Abandoned graveyard in the forest

On the trail of long lost villages, lookouts, a forest cemetery and a castle ruin, all these during a roundtrip in the Vértes mountain.

Details of the walk:

Distance: 15.6 kilometres
Route: https://out.ac/ykbRP
How to get there: By public transport: Bus nr 767 from Budapest or from Tatabánya
By car: Parking at Bika Csárda

On a spring weekend we ventured a little further from the capital to do a hike on one of the classic routes of the Vértes mountain.The starting and end point of the tour was an abandoned restaurant by the side of the road outside of Tatabánya.
After walking up a bit on the blue + road and reached the scarse houses of Csákányospuszta, we turned at an ancient willow-tree with a huge trunk. I wonder what kind of things it saw during its long lifetime. The path leads through meadows and passes the ruins of a temple. In the middle age, a small village used to be here but the ruins are the only sign of it today.

We reached the side of the forest at a tourist house, where a sign shows that the Mária Gully is close by. Our route would circle back to the gully, so we started to hike up to reach the lookout tower. The valley reminded me of a natural temple as we strolled under the dome canopy of the trees and the forest floor was carpeted with hundreds of yellow flowers.The rise up to the Kis-Kopasz-hegy (Smaller Bald Mountain if I was to translate it word by word, but who comes up with these names?) was relatively short but quite steep. All this trudging uphill better make my backside fabulous or I will be pissed.

Up until this point we followed the blue + path, however to get to the the lookout tower we did a small detour on the blue triangle.

Filled up with the beautiful panorama, we carried on to our next destination, a forest cemetery that once belonged to the village of Körtvélyes. The light was filtered by the leaves giving a soft, green hue to the tiny graveyard. What a final resting place for those few souls, they became one with nature again. Seeing this cemetery was a unique experience, a little enchanted spot: mystical, utterly calm but with the feeling of decay.

Next, we reached a T-shaped junction and turned right on the blue trail. The next part was quite depressing, the forest is ravaged by logging, whole patches were cut clear, other parts on the verge of being cut down. I felt sad, angry and helpless. Why is mankind is so intent on destroying?
We slowly left behind the devastation on our way to the ruins of Vitány castle. Presumably it was built in the 13th century, during the Turk invasion it bounced between the Hungarians and Ottomans, finally in 1598, the Hungarians blew it up so it wouldn’t end up in Turkish hands. Then the rocks of the fortress were taken and re-used by the locals, despite it’s troubled history, today it still cuts an imposing figure, the sand coloured blocks contrasting nicely with the blue sky.

We descended into the valley, the trees along the path were decorated by someone with artistic aspirations, Hungarian crowns and guiding signs were carved into the trees. Shortly after passing the Rockenbauer memory tree (the founding figure of nature filming in Hungary ), the green and blue trail splits and we took the green one but only for a short time, then we continued on an unmarked path that leads to the Gráciák Bérce (Crag of the Graces’), rock formations at the edge of the mountain with a wonderful view. I was on the lookout for wild garlic as I read that there’s a large patch somewhere on this trail. I was already preparing myself for disappointment when we spotted the white carpet of the wild garlic flowers. As we got closer, we hit a wall of garlicky perfume, it made my mouth water, but they don’t taste good after blooming so we didn’t pick any, maybe next year.

Two sandwiches and hundred photos later, we carried on with the hike and descended to the Szép Ilonka spring, which was a bit of a let down for me ( I even forgot to take a photo), especially since we came down so far into the valley only to check it out and had to climb back on the steep path . As we approached the T-shaped junction again (where we turned right to reach Vitány Castle) , we passed along a few patches of pine trees that looked a little ominous – I wouldn’t be surprised if the witch’s gingerbread house was hidden somewhere the trees – and a quaint little chapel.

We walked along the Mária Gully on a narrow path and our progress made slower by fallen trees blocking the way, the trench below us became deeper and deeper. Halfway through great, white limestone steps can be found where once upon a time water rushed along but sadly it’s dry as a desert nowadays. Next to the limestones, when we looked up to our right we saw a moss covered grey rock wall with ivy snaking around, looking like an entrance to an ancient Inca city. Maybe the rift in the wall would have taken us to El Dorado, but it looked a little too narrow for a person my size, we will go back and try to go through once my beach body is ready… so never.

We slowly left the gorge and arrived back to the tourist house and made our way back to the car … but first I made a ‘few’ photos of the lovely fleecy clouds sailing across the blue sky. In Hungarian, we call them lamb clouds because they are so fluffy and white like lambs, although they remind me of yummy candies that would taste like marshmallows. With that whimsical parting thought, see you in the next post.

Spartacus trail, an iconic path at the Danube bend

Glimpse of the Danube between the Visegrádi mountains and the Börzsöny

A trail with a badass name but luckily for us it does not require any hardcore hiking skills to complete.The route is not unknown to Hungarians as it’s one of the most emblematic path for hikers in the Pilis area but not as overcrowded as the other popular ones in the region.
The name presumably comes from the 60s when the Local Industrial Cooperatives Spartacus Tourist Association wanted to open up the trail for hikers except the hunters did not accede and it’s only open for the public since 2015.

Details of the walk

Distance: 14 kilometres
Elevation: 290 metres
Route: http://out.ac/eoBEp (GPX and KML formats are available)
How to get there: By public transport bus 870 from Szentendre to Pilisszentlászló

I was really looking forward to complete this roundtrip but apparently I’m no favourite with weather Gods as it was raining a lot, therefore we had to postpone the hike, which made me a grumpy cat. Finally, after almost 2 weeks of not so nice weather, we set out for Pilisszentlászló on a Sunday morning. I was all dressed up in my new autumn hiking gear because what better way to break in new hiking shoes than during a more than 10 kilometres long walk. What I smartly forgot to take into consideration is that the trails might be a teeny-tiny muddy after so much rain/such a deluge. What can I say, my determination to carry out what I planned and my wish to parade around in my new footwear blinded me. Result: extremely muddy boots and extra workout to walk in them. Although I don’t complain because it totally worth it.

Itinerary

We started our journey by following the green sign from the car park at the edge of Pilisszentlászló. The road passed by meadows with the peaks of Pilis in the background and slowly reached the forest on a wide dirt road.

You can’t miss the start of the famous path, as a warning sign tries to frighten away the less determined hikers. ‘ Attention! The Spartacus trail contains difficult parts, to complete these, adequate preparation, equipment and physical state are required!’ Don’t let the sign deter you, a nice pair of hiking boots is more than enough to tackle the path.

Warning sign at the start of the Spartacus trail — Warning sign at the start of the trail

The narrow, one man route winds around the steep mountain sides, while giving a marvelous view to the valleys and mountains around with a glimpse to the Danube-bend. Thanks to the previous rainy period the fallen leaves had that special, spicy autumn smell wafting around and all kinds of mushrooms popped up. The mushrooms brought out the nature photographer in me and in return the grumpiness in my boyfriend as I kept stopping to immortalize them through close up photos. The mushroom gallery is at the end of the blog post.

After passing the viewpont to the river, the trail lead us back deeper in the forest and a little later we reached the Jenő kunyhó, a small wooden hut nesting between the grey trunks of the tall beech trees, the dark color of the wood contrasting with the yellow carpet of the fallen leaves. Once again, I felt like in a fairy tale, the hut could have easily belonged to the seven gnomes.The cabin is now deserted but it’s still has some furniture and a cute little stove.

The green trail descends slowly into Apát-kúti valley and eventually ends at the Bertényi Miklós botanical garden. This time we skipped on visiting since the second half of the round trip was still ahead us but we will come back to check it out. Right next to the garden, you can find Telgárthy-rét a nice stretch of green, a lovely spot for picnics and a little further down, the more adventurous ones can even catch their own fish for the said picnic at the hunting lodge.

We passed these by and continued our walk following the red sign. The first few hundred meters are on an asphalt road, at a barrier the red path leads us to the side of the stream. Just follow the sign to Kaán-forrás (Kaán spring) and if needed refill your water bottles for the rest of walk. Basically, from now we only followed the path along the stream that lead us deeper and deeper into Apát-kúti valley.We walked along moss covered rocks and tall trees creaking in the wind. The path can be walked comfortably with the exception of the stream crossing, which can be challenging but it only adds to the sense of challenge.

Wooden sign showing the way to Kaán spring

At the end of the roundtrip, before the trail took us back to Pilisszentlászló, we even passed a Zen Temple, called Dharma’s Treasure. To be honest, a buddhist temple felt out of place, but I guess the forest does have a zen vibe to it.

Road leading back to Pilisszentlászló — Entrance leading to the Zen temple

The promised mushroom compilation for those who are interested:

Finally, this is just a suggestion on how to explore the area, there are many other options, so I suggest everyone to get out from between the four walls and explore at your leisure.

Tihany Peninsula, a unique natural treasure hiding in plain sight

Tihany is not unknown to tourists as it’s a popular destination famous for the Abbey, the quaint little houses and the lavender fields. However, the peninsula has much more to offer and the weaving net of hiking trails makes it easy to discover every part of it.
We wanted to pack as many sights into one day as possible so we chose the long route that snakes around the peninsula. I had my doubts before we set off as 13 kilometers with hill climbing seemed quite ambitious for a beginner hiker but we completed the route within 4.5 hours and the whole experience was highly rewarding.
We, Hungarians love to say that the Balaton is the Hungarian Sea, which I thought to be a boring cliché but I stand corrected as throughout the day I had the feeling that we’re walking alongside the sea. The unbelievably blue water sparkling in the sunlight and dotted with white sailboats and the cicada chorus reminded me of Croatia or Greece.
We experienced varied geological scenery, lakes, fascinating rock formations, hills and a landscape that is bursting with life, rare plants, butterflies and dragonflies. What more do you need? Let’s explore the area, this route is only one of the many you can choose from, so ready, steady, go!

Details of the walk

Important: Maybe it goes without saying, but sunscreen and some sort of cap is highly recommended during the summer period as the trail doesn’t always go in the shadow of the trees and the sun does not mess around these days
Distance: approx. 14 km
Route: http://out.ac/dLHOx (GPX file is available)
Duration: 4,5-5 hours in a confortable walking speed

The itinerary:

We set off from the Inner Lake and right away had a slight detour as we spotted a Hungarian Grey Cattle herd (an ancient breed of domestic beef cattle indigenous to Hungary) and of course I had to get a closer a look.

The first stop of our hike was the Akasztó-domb, (Gallows hill). The name speaks for itself, this was the spot where the gallows pole was erected. Today, the hill gives a nice view of the bay below.
We got to the Akasztó-domb by walking along the Aranyház street, crossed the main road and from the parking place (with a few little wooden cabins as a farmer’ market is located here) we took the green line trail.

We followed the trodden path that led us back to the main road, which we crossed little further down to the left at the sign Ferenc Pince csárda and we kept following the green line sign straight ahead. There are marked intersections at regular intervals so no matter which hiking trail you decided to take, you won’t get lost.
As we didn’t want to miss to geyser formations,we followed the signs leading to the Aranyház (Golden House), which is one of the most well-known of the geyser formations.

After around 20 minutes from crossing the main road, we reached the geyser field area with several geyser cones, created by volcanic activity a million years ago. The cones take all kind of shapes and sizes and I’m fascinated by their cute names: Peastone cone, Hatted Cone, Tunnel Cone,Badger’s Castle (Borsóköves-kúp,Kalapo-kúp,Átjáró-kúp,Borzvár in Hungarian). The highest one, referred to as the Golden House due to the yellow moss that grows on the surface, gives a spectacular view of the peninsula.

Yellow moss on the Golden House — Golden House

Little path next to a geyser cone — Peastone Cone

From here, we followed the yellow cross sign leading to Hálóeresztő(couldn’t find a decent translation of this word, it basically means ‘let the net down’). On our way, we passed another interesting geyser cone, the Borzvár( Badger’s Castle) and after arriving to Hálóeresztő at the Half-Cut Cone, we turned right to the yellow line path, which took us to Csúcs-hegy (Peak Mountain).

Badger's Castle geyser cone — Badger’s Castle

The path led up and down, through the Szarkádi-erdő (Szarkádi forest) with tantalizing glimpses of the cool Balaton water. At one point, we reached a forest school, where we turned left on the stone road and then to the right following the marked path up to Gurbicza peak, which rewarded us with breathtaking views (literally as we had climb to 174 meters).

Glimpse of the Balaton through the branches

Just before we reached the peak of Peak Mountain ( please don’t hate me for the bad pun), we stumbled upon a cave, which according to the folklore was used by the famous outlaw, Jóska Sobri. Before you reach the cave, there’s a junction, take the trail to the left.

Sobri Jóska cave — I’m trying to picture myself as Jóska

We continued along Nyereg-hegy (Saddle Mountain), which is a narrow cliff ridge connecting the Peak mountain to the Apáti mountain.
Here, I enjoyed a Lion King moment with my new buddy Mr. Dragonfly, 10 points if you can find him in the picture.

View from the Saddle Mountain — My Lion King moment with my new friend at my right hand

Soon after, we reached Őrtorony Lookout Tower from which we enjoyed a birds eye view of the area and had a much needed rest in the cool breeze.

Then we started the final leg of our hike, crossing through the fields between the Outer and Inner Lake, finally reaching a lavender field. I did not particularly enjoy this part as at this point we were craving fresh water not just to drink but also to wash down the dirt of the road. When at last we dragged ourselves up to the village of Tihany, salvation arrived in the form of an ice cream, one of the best I had in my entire life.All in all, we had a wonderful day with scenic views and relaxing bird chirping.

Vineyard between the Outer and Inner Lake