As you travel south along the valley where the Balıklı Hot Spring is located, you will come across several other springs. The one with the highest flow rate is the Kalkım Hot Spring, located in the village of Kalkım in the Kangal District. The same species of fish found in the Kangal Balıklı Hot Spring are also found in the waters of this spring. At the Balıklı Hot Spring, located at an elevation of 1,425 meters, the springs are arranged in a north-south direction and originate from five separate locations. Rather than emerging from a single specific source, the hot spring water seeps widely to the surface through sandstone formations, creating seepages along the stream bank. Originally a marshy area in 1917, the spa opened to the public in 1966 with four pools and a two-story motel with 16 rooms. Today, it features four hotel sections, six pools, 16 private baths, a restaurant, a market, and a tea garden.
The Kangal Fish Spa is renowned in our country for the treatment of skin diseases—particularly psoriasis—and rheumatic conditions. The significance of this spa stems from the chemical properties of its water and the fish that inhabit it. It is well known among the local population that the thermal spring water, with a temperature of 35+ 0.5 °C and its specific chemical composition, is effective in treating various ailments, and efforts are underway to promote this therapeutic benefit throughout the country and worldwide. On the other hand, the belief that the fish living in the spa water—which seem to swarm toward the human body—cure diseases is also quite widespread. This aspect of the spa has prompted researchers to gather physical, chemical, geological, biological, and clinical findings. Furthermore, many patients with skin conditions (both from within the country and abroad) visit the spa and report that they have recovered after spending specific periods of time in the pool and undergoing “Fish-Water” therapy. The spa was officially registered as a “Health Facility” by the Ministry of Health in 2003.
Therapeutic Properties of Balıklı Hot Spring
The spa water has been reported to be beneficial for rheumatic diseases, neurological conditions (neuralgia, neuritis, paralysis), orthopedic and traumatological sequelae (fractures, joint trauma, and muscle diseases), gynecological issues, skin diseases, kidney stones (when ingested), and psychosomatic disorders. However, psoriasis has become the condition that makes the spa the most popular for treatment. In this treatment, fish target the psoriatic plaques (or plaques from other conditions) that have softened due to the effect of the water. The softened scales are removed by the fish as food; during this process, minor bleeding occurs, and the wound is exposed to the effects of water and sunlight. This process also causes pus to drain in patients with abscesses. It has been reported that selenium—known to be beneficial in tropical applications for certain diseases—is the most important factor in wound healing. Observers from outside Turkey and patients who have experienced this water have reported that they are satisfied with the fish and that no patient has been disappointed.
The Kangal Balıklı Hot Spring, located in the Kangal district of Sivas, has now been placed under protection under the name “Kangal Balıklıgöl Nature Park.” The area, which gained official status through a Presidential Decree, was registered following its publication in the Official Gazette dated July 14, 2025.
