About Ocnele Mari Salt Mine
Salt has been dug at Ocnele Mari for thousands of years: Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age tools have been found right here, and on the hill above, archaeologists uncovered the Dacian fortress of Buridava, mentioned by Ptolemy. In the Middle Ages the salt works became a princely monopoly and one of Wallachia's great sources of revenue, especially under Constantin Brâncoveanu. The shafts dug in the 18th and 19th centuries collapsed one after another, leaving behind the salt lakes around the town, until the first systematically planned mine opened in 1836, followed in 1937 by the Pavel mine, worked until 1963.
The mine you visit today is still in operation: the Cocenești mine, begun in 1993, has three working levels, and one of them, worked out, was fitted out for visitors and opened in 2009. In 2015 the leisure area moved to a much larger gallery of over 40,000 m², where the air stays at 13–15 °C all year. The mine belongs to Salrom, the state salt company, and welcomes over 200,000 visitors a year, who come both for the outing and for treating respiratory conditions.
What you can see
The visit starts at the surface, in the grounds of the leisure centre, where the mine's buses take you through a tunnel to the underground in about 10 minutes. You arrive in a string of wide halls with high ceilings and grey salt walls veined with white, folded into waves and spirals. This vast space holds football, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts, a go-kart track, an ice rink, minigolf, trampolines and children's play areas, plus a restaurant, a café and a wine cellar.
A small museum with mine carts, machinery and scenes with figures shows how salt was extracted over the ages. The most striking corner, though, is the church dedicated to Saint Barbara and Saint George, considered the largest underground church in Romania: you go in through a wooden portal hung with icons, set into the salt wall, and reach a carved iconostasis, where services are held on Sundays and feast days.
Good to know
The only way underground is by the mine's bus, which leaves every 30 minutes, and last entry is 1–1.5 hours before closing. The hours change from month to month and, in autumn, the mine is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; check the website before you set off. Bring a warm layer, even in summer.
- The church of Saint Barbara and Saint George, with its wooden portal set into the salt wall and its carved iconostasis.
- The ride down in the mine's bus through the tunnel into the mine.
- The gallery walls, with white veins of salt folded into waves and spirals against the grey.
- The underground ice rink, the only one in any Salrom salt mine.
- The museum corner with yellow mine carts, winding wheels and figures of salt miners.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: Ocnele Mari is ~8 km from Râmnicu Vâlcea (~15 minutes); from the town follow the signs to Ocnele Mari and then to the salt mine, on Strada Pinilor. Râmnicu Vâlcea is reached from Bucharest on the A1 motorway to Pitești and then the DN7 (~180 km, ~2h45), from Sibiu on the DN7 through the Olt Valley (~100 km, ~1h45), and from Craiova on the DN64 (~120 km, ~2h). In the sat-nav look for "Salina Ocnele Mari", not "Salina veche" (the old mine), which is in another part of town.
Public transport: trains and coaches to Râmnicu Vâlcea, then Vilextur buses on the Râmnicu Vâlcea – Ocnele Mari route, from the Obadă bus station, or a taxi to the leisure centre. The only way underground is the mine's own bus, which leaves the grounds every 30 minutes.
- Where to park
The leisure centre's car park, right next to the boarding point for the mine buses, costs 15 lei a day per car (10 lei with a pass); minibuses and coaches park free.
- Fees & discounts
Official prices (September 2026), per person per day: adults 60 lei, children and pupils 40 lei, students up to 26 50 lei, seniors over 65 45 lei; children under 3 free; adults with disabilities 50 lei, children with disabilities 35 lei, carers 50 lei. Groups: at least 20 adults 50 lei, at least 10 children 35 lei, 20 students 45 lei, 20 seniors 40 lei, each with one free companion. Pass for 5 entries within 7 consecutive days: 50/35/45/40 lei a day. The bus ride underground is included. Activities are paid separately: minigolf 15 lei (children 10), go-karts 15 lei (children 10), trampolines 15 lei, ice rink 25 lei (30 minutes), billiards and table tennis 30 lei an hour, tennis and basketball 45 lei an hour, football 65 lei an hour. Tickets also online via Easy2visit and Eventim.
- Rules
Pets are not allowed. Children under 3 go in on the recommendation of their GP or paediatrician; without it, at the accompanying adult's own risk. Discounts require documents (a valid pupil's or student's card, ID for seniors), and group discounts apply only to groups of the same category on a single receipt. Professional photography and filming (weddings, graduation albums) or commercial shoots are charged separately and must be arranged in advance. Underground, follow the staff's instructions and the signs; it is 13–15 °C below ground, so bring a warm layer and comfortable shoes.
- Facilities
Access buses included in the ticket · toilets · self-service restaurant (at weekends and in season), "Cafea la sare by SALROM" café open throughout opening hours, wine cellar (closed in 2026) · souvenir shop · events hall · football, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, go-karts, ice rink, minigolf, billiards, trampolines, play areas · underground church, with Sunday services · salt-mining museum
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