Tyumen Hot Springs

Deep drilling for oil in the mid twentieth century found hot mineral water under the West Siberian plain, and Tyumen turned it into an industry: a dozen or so resorts around the city pump water from bores at forty degrees or more into open-air pools, and they run all winter. That is the appeal - sitting in hot water outdoors when the air is minus twenty-five or thirty, with steam so thick you cannot see the far end of the pool and hair freezing solid within a minute of leaving the water. The water is mineralised, mainly chloride and sodium, and the sessions are timed because staying in it for long is not advised. Facilities vary from basic pools with changing huts to full resorts with saunas, cafes and rooms. New Year and weekends are the busiest. Any medical claims about the water belong to a doctor and the clinical literature, not to a travel note.

What you actually see

• Winter bathing - open-air hot pools used at minus twenty-five and below.
• The steam - vapour thick enough to hide the far end of the pool.
• The bore water - mineralised water pumped from deep wells at over forty degrees.
• The range of resorts - basic pools through to full complexes around the city.

When to go

November to March for the winter contrast. Half a day. Weekends and New Year are packed.

Honest expectations

Sessions are time-limited and long soaks are not recommended. Getting out into deep cold is the hard part - the walk to the changing rooms is short but sharp. Resorts vary widely in quality for similar prices. Health effects are a matter for a doctor, not for advertising.

Nearby

Tyumen city is close; Tobolsk is about four hours north.