About Băile Olănești
Băile Olănești is a small spa resort squeezed into the valley of the Olănești river, 18 km north-west of Râmnicu Vâlcea at around 450 m above sea level, among hills covered in beech and fir. It owes its fame to its mineral springs: more than 30 of them, numbered and captured along a few kilometres of the valley, with sulphurous, chlorinated, iodised and sodium-rich waters, drunk as a cure for digestive, kidney and respiratory conditions and used in baths for rheumatism.
The waters here appear in a charter of 1760, where they are called "healing waters", and in 1873 they won the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Vienna. In 1895 a flash flood buried the springs, and the resort stood almost abandoned for some three decades, until they were captured again after the First World War. Today their exploitation is leased to a private company, and access to the springs is by card, a system disputed by locals and visitors alike.
What you can see
Entry to the resort is free. From the park in the centre, recently rebuilt with fountains, paths and playgrounds, the Springs Walk sets off: a paved path of about 1.3 km that climbs along the riverbank in the shade of the forest, past the pavilions and taps of the numbered springs, up to Spring 24, the best known, sheltered under a concrete pavilion with a roof curved like a sail. On the way you pass the old bath house, with tiled roofs and small turrets, a listed historic monument.
On a hill in the eastern part of the resort stands the wooden church from Albac, Horea's home village, built in the middle of the 18th century. Ion I. C. Brătianu bought it and moved it in 1907 to his Florica estate, and in 1954 Patriarch Justinian brought it to Olănești, where it was consecrated again in 1958. In summer the town hall's sulphur-water pool in the centre is open to everyone.
Good to know
Most of the mineral springs are enclosed in pavilions or behind railings and can only be used with the card, on the recommendation of a doctor at one of the treatment centres. From the resort, up the Olănești valley, a forest road climbs towards the Olănești Gorges, one of the entry points to the Buila-Vânturarița National Park.
- The Springs Walk, 1.3 km along the Olănești river in the shade of the forest, from the park in the centre up to Spring 24.
- The concrete pavilion with a sail-like curved roof at Spring 24, the resort's best-known spring.
- The wooden church from Albac, Horea's home village, brought here from the Apuseni Mountains and consecrated again in 1958.
- The old bath house, with tiled roofs and small turrets, a listed monument on the way to the springs.
- The sulphur-water pool in the centre, heated to 28–30 °C and open to everyone in summer.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Râmnicu Vâlcea head north-west on the DN 64, which ends right in the resort: 18 km, about 25 minutes. From Bucharest it is ~195 km on the A1 to Pitești and then the DN 7 to Râmnicu Vâlcea (~3h), from Sibiu ~115 km on the DN 7 through the Olt Gorge (~2h).
Public transport: take the train to Râmnicu Vâlcea station, then one of the minibuses that link the town with Băile Olănești every day (they leave from the bus stations in Râmnicu Vâlcea; the ride takes 30–45 minutes).
- Where to park
In the centre, on Strada Băilor, opposite the sulphur-water pool, there is a multi-storey car park, and next to the park there is a large open-air car park. We could not find the official rates. Hotels usually have their own car parks for guests.
- Fees & discounts
Walking through the resort, the park and the Springs Walk is free, as is visiting the wooden church. At the town hall's sulphur-water pool entry is 30 lei for adults and 15 lei for children over 7; under-7s go in free (rates unchanged in summer 2026). Water from the mineral springs is drawn with a paid daily card, issued through the treatment centres after a consultation with the doctor; we found its price only in the press and it changes, so ask at your hotel's reception. Treatments are paid for separately, at the hotels' treatment centres.
- Rules
Each mineral spring has its own indications and contraindications: the drinking cure is taken on the recommendation of a spa doctor, in the amounts and at the times he or she sets. Most springs are locked and open only with the card; a few drinking-water taps are free. For the trails in the Buila-Vânturarița National Park, read the visiting rules on the park's website before you set off.
- Facilities
Central park with fountains, gazebos, playgrounds, fitness equipment, table tennis and chess tables and Wi-Fi · spa treatment centres in several hotels · public sulphur-water pool, open in summer, with changing rooms, showers and sunloungers · restaurants, shops and stalls along the main street · minibus stop for Râmnicu Vâlcea
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