Tjumen, a city in western Siberia, has been gaining popularity as a thermal resort, with its hot springs being referred to as a “marine substitute”. The composition and temperature of the thermal water in Tjumen are similar to that of the Hungarian thermal water in Budapest or Sárvár. Tjumen has been increasingly taking the place of European thermal resorts, which were once popular among Russians before the sanctions and trade wars.
According to the newspaper Izvestia, the area of western Siberia was once home to a warm sea that existed 38 to 55 million years ago. The sea eventually became subterranean and was forgotten until the mid-20th century, when the systematic exploration of natural resources began. Oil drillers dug a well to a depth of 2,000 meters, but instead of oil, a fountain of mineral water sprang up.
The thermal water has since made the region as rich as oil, with companies investing in the tourism industry and Russians traveling to Tjumen to soak in the healing hot springs.
Some resorts in the Tjumen region are already fully booked months in advance. For example, the Ecopark “Taiga” requires reservations six months in advance to secure a spot. The park features a thermal area with outdoor and indoor pools, a bathing complex, children’s rooms and a wellness area, surrounded by ancient forests, silence and a sense of complete seclusion from noise and chaos, as described by Izvestia.
Today, there are approximately 22 thermal complexes in the Tjumen region, with a total of 25 outdoor pools using thermal water. And this number is still not the maximum, as the demand for a holiday in Tjumen and a soak in the thermal water, believed to have rejuvenating and immunostimulating effects, continues to rise.