesses poured water on the rocks while a worker closed the temazcal´s door – this spiritual sauna had begun. Copal, a resin used by the Mayan peoples as incense, was sprinkled on the hot rocks, creating sparkles in the total darkness. The priestesses sang traditional songs, performed Indigenous chants and blessings, and invited each guest to make a prayer or wish.

An aromatic mixture of medicinal herbs – Santa Maria, Rosemary and Poleo – were placed on the stones as a purifying combination designed to eliminate accumulated toxins in the body. More water was added to more rocks and within 30 minutes everyone was enjoying a heavy sweat in what was a very calming and somewhat intoxicating environment.

Every aspect of the ceremony and experience was done with complete sincerity that fully honored the ritual and the ancestors who performed it centuries ago. In the darkness, with all of your senses (except vision) fully engaged, you can make your own spiritual connection with the energy and meaning of the ritual. Or at least you will have experienced something that was very important to the Indigenous people of this land.

The temazcal is a spiritual and physical adventure that is meant to bring you into a deeper sense of peace with inner harmony and reflection. Emerging from the temazcal into the coolness of the late afternoon was relieving but also brought a feeling of being rejuvenated, purified; perhaps even a spiritual rebirth or cleansing. It is an intense experience for body and mind – an experience far more rewarding and memorable than riding a jetski or having lunch poolside. If you are going to indulge in the luxury of real experiences, it can be easy to momentarily become a travel snob!