Sanatoriul Nufărul Alb (Cahul)

What you see

Nufărul Alb is first and foremost a medical sanatorium, not a wellness hotel. The complex lies on the bank of the small Frumoasa river, outside the town's industrial zones, and has more than 500 places. Over 5,000 people come each year for treatment or rehabilitation. The focus is on disorders of the musculoskeletal system, the central and peripheral nervous system, the heart and blood vessels, the skin and the digestive system, as well as gynaecological complaints.

The mineral water is the main healing factor. It contains sulphurous salts, iodine, bromine, chlorine, sodium and calcium chloride; the smell of hydrogen sulphide gives it away at once. Another local company has drilled a well 565 metres deep for water of the same composition and wants to build a second sanatorium around it; in September 2025 that project was still looking for funding.

History

In 1960 mineral water was struck near Cahul. Twenty years later, in 1980, the town was granted spa resort status, and in 1986 the Nufărul Alb sanatorium opened, in the last years of the Soviet Union, when sanatorium cures were a standard part of healthcare. Today it is listed among the health and recreation facilities of the national trade union confederation.

Tips for your visit

Nufărul Alb is about 178 kilometres from Chișinău, roughly a three-hour drive; from the centre of Cahul it is a few minutes away. You book a course of treatment directly with the sanatorium, through the nufarul.md website or by phone. Find out in advance which medical documents you need and which treatments suit your condition, and if in doubt consult your own doctor. If you are not taking a cure, it is not a sight in its own right. If you are staying in Cahul anyway, the town is better combined with Trajan's Wall at Vadul lui Isac and the Prutul de Jos reserve, with Lake Beleu. Spring and early autumn are the most pleasant; in summer it gets very hot in southern Moldova.