Băile Tușnad: mofette, sparkling springs and the Olt valley

Băile Tușnad is a small spa town in Harghita County, in the southern part of the Ciuc Depression, where the Olt cuts a gorge between the Harghita and Bodoc mountains. The resort lies at 650 m below the western slopes of the volcanic Ciomatu massif. At the 2021 census only 1,372 people lived here, which makes it the smallest town in Romania by population. The spa was most probably founded in 1842: according to tradition, the cure of a shepherd's son drew attention to the springs. A joint-stock company was set up in 1845, the resort was destroyed in the 1849 revolution and rebuilt from 1852. The Stefánia medical centre opened in 1890, the artificial Lake Ciucaș was created in 1900, and the large hotels were built in the 1970s.

Natural healing factors

• Carbonated mineral waters – chloride-sodium and bicarbonate waters, some of them ferruginous. The Stănescu spring gives 405 l/h of water at 7 °C (pH 6.2, bicarbonate sodium-calcium-magnesium), the Apor spring 7,200 l/h at 7 °C (pH 5.3, ferruginous, chloride-bicarbonate), and the Mikes spring water at 14 °C (pH 5.6, slightly ferruginous).
• Mofette – dry carbon dioxide of volcanic origin. According to a study by Romanian balneologists (In Vivo journal, 2019), the gas of the Băile Tușnad mofette contains about 90–95% CO2.
• Climate – subalpine, tonic and stimulating, with conifer forests all around.

What is treated

Romanian reference sources give the following indications for treatment: cardiovascular diseases (after myocardial infarction, circulatory disorders, valve disease, arterial hypertension), functional disorders of the nervous system and fatigue, digestive diseases (chronic gastritis, enterocolitis, biliary dyskinesia) and endocrine disorders. Hotel Tușnad specialises in cardiac rehabilitation, recovery after injuries and orthopaedic surgery and relief of muscle, joint and rheumatic pain; Hotel Ciucaș adds arteriosclerosis, obesity and kidney disease. Absolute contraindications according to Hotel Tușnad: acute diseases and flare-ups of chronic ones, infectious diseases, active tuberculosis, malignant tumours, epilepsy, severe malnutrition and contagious skin diseases. This information is for reference only and is not medical advice: the course and the procedures are prescribed by a doctor after a consultation.

Procedures and springs

The treatment base of Hotel Tușnad offers the mofette (baths with CO2 emanations), mineral water baths and hydrotherapy, hydrokinesiotherapy in a pool, aerosols, paraffin, electro- and magnetotherapy, ultrasound, TECAR, laser, short-wave therapy, galvanic baths, lymphatic drainage and kinesiotherapy. Procedures are prescribed by a specialist doctor after a consultation and must be booked in advance. Treatment packages with a referral (bilet de trimitere) are intended for patients of the Romanian insurance system, while the «Weekend balneo» package includes procedures that need no referral.

Hotel Ciucaș publishes a separate price list for its base: carbon dioxide baths, galvanic baths, underwater shower massage, paraffin, electrotherapy, massage, aerosols, a hydrokinesiotherapy pool and a salt room. In the town itself, springs of sparkling water flow where you can fill a bottle and taste it; drink it as a cure only on a doctor's advice. In the mofette your head must stay above the gas level, and the staff limit the time you spend inside.

Practical information

The main bases are Hotel Tușnad at Strada Oltului 87 and Hotel Ciucaș at Aleea Sfânta Ana 7, next to Lake Ciucaș. As of November 2026 Hotel Ciucaș lists these prices on its website (without a validity date): first medical consultation 150 lei (100 lei for hotel guests), carbonated bath 25 lei, galvanic bath 20 lei, underwater shower 50 lei, hydrokinesiotherapy pool 15 lei, salt room 15 lei. Opening hours of the bases are not published, so check bookings and schedules by phone. The resort is open all year. Above the town rises the Falcon's Rock (Stânca Șoimilor) with a viewpoint over the lake and the Olt valley. The town has a railway station on main line 400.

Getting there from Ukraine

The shortest route from Chernivtsi is via the Porubne – Siret border crossing: 324 km, about 6 h 09 min. From Rakhiv via Solotvyno – Sighetu Marmației it is 390 km, about 7 h 01 min; from Uzhhorod via Diakove – Halmeu 507 km, about 8 h 35 min. Times are without border queues. Romanian roads require the electronic vignette (rovinieta).

Nearby

More about the town on the Băile Tușnad page. Right above the resort lies the Ciomatu Mare volcano with the crater lake of Saint Anne, the only volcanic lake of its kind in Romania. On the other side of the massif is the resort of Balvanyos with its sulphurous mofette cave, and to the south-east lies Covasna, «the resort of a thousand springs».

Official website: tusnad.ro

Photos: Geta eftimie, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Bogdan Muraru, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Aakmaros, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; VargaA, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.