Deep in the forests of Harghita county, in the heart of the Székely Land, the small spa of Băile Homorod sits in a valley among spruce and beech, with wooden villas, mineral springs and the smell of resin in the air. The springs here produce borvíz, naturally carbonated mineral water, which the Székely people drink as their everyday water and believe has healing powers. Cekend is the name attached to a nearby hill site on the eastern line of Roman Dacia's frontier, one of hundreds of components listed together as a World Heritage Site in 2024.
The Székely Land is a Hungarian speaking region in the east of Transylvania, with its own traditions, carved wooden gates, fortified churches and folk costumes. The village of Dârjiu, nearby, has a fortified church with a medieval mural cycle, part of the World Heritage listing of Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania. Odorheiu Secuiesc, Székelyudvarhely in Hungarian, is the main town of the area.
The landscape is mountainous and forested, with the Harghita mountains, volcanic in origin, rising to the east. Bears are common in these forests, and you should take care when walking. The air is cool even in summer, and winters are cold and snowy.
The riding here is excellent: winding roads through forests and over passes, with good surfaces on the main roads and rougher ones on the minor roads. The road from Odorheiu Secuiesc to Miercurea Ciuc over the Harghita mountains is a beautiful ride, and the routes to Lake Sfânta Ana, a volcanic crater lake, are worth the detour. Watch for horse carts, livestock and bears.
The spa had its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when families from the towns of Transylvania came for weeks at a time to drink the waters, bathe and walk in the woods. Some of the old villas, with carved wooden balconies, still stand, and several springs are open to anyone with a bottle; locals fill up jerrycans and swear by the taste, which is sharp, fizzy and faintly of iron. Vlăhița, five kilometres away, is the closest place for petrol, and Odorheiu Secuiesc has more. Try kürtőskalács, chimney cake, the Székely sweet bread baked on a spit, and the local goulash and pálinka.