Guide
The hot springs of Karacasu are five kilometres from the centre of Bolu, a quiet, forest-ringed retreat at the foot of the Seben Mountains. Bolu sits on one of the country's most important fault zones, which gives the province a wealth of geothermal sources; its spas have been used for centuries, and Evliya Çelebi wrote of them with approval in his Seyahatname.
Karacasu's water comes from natural springs and boreholes at 42–44 °C, with a pH of 6.3. It is rich in bicarbonate, sulphate, calcium and magnesium and also contains carbon dioxide and fluoride. Suitable for bathing and for drinking cures, it is described by the provincial culture and tourism directorate as good for rheumatic, skin, circulatory and heart diseases, respiratory and gynaecological complaints, disorders of the digestive system, gall bladder, kidneys and urinary tract, bone complaints and arthrosis, and metabolic and nutritional disorders.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Bolu as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 0.6 °C in January to 20 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in May (61 mm) and lightest in August (24 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
