Borsec spa: carbonated springs and the Fontana centre

Borsec is a small spa town in the north-east of Harghita County, lying at 850–950 m in a little basin where the Giurgeu, Bistrița and Călimani mountains meet (Eastern Carpathians). It is surrounded by unbroken spruce forest, and the resort owes its fame to its many springs of carbonated mineral water. Borsec water has been bottled since 1804–1806; in 1873 it won a medal at the World Exhibition in Vienna and has been called the "queen of mineral waters" ever since. The first bath houses were built in the mid-19th century, the resort flourished between the wars, and in 1953 Borsec became a spa town. After the 1990s the old treatment buildings fell into decay and the treatment base closed; treatment only resumed at the end of 2022, when the town opened the new Fontana Spa & Balneo centre.

Natural healing factors

• Mineral waters – mixed carbonated, bicarbonate, calcium-magnesium waters (some springs also sodium) with a variable iron content. The carbon dioxide comes from the extinct Călimani – Gurghiu – Harghita volcanic chain: rising from depth, it saturates the water flowing through dolomitic limestone. The best-known drinking springs are Boldizsár (No. 3), László (No. 5), Lázár (No. 6), Kossuth (No. 10), Petőfi (No. 11) and the slightly radioactive Pierre Curie spring; the main springs No. 1 and No. 2 are tapped for bottling.
• Mofette – natural vents of dry carbon dioxide; one is set up at Izvorul Străvechi (the "Ancient Spring"), where the first bathing pond once was.
• Peat and mud – Upper Borsec has peat bogs more than 10 m thick, used as therapeutic mud.
• Climate – a stimulating mountain climate with clean, ozone-rich air, predominantly negative ionisation and small temperature swings: the annual average is about 5 °C, July about 15 °C.

What is treated

According to the Fontana centre, a drinking cure with the resort's mineral water is indicated for chronic gastritis with low or normal acidity, dyspepsia, uncomplicated gastric and duodenal ulcer between flare-ups and after stomach surgery, biliary dyskinesia, chronic non-calculous cholecystitis and the state after gallbladder removal, chronic hepatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic kidney and urinary tract disease (including kidney stones with open urinary tracts), hyperthyroidism, diabetes, obesity, gout and reduced bone density. Mineral water baths are indicated for stage I–II hypertension controlled with medication, ischaemic heart disease (including at least 3 months after a heart attack or surgery), early-stage peripheral arterial disease, Raynaud's syndrome, stage I–II chronic venous insufficiency, degenerative and inflammatory joint disease, neurological conditions (including after a stroke in stable patients), the after-effects of surgery on the musculoskeletal system, and skin and genital conditions. Separate programmes of the centre target chronic respiratory and ENT diseases (allergic rhinitis, COPD, asthma) and burnout.

Patients with cardiovascular disease must bring recent blood and urine tests, an ECG, a Doppler scan and a cardiologist's report. The mofette is contraindicated in, among others, heart failure, advanced atherosclerosis, cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis; too much carbon dioxide causes headache, dizziness and nausea. This information is for reference only and is not medical advice: treatment and procedures are prescribed by a doctor after a consultation.

Treatments and pump rooms

• Drinking springs – in the centre of the resort, along the "7 Springs" avenue (Aleea 7 Izvoare) and around it, wooden pavilions from the early 20th century stand over the Boldizsár, László, Lázár, Kossuth and Petőfi springs; you can fill up for free. A drinking cure should only be taken on a doctor's advice.
• Fontana Spa & Balneo – over 3,000 m² in the resort centre: indoor pools with ordinary water heated to 30 °C (the children's pool to 32 °C), outdoor pools (summer only), a "sacral bath" with mineral water pools, saunas and a salt room. The balneo section offers consultations with a physical and rehabilitation medicine doctor, underwater shower massage, hydromassage, carbon dioxide baths, electrotherapy, exercise therapy, paraffin wraps and massages.
• Fairy Glade (Poiana Zânelor) – open-air pools filled by mineral springs, with changing rooms and places to rest; according to the Harghita County tourism portal, entry is free.
• Ó-Sáros bath – rebuilt to its 19th-century design, with warm and cold mineral water pools; according to the Fontana website it is open to organised groups, with tickets sold at the Fontana centre.

Practical information

Fontana Spa & Balneo is at Strada Carpați 101A. As of November 2026 (fontanaborsec.ro): doctor's consultations Monday to Friday 8:00–15:00, treatments 8:00–16:00, appointment by phone required in advance. The pools are open daily; an adult ticket is 75 lei for 3 hours, 120 lei for 6 hours and 150 lei unlimited; children pay 35, 60 and 75 lei; seniors Monday to Thursday 55 lei (3 hours) and 85 lei (6 hours). Current programme prices are on the official website of the Fontana centre. For people insured in the Romanian health system the consultation and up to 4 procedures a day can be covered with a family doctor's referral. The resort is pleasant in winter too – there is a small ski slope.

Getting there from Ukraine

From Chernivtsi it is 224 km, about 4 h 20 min via the Porubne – Siret border crossing; from Rakhiv 263 km, about 6 h 10 min via Solotvyno – Sighetu Marmației; from Uzhhorod 416 km, about 7 h 10 min via Diakove – Halmeu. Times exclude border queues. Romanian roads require the rovinieta e-vignette. The resort lies on the DN15 road; the nearest railway station is in Toplița, 26 km away.

Nearby

Above the resort rises the travertine hill of Scaunul Rotund (982 m) – a 70-hectare reserve with karst features, the Bears' Grotto, a stalactite cave and the Ice Cave (Peștera de Gheață), where ice lasts until late spring or summer (only the entrance section is open to visitors). To the north lies Budacu peak in the Bistrița Mountains, to the east the Ceahlău massif with the Duruitoarea waterfall. About 55 km to the south-west (as the crow flies) lies the resort of Sovata with the heliothermal Bear Lake. Official information is on the Fontana Borsec website.

Photos: Elekes Andor, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Accipiter Gentilis, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.