The Finnish Kota Sauna

• Product with a rich history and traditional Scandinavian design
• The special shape provides plenty of indoor space
• Available as a sauna, though also as a (combi) barbecue room or glamping unit!

Finnish kotas were originally tents and later wooden cabins with a stove and basic creature comforts. These garden houses have since been developed further to form all kinds of variants: as a barbecue house, all-inclusive accommodation with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and all mods cons, and (popularly) as a Finnish kota sauna in which to relax!

The Sauna Kota will give you the ultimate Scandinavian feeling in your own garden. The Sauna Kotas feature luxury benches and can be fitted with a wood-fired stove or electric heater.

The design of the Sauna Kota makes it possible to use sauna benches on different tiers, with the upper tier being reserved for those looking for the highest temperatures and the lower tiers being for those who like their heat a little less extreme. After all, heat rises, so it’s always slightly hotter higher up in the sauna. 

The history of the Finnish Kota begins in the northernmost region of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia: Lapland. Officially, this isn’t a country, but rather a region designated as the land of the Sami people. They lived off of nature and off of all that the forest area and their reindeer herds had to offer.

As nomadic people, the Sami travelled around with kotas, a kind of tent consisting of tethered sticks and lining made of reindeer hide. At the top, in the middle of the bound sticks, there was a hole for smoke to pass through, as they would build a fire in the tent to heat it up and to prepare food. Their simple structure meant that the kotas could easily be put up and taken down. This was crucial, as the Sami people had to keep moving on to another stretch of land, looking for food for themselves and for the reindeer. 

Nowadays, kotas made of sticks and reindeer hide have been superseded by wooden houses, mostly made of durable pinewood. Kotas serving as hikers’ cabins are a common sight along hiking routes in Scandinavia. Here, hikers can rest, eat and recharge their batteries before continuing on their journey. A tiny minority of the Sami people still live the old nomadic life, but this habit has almost completely disappeared due to the developments of the present era. However, reindeer farms are still common in Scandinavia. 

Keen to have a piece of this rich history in your own back garden?! Here at TICRA Outdoor, you’ll find Finnish Kotas in the form of a sauna, barbecue room (barbecue cabin), a combination of these (see size 16.5 m2) and/or as an accommodation unit allowing guests of campsites and B&Bs to experience a great glamping adventure.

In the Sauna variant you have a choice of 2 types of Sauna kota: