Location
The only mountain resort in South Harghita is located 13 km west of Sântimbru, at an altitude of 1250 m, on the western side of the Büdös Hill. It can be reached from Sâncrăieni on the 123D road, about 15 km from the settlement. It can also be reached from the Forestland of Covasna County (by SUV), many families here also have holiday homes in Büdös.
History
In the 1770s there were bathing sites at the mineral water spring of Bányapataki and at the Vermed stream, but they were ruined. The spa began to be built in the 1920s, and a steam bath was built in 1965. There are also medicinal mud boilers on the site. The Little Mary Chapel was renovated in 1991.The cinnabar mine (mercury mine) started in the 1960s and was closed in the 1970s played a role in its development. It is thanks to mining that the foundations of the current road leading to it are laid, widened and serpentine; Until then, it could only be approached on a narrow, in many places very steep forest road.In 2017, the 123D road section leading to Büdösfürdő received asphalt pavement, so it became very easy to reach it by car or bicycle. The road section also approaches the Lucs peat bog, it turns about 100 m away from it.Small businesses have started in recent years, there are shops, pubs and pensions in the settlement, which is visited mainly from spring to autumn. The number of small cottages (holiday houses) currently exceeds 1000, about half of which are located in the area of Sâncrăieni and the other half in the area of Sâncrăieni.
The Büdös-bath in Szentimre is uniquely rich in mineral water springs and mofettas, and its medicinal water also has a special composition. Due to its sulfur-carbonated water sources, it smells like rotten eggs.It is quiet in the winter, no ski slopes have yet been established. There are promises to start a treatment base and medical tourism, with the cooperation of the Harghita County Council and the Emergency County Hospital of Miercurea Ciuc .The Kakukk Hill, the highest point of the Southern Harghita Mountains, can be reached on foot from the settlement.
