Overview
About this location
Călimănești-Căciulata: 15 mineral springs from 8 °C to 87 °C, two aquaparks open all year from 30 lei entry. Mind DN7 — daily restrictions in the Olt Valley until at least 31 August 2026.
Weather – 3 day forecast
Details
General Information
Water temperature
28–37 °C in the Aqua Park Cozia pools (indoor at 33–36 °C); the drinking-cure springs are cold, 8–16 °C, while the 86–87 °C geothermal boreholes (1009) are for external use
Water type
Sulphurous, chlorinated, bicarbonate waters, from oligomineral (541 mg/l) to hypertonic (17,778 mg/l), with geothermal boreholes up to 87 °C
Entry price
Aqua Park Cozia, non-guests: 40 lei / adult Mon-Thu and 50 lei Fri-Sun for 3h30 (children 20/25 lei); Aquapark Hotel Central 30/35 lei adults, 10/15 lei children; free for hotel guests
Accessibility
Open all year, complete facilities
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
Digestive & hepato-biliary, renal & urinary, metabolic, rheumatic, peripheral neurological, respiratory and gynaecological
About Călimănești-Căciulata
A town in Vâlcea County on the right bank of the Olt, at 260 m altitude at the foot of the Cozia mountains. The springs were attested in 1388, under Mircea the Elder, through the medieval infirmary of Cozia Monastery. The Napoleon III story is documented rather than folklore: in 1855 Carol Davila recommended a cure with Căciulata water, and the emperor drank from Spring no. 1, bottled and sent by post to Paris. The waters took a Grand Prix diploma and gold medal in Brussels in 1893.
The operator, Călimănești-Căciulata S.A., is renovating in stages, and is unusually frank about it. Hotel Căciulata is described as fully renovated. Hotel Cozia had its interior redone from 26 June 2026, though the furniture was reconditioned rather than replaced. Hotel Oltul is partly done. And the company states outright that Hotel Central has had no major renovation in recent years, with a full rehabilitation planned only for 2028 — recommending it for those who want an economical option without high expectations of the interiors.
Region & access
- DN7 is the practical trap of summer 2026. Restrictions hold through 31 August on three sections — Călimănești–Tuțulești at km 198+200 to 207+000, Robu–Câineni, and Câineni–Lazaret — Monday to Saturday 08:00–17:30, with alternating traffic and temporary stops. Vehicles over 7.5 t cannot pass. Sundays and public holidays are free of the limits.
- The work is slope protection in the Olt gorge, rolled over since March 2026. On 21 July 2026 a man died on DN7 struck by a boulder. Arrive on a Sunday or after 17:30 if you can.
- Râmnicu Vâlcea 18 km or about 20 minutes, Bucharest 198 to 203 km, Craiova around 131 km. There is a Călimănești station on the Podu Olt–Piatra Olt line, plus Gara Turnu, used as a trailhead.
Which spring, for what
- Căciulata 1, in Căciulata Park, is the Napoleon III spring: sulphurous, chlorinated, bicarbonate, 3,349 mg/l at 12 °C. For kidneys and renal lithiasis, gastric dyspepsia, chronic gastritis and hepatitis.
- Călimănești 6 is the most concentrated of the drinking springs at 17,778 mg/l, for chronic hyperacid gastritis and cholecystitis, and externally for eye and nasal washes. At the other extreme, Călimănești 7, at 541 mg/l, is simply drinking water.
- Călimănești 8 was used for baths until 1949 and has been recommended for internal use only since. Păușa 1 and 2 have less sodium chloride than Căciulata 1 and are used for patients not suited to it.
The hot boreholes
- Borehole 1009, in the Casa de Cultură park, is the headline source: chlorosodic, bromo-iodinated, hypertonic, 15,140 mg/l at 86 °C, for rheumatic conditions, post-rheumatic sequelae, peripheral arteriopathy and dermatoses.
- The southern group, from Vicol to the lime works, is the most concentrated: Traian at 7,560 to 8,430 mg/l, Decebal at 7,690 to 8,580, and borehole 4579 at the stadium at 7,930 to 8,960.
- Two caveats on counting. The rehabilitation institute counts 15 springs, 12 athermal and 3 thermal, but the detailed lists add up to more than 18 captures — the 1 to 15 numbering is a convention, not a total. And temperatures conflict: Căciulata 3 is given as 56 °C by one source and 53 °C by another.
Day access, no room needed
- Aqua Park Cozia, next to the Cozia, Oltul and Căciulata hotels: 13 indoor and outdoor pools with thermal water at 28–37 °C, the indoor pool held at 33–36 °C, 9 slides, a spa with jacuzzi and wet sauna, over 1,400 loungers, a self-service restaurant. Open all year.
- Aquapark Hotel Central, inside the hotel: indoor pool with massage jets, hydrotherapy and jacuzzi. Both aquaparks are free for guests of the respective hotels and charge non-guests for a 3 hour 30 minute slot.
- Wristbands are valid only on the day of purchase and give single access — the ticket dies the moment you leave the site. Third-party listings still showing 11 pools, 8 slides or a 35 lei rate are quoting old figures.
- To be straightforward: there is no municipal thermal pool with free public access. The closest things are the seasonal Ștrand Termal Căciulata at Popasul Turistic, Piscina Casa Românească, open daily 08:00–23:00, and the seasonal Camelot and Pescăruș pools, whose rates are not published.
- Hotel Traian in Căciulata has its own treatment base plus a separately charged spa: hammam, Finnish sauna, jacuzzi, gym, a salt room with Himalayan and Praid salt, an ice fountain and a thermal water pool, at around 35 lei for three hours.
- Five cure profiles are claimed here: digestive and hepato-biliary, renal and urinary, locomotor and peripheral nervous, occupational heavy-metal poisoning, and silicosis. Treat the only in the country claim as commercial. Procedures at the main operator include TECAR therapy, the Super Inductive System, crenotherapy, sulphurous tub baths and hydrokinesiotherapy.
Two different rhythms
- Aqua Park Cozia: Monday to Sunday 08:30–20:00, open all year, with a Happy Hour from 18:00 to 20:00. Aquapark Hotel Central: 08:30–19:00.
- Treatment bases run Monday to Friday. Hotel Traian states it explicitly, and agency listings for the main complex say four procedures a day on weekdays. Procedures are not done at weekends, exactly when the pools are busiest.
- Off-season is meaningfully cheaper: the operator ran 50% off at the Aqua Park between 11 January and 30 May 2026, and offered an extra free procedure a day in May.
- Cozia Monastery, the standard day trip: daily 08:00–21:00, free entry, museum included. Check-in at Hotel Central is 16:00 and check-out 12:00, with free cancellation seven days ahead and no pets allowed.
Read on 1 August 2026
- Aqua Park Cozia, non-guests, for 3 hours 30 minutes: adults 40 lei Monday to Thursday and 50 lei Friday to Sunday and holidays; children 2 to 14, 20 and 25 lei. Overstaying costs 5 lei per 30 minutes for adults, 3 lei for children.
- Aquapark Hotel Central, non-guests, same duration: adults 30 and 35 lei, children 10 and 15 lei. Free for guests of the respective hotels, with multiple entries and unlimited time.
- Accommodation: Hotel Căciulata from 297 lei a night; Cozia, Oltul and Central from 221 lei. Children under 6 free, 6 to 14 pay 50 lei a day for an extra bed. Reservations on 0250 750 280.
- Hotel Traian, balneal package 1 July to 31 August 2026, minimum six days: 225 lei per person per day in a standard room with full board and a mineral water cure, 245 lei with a balcony; with à la carte dining instead, 250 and 270 lei. Bring a health card and a referral for the Căciulata resort.
- The main operator publishes its 2026 offers only as images, with no price in text. Package prices are effectively unpublished — you have to ask.
- Ștrand Termal Căciulata, non-guests: adults 30 lei Monday to Thursday and 35 lei Friday to Sunday, children 10 and 15 lei. CNPP ticket, 16 days: full cost 3,480 to 3,886 lei, the pensioner paying 50% of their gross pension. The units with CNPP tickets here are the Cozia complex and Hotel Central.
Good to know
- Călimănești is not Căciulata. They are two localities about 2 to 3 km apart, joined by the Balneal Cure Alley — 2.3 km on foot, around 40 minutes, laid out in 1917 by German engineers. If you book in Călimănești but your treatment is in Căciulata, that is the walk. Aqua Park Cozia and Hotel Traian are in Căciulata; Hotel Central and the spring pavilion are in Călimănești.
- The clientele is mostly senior and mostly on tickets — the operator itself recommends Hotel Central for seniors and treatment-focused visits. The practical consequence is that treatment bases run weekdays and the CNPP series change the occupancy profile of the hotels in certain periods.
- Construction that may disturb you between 2026 and 2028: the Vila Oltul clinic site right in the centre, 24 months from July 2026, funded with over 10 million euro; the 20-hectare Forest-Park works near Hotel Central; and rehabilitation of the balneal parks around the springs, declared at 31 months.
- Seasonality works in your favour. Both aquaparks are open all year, so the resort functions twelve months, unlike many summer-only spas. Only the outdoor pools are seasonal.
- Around the resort: Cozia Monastery, founded in 1388, with the tomb of Mircea the Elder; Turnu and Stânișoara monasteries and Ostrov Hermitage on the island in the Olt; the Roman fort Arutela; Cozia National Park and the Lotrișor waterfall; the Vâlcea Village Museum at Bujoreni. If you are heading for the Transfăgărășan, the restricted DN7 sections lie exactly on that route.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the entrance fee at Călimanești-Căciulata?
Aqua Park Cozia, non-guests: 40 lei / adult Mon-Thu and 50 lei Fri-Sun for 3h30 (children 20/25 lei); Aquapark Hotel Central 30/35 lei adults, 10/15 lei children; free for hotel guests. Prices can change, so check the official information before visiting.
What are the opening hours at Călimanești-Căciulata?
Aqua Park Cozia daily 08:30-20:00, all year (Happy Hour 18:00-20:00); Aquapark Hotel Central daily 08:30-19:00; treatment bases Monday-Friday.
What is the water temperature at Călimanești-Căciulata?
28–37 °C in the Aqua Park Cozia pools (indoor at 33–36 °C); the drinking-cure springs are cold, 8–16 °C, while the 86–87 °C geothermal boreholes (1009) are for external use.
Is Călimanești-Căciulata open in winter?
Open all year, complete facilities.
What is the therapeutic profile of Călimanești-Căciulata?
Călimanești-Căciulata is a balneary resort with a profile covering: Digestive & hepato-biliary, renal & urinary, metabolic, rheumatic, peripheral neurological, respiratory and gynaecological. Whether a balneary cure is appropriate is a decision to make together with a physician.