# Praid Salt Mine

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Harghita County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/harghita) › [Praid](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/praid)

> The salt mine of the Land of Salt, with huge leisure and treatment halls 120 m underground, once Romania's most visited. Closed indefinitely since the flood of May 2025.

[Top 100 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-100)

**At a glance:** Salt mines in Praid, Harghita County. Opening hours: closed. Information verified on 26 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** closed — Temporarily closed since May 2025 after the flood (Salrom notice, checked September 2026); there is no official reopening date. The state of alert in Praid commune is extended monthly (currently until 6 October 2026), and access to the mining area and the Salt Canyon is prohibited.
- **Address:** Strada Salinei, at the departure point of the buses to the mine, next to the lido, Praid, Harghita County
- **Coordinates:** 46.5507, 25.1205
- **Phone:** +40 266 240 200
- **Website:** https://salrom.ro/salina-praid-harghita/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praid_mine
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12740346
- **Categories:** [Salt mines](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salt-mines)

## About Praid Salt Mine

Beneath the Salt Hill at Praid lies one of the largest rock-salt bodies in Europe: an elliptical block roughly 1.2 by 1.4 km that reaches 2.6–2.8 km deep. Salt was taken from here as early as Roman times, from surface pits, and a letter of King Andrew III from 1291 already mentions the Praid salt works. Underground mining began in 1762 with the bell-shaped Iosif mine, from which the salt was hauled up in buffalo-hide sacks by a horse-driven winch. Then came the Parallel mine in 1864, the Gh. Doja mines, the new levels opened after 1978 and the Telegdy sector, worked until 2025.

In the old galleries, on "Level 50", 120 m down, a leisure and treatment centre for respiratory conditions was set up: halls several hundred metres long, with salty air and a constant temperature, which drew hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Praid was Romania's most visited salt mine.

Between 27 and 30 May 2025, after torrential rain, the waters of the Corund stream drained through a sinkhole that opened under its bed straight into the mine and filled every level, including the visitor area. Salrom halted all activity; as of September 2026 the mine is still temporarily closed, with no announced reopening date. Praid commune remains under a state of alert extended month by month, and in July 2026 micro-tremors in the salt body led to an orange alert. Access to the affected mining area and to the Salt Canyon is prohibited.

### What could be visited

The mine's buses took visitors 1,250 m along the access gallery, under the dome of the salt body, then 247 steps led down to the seven visitor halls, dug between 1957 and 1978, 20 m wide and 12–14 m high, their walls streaked with bands of salt. They held playgrounds, sports courts, a café and restaurant, a small salt-mining museum and the ecumenical chapel consecrated in 1993 by Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Reformed priests, with its altar and statue of St John of Nepomuk carved in salt.

### Good to know

The mine cannot be visited and no tickets are sold. Salrom's salt-water lido next to the mine was not affected and opens in summer; check the official website before travelling for any reopening announcement.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Praid is on the DN13A, between Sovata (~7 km) and Corund (~12 km); it is ~70 km from Târgu Mureș via Sovata (~1h15), ~40 km from Odorheiu Secuiesc via Corund (~45 minutes) and ~170 km from Cluj-Napoca (A3 to Târgu Mureș, ~2h45). To the north, the DN13B climbs over the Bucin Pass towards Gheorgheni. The departure point for the mine and the lido are on Strada Salinei, on the northern edge of the village.

**Public transport:** Praid has bus and minibus links with Sovata, Târgu Mureș and Odorheiu Secuiesc; from the village centre you can walk to the lido.

### Fees & discounts

The mine is closed and no visitor tickets are sold; the prices from before May 2025 no longer apply. Salrom's page for the mine only lists the prices of the salt-water lido: adults 50 lei, children aged 3–18, pupils and students 35 lei, reduced after 16:00 (40/25 lei), under 3 free, parking 5 lei an hour.

### Rules

While the state of alert lasts, public access to the affected mining area and to the Salt Canyon in the Corund valley is prohibited; follow the signs and the authorities' instructions. Do not enter the galleries or fenced-off areas: the salt body is being monitored for collapses.

## Details

- **Depth:** 120 m
- **Mining period:** Roman times – 2025
- **Therapeutic uses:** respiratory conditions
- **Lift access:** No

## Frequently asked questions about Praid Salt Mine

**What are the opening hours of Praid Salt Mine?**

Opening hours at Praid Salt Mine: closed. More under “Opening hours”.

**How do I get to Praid Salt Mine?**

Praid Salt Mine is located at Strada Salinei, at the departure point of the buses to the mine, next to the lido, Praid, Harghita County. More under “Getting there”.

## Nearby attractions

- [Sovata](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/sovata) — Resorts and thermal baths · Sovata, MS · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 8 km
  A spa resort at the foot of the Gurghiu Mountains, with heliothermal salt lakes, healing mud, paths through the salt-ground reserve and, in winter, the Aluniș ski slope with a chairlift.
- [Lake Ursu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lake-ursu) — Lakes · Sovata, MS · 8 km
  A heliothermal salt lake in Sovata, formed in 1875 over a salt massif: beneath a thin layer of fresh water the salt water goes above 40 °C in summer; a lido runs on the shore in season.
- [Bucin Pass Ski Slopes](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/bucin-pass-ski-slopes) — Ski slopes · Joseni, HR · 110 lei · 4½ – 5 hours · 22 km
  Small ski slopes near the Bucin Pass, in the Gurghiu Mountains, on the road between Praid and Gheorgheni: gentle runs for families and beginners, a steeper run, drag lifts, sledging and spruce forest.
- [Roman Fort of Călugăreni](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/roman-fort-of-calugareni) — Monuments and historic sites · Călugăreni, MS · 5 lei · 1 – 1½ hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 27 km
  An auxiliary Roman fort on the eastern limes of Dacia, in the Niraj valley, now a modernised archaeological park (Limesparc) with exhibition pavilions and a viewpoint.
- [Rhédey Castle](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/rhedey-castle) — Castles and palaces · Sângeorgiu de Pădure, MS · ½ – 1 hours · 33 km
  A Late Baroque castle in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, rebuilt in 1807–1809 by Count László Rhédey; today a museum with guided visits about Countess Claudia Rhédey.
- [Unitarian Church of Sânvăsii](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unitarian-church-of-sanvasii) — Churches · Sânvăsii, MS · 30 min · 37 km
  A 14th-century Gothic church on a hill in the Niraj Valley, with a stone-and-timber tower, frescoes from the 1490s and the memory of Saint Ladislaus, from whom the village takes its name.

## Featured in the guides

- [Salt mines in Romania: the complete guide to the salt mines you can visit](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/salt-mines-in-romania) — How many salt mines Romania has, which are open in 2026 and which is closed, ticket prices, depth and temperature: Turda, Slănic Prahova, Praid and more.
- [The largest, the deepest and the oldest salt mine in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/largest-salt-mine-in-romania) — Deepest: Târgu Ocna, 240 m. Largest halls: Slănic Prahova, 80,000 m². Tallest hall: Terezia (Turda), 90 m. Plus the oldest salt mine.
- [Turda or Slănic Prahova? Which salt mine to choose](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/turda-or-slanic-salt-mine) — Turda: underground park at 120 m, with a lift, 75 lei. Slănic: 14 halls 54 m high, at 208 m, 60 lei, 100 km from Bucharest. Praid closed in 2025.
- [Visiting a salt mine for the first time: temperature, clothing, how long, lift or bus, dogs](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/visiting-a-salt-mine) — It is 11–15 °C in a salt mine all year, 11–12 °C at Turda. Lift only at Turda, bus at Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna, 192 steps at Cacica. No dogs allowed.
- [Salt mine therapy in Romania: what the operators say, how long to stay, which mines have a treatment base](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/salt-mine-therapy) — Only Turda Salt Mine publishes the indications and contraindications of the cure and has a treatment base, in the Ghizela mine. Passes from 20–65 lei a day.

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Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/praid-salt-mine
Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/salina-praid.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/salzbergwerk-praid.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/miniera-di-sale-di-praid.md · Français: https://peplaiuri.ro/fr/mine-de-sel-de-praid.md · Español: https://peplaiuri.ro/es/mina-de-sal-de-praid.md · Magyar: https://peplaiuri.ro/hu/parajdi-sobanya.md
Last updated: 26 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania