Recommended hiking routes

Egerbakta-Sirok

1. BOG LAKES AT EGERBAKTA

Three considerable closed lake basins can be found at the foot of Tó (Lake) Hill in the vicinity of Egerbakta (Bakta Lake or Nagy (Great) Lake,Kis (Small) Lake and Felső (Upper) Lake). Open water can be seen only in Great Lake as the filling of the other two lakes is more advanced with extended swamp and bog vegetation covering the surface. Considering the vegetation cover, Small Lake can be regarded the most a peat bog. It is a highly significant nature reserve belonging to the Natura 2000 network. The freely accessible study trail presenting the bog lakes starts in front of the house at 2 Tóvölgy street, Egerbakta.

2. BEEHIVE STONE OF ROZSNAK VALLEY

There are several rock towers in the valley of Kígyos (Snaky) Stream in the eastern vicinity of Sirok. The beehive stone in Rozsnak Valley has niches. The beehive stone is a protected natural monument. It ’s open to the public.

3. CASTLE, TÖRÖKASZTAL (TURKISH TABLE) AND BÁLVÁNY (ICON) STONES, SIROK

Built on a mountain peak consisting of volcanic tuff, the Castle of Sirok is a historical monument with rich programmes. On the peak opposite the castle there is the Törökasztal, into which bowl-shaped depressions and canals were carved. The so called Bálvány stones, the steep towers of the Barát (Monk) and Apáca (Nun) rocks rise 5-6 m above the ridge that carries them. Bálvány stones can be visited freely while the opening hours of the castle can be found on the website of Sirok village.

Egercsehi-Tarnalelesz-Bükkszenterzsébet

4. MINING MUSEUM, EGERCSEHI

The Mining Museum in the centre of the settlement was opened in 2021.Information on the history of coal mining in the region is given in the exhibition and the devices used in the course of mining are presented. Information regarding the opening hours of the museum can be obtained at the Local Government Office.

5. LELESZ VALLEY, TARNALELESZ

Along the trail in the Lelesz Valley outstanding geological-geomorphological and thus landscape values of the region and also natural outcrops of the sandstone composing the hills can be seen. The cliffs of Pes-kő at the meeting of Vermes Valley and Lelesz Valley together with the high and steep cliff of Szarvas-kő are also spectacular. Lelesz Valley is a protected nature reserve, can be visited freely along the marked hiking trail.

6. NAGY-KŐ (GREAT STONE), BÜKKSZENTERZSÉBET

The steep sandstone hill of Nagy-kő, which stands out from afar, can be found in the side valley of the NW side of Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Valley. Its present form is the result of weathering. A series of sandstone loaves was formed by the erosional unwrapping of the more cemented parts of the almost vertical cliff on the southern, south-eastern face. A fortified settlement, earthwork belonging to the Late Bronze Age Kyjatice culture was standing on the top of Nagy-kő the remnants of whichare still visible today. Nagy-kő is a protected nature reserve, located in the Tarnavidék Landscape Protection District. The study trail presenting Nagy-kő and its vicinity can be visited freely.

Sajóvelezd–Uppony–Dédestapolcsány–Nagyvisnyó

7. DAMASA RAVINE, BÁNHORVÁTI

Damasa Ravine accessible via a study trail from Sajóvelezd and via a hiking trail from Bánhorváti breaks into the watercourse of Egeres Valley. Earthquakes in the 18th and 19th centuries and landslides played a major role in the formation of the ravine. Between the slipped, collapsed andesite blocks, zig-zagged passage systems a pseudo-cave, and branching and then re-uniting gorges dissected by blocks of rock. Damasa Ravine is a strictly protected nature reserve. It can be visited only along the marked trails.

8. UPPONYI-SZOROS (UPPONY PASS)

The Uppony Mountains compose the northern part of the Bükk Region, separated clearly from the Bükk Mountains. As Csernely Stream cut into Palaeozoic limestone along the faults one of the most spectacular gorges in Hungary was formed between Uppony and Dédestapolcsány. The light grey limestone walls of the Uppony Pass reach a height of 50 m. The view from the top is splendid with the Lázbérc Reservoir to the south created by damming the Csernely and Bán streams. The area is part of the Lázbérc Landscape Protection District. It can be visited freely via hiking trails.

9. MIHALOVITS QUARRY, NAGYVISNYÓ

Mihalovits Quarry is found at the end of József Attila Street in Nagyvisnyó, exposing black, bituminous limestones formed 260-252 million years ago. Based on the dip of the beds, the quarry was established in the core of a downward bulging sediment series. The rock is rich in fossils. The remains of the dead animals deposited in a highly oxygen-deficient environment and survived almost perfectly intact. Characteristic fossils include calcareous algae, foraminifers, bivalves, ostracods, brachiopods. The quarry is a protected geological key-section. It can be visited freely.

Mályinka–Kis-fennsík

10. CSONDRÓ VALLEY

The hiking trail marked with blue+ leads from Mályinka to the picturesque gorge of Csondró Stream cut into Lower Triassic limestone. Springs

along the upper sections of the valley build travertine where greater and smaller waterfalls can be seen. The largest is Mária (Mary) Spring the surroundings of which are a popular hiking place. The hiking trail marked with blue+ leads to the tourist centre of Szentlélek. Csondró Valley is a strictly protected nature reserve which can be visited only via the marked hiking trail.

11. UDVAR-KŐ (GARDEN STONE), LITTLE PLATEAU

The Little Plateau is accessible via a hiking trail marked with red stripe from Szentlélek and along another hiking trail marked with red + from the terminal of the Garadna Forest Railway. The Triassic limestone of the Little Plateau is rich in surface and subsurface karst landforms. Valleys of sinkhole rows, karren fields, karstic hills and peaks with hanging dolines, deteriorated spring caves are characteristic. Udvar-kő, the only real collapsed sinkhole in the Bükk Mountains, is found here at the junction of two valleys of sinkhole rows. The Little Plateau is a protected nature reserve of the Bükk National Park and can be freely visited along hiking trails.

12. FELSŐ-FORRÁS (UPPER SPRING)

The hiking trail marked with red + crossing the Little Plateau leads along the Forrás (Spring) Valley. The valley head of Forrás (Spring) Valley – the almost enclosed ravine of Upper Spring – is very rich in karst landforms. Its edges are rimmed by vertical limestone cliffs, towers in which caves can be found. The Upper Spring created a significant amount of travertine before. Due to the catchment of the spring and the dry weather, the travertine has started to be denuded. Forrás Valley is a protected nature reserve which can be visited freely along the marked hiking trails.

Hámor–Lillafüred–Ómassa

13. SZELETA CAVE

Szeleta Cave is a fossil spring cave in an elevated position, it is the largest cave used by ancient humans in the Bükk Mountains. Based on the bay leaf shaped stone tools found here, the tool-making industry, which is also characteristic of other caves in the Bükk, is known as Szeleta culture. According to archaeological research, the cave was inhabited in the Middle and Late Palaeolithic periods for about one hundred and ten thousand years. Szeleta Cave is a strictly protected natural value. It can be accessed via a hiking trail marked with red stripe from Hámor or Lillafüred. It can be visited free of charge.

14. ANNA AND SZENT ISTVÁN (ST. STEPHEN) CAVES

Two caves open to tourism in the Bükk National Park are found in Lillafüred. Anna Cave was formed in travertine deposits formed from the water of the Szinva karst spring, its caverns were formed by the intrusion of niches under the vegetation bending down at the waterfalls. Szent István Cave was formed in karstic Triassic limestone. Most of its halls end in high-altitude fractures, vents. Passages are decorated with dripstones, stalactites and stalagnates. Information about visiting the caves can be found at www.bnpi.hu.

15. SEBES-VÍZ (FAST WATER) SPRINGS

The springs of Sebes-víz Valley can be accessed along the hiking trail marked with yellow stripe from Ómassa. Waterfalls along freshwater limestone (travertine) steps in the gorge-like valley of Alsó-Sebesvíz (Lower Sebesvíz) Spring are special sights. In the middle part of the valley Huba Spring occurs with an extremely fluctuating water discharge. Beautiful travertine dams develop along the steeper section below the Spring, with a characteristic moss flora. Sebes-víz Valley is a protected area of the Bükk National Park. It can be visited freely via hiking trails.

Bükk fennsík

16. OLASZ-KAPU (ITALIAN GATE) STUDY TRAIL

The 7.2 km long study trail provides geological, geomorphological, botanical, zoological and cultural historical information.

Stations:

1. Olasz-kapu (Italian Gate)

2. Fekete-sár (Black Mud) – Zsidórét (Jewish Meadow)

3. Tar-kő (Bald Stone)

4-5. Őserdő (Ancient forest)

6. Káposztáskerti-beszakadás (Cabbage Garden Collapse)

7. Káposztáskert-lápa (Cabbage Garden Valley)

8. Körös-barlang (Körös Cave)

The Italian Gate study trail runs across protected and strictly protected areas of the Bükk National Park.

It can be visited freely along the marked trails. The walk takes around 3 hours.

17. NAGYMEZŐ (GREAT FIELD) – KIS-KŐHÁT PIT

CAVE STUDY TRAIL

The study trail presents the Kis-kőhát Pit Cave and the karstic depression of Nagymező from the karst landforms of the Bükk Plateau.

Stations of the study trail:

1. Kis-Kőhát Saddle (starting information panel)

2. Kis-kőhát Pit Cave

One of the oldest caves in the Bükk which worked as a sinkhole a few hundred thousand years ago.

3. Nagy-mező

The largest karstic depression of the mountains with dolines, twin dolines and sinkholes. A mountain meadow formed after deforestation.

Nagy-mező is a strictly protected nature reserve, which can be visited freely via the marked hiking trails and study trails.

18. JÁVORKÚT STUDY TRAIL

On a narrow road from Lillafüred cars can be driven to Jávorkút across Garadna Valley and then Savós Valley. The starting information panel can be found on the NW edge of Jávorkút. The 3 km long study trail returns to the starting point.

Stations of the study trail:

1. Jávorkút (starting information panel)

Lake at Jávorkút and the ancient spruce forest

2. Ancient pine forest

3. Kis-Csipkés

Structural boundary between North and South Bükk

4. Doline row

A series of sinkholes inherited from the covered karst onto the limestone surface The study trail is located in a protected nature reserve of the Bükk National Park. It can be visited free of charge via hiking trails.

Diósgyőr–Bükkszentlászló–Répáshuta

19. DIÓSGYŐR CASTLE

Probably a fortress was present in the area as early as the migration period and the first castle was built after the Tatar invasion in the 13th century. The regular square shaped palace of King Louis the Great was built on the wall structure of the first castle. The twin towers of the outer castle and the multi-storey suites connecting the towers were built at the time of King Sigismund. While at the time of King Matthias Corvinus farm buildings and residential buildings were established. From the time of King Louis the Great until the war at Mohács the castle was the engagement present of the queens. Information regarding programmes and opening hours can be found at www.diosgyorivar.hu.

20. NAGYSÁNC (GREAT MOUND), BÜKKSZENTLÁSZLÓ

Above Bükkszentlászló rises the Nagysánc, which is bounded by steep sides from all directions and can be accessed only from NW from a lower saddle. The core of the fortification was created by the Late Bronze Age Kyjatice culture and it was inhabited also in the Early Iron Age, then Celts were living here in the 1st century BC. In addition to Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts, Iron Age and Celtic house remains, Celtic silver coins have also been recovered. Nagysánc can be accessed by a road from Bükkszentlászló. It’s open to the public.

21. REJTEK – RÉPÁSHUTA STUDY TRAIL

The circular study trail with 12 stations starts from the car park of the research base towards south along a trail marked with blue slanted stripe. The complete walk along the 9 km long study trail takes around 4-5 hours. The study trail presents three caves important for ancient archaeology, lime kilns, two gorges, the remnants of the glassworks in Gyertyán (Hornbeam) Valley, the only periodically active relay spring of the Bükk and two permanent sinkholes. The study trail passes through strictly protected areas of the Bükk National Park, it can be visited freely along the trail.

22. SZALAJKA VALLEY

A Szalajka-patak 18 lépcsőből álló látványos forrásmészkő lépcsősorán zubog le a Fátyol-vízesés. The Fátyol (Veil) Falls run down the 18 spectacular travertine steps of Szalajka Stream. Other sights in the valley: Szikla (Rock) Spring, Outdoor Forest Museum, trout-breeding lakes, Zilahy Aladár Museum of Forestry and the Information Centre of the Bükk National Park Directorate at Szalajka Valley. Istállós-kő Cave, also known of being the dwelling place of prehistoric humans can be reached via the hiking trail from the final stop of the small gauge railway within around 30 minutes. Szalajka Valley is a strictly protected site of the Bükk National Park, it can be visited on foot, by bicycle or by the small gauge railway.

23. BÉLKŐ AND THE ABBEY

Above Bélepátfalva rises Bél-kő (Bél Stone), the western member of the series of ’stones’ rising on the edge of the Bükk Plateau, truncated by almost a hundred years of limestone mining. At its north-western foot Cistercian monks founded the Abbey of Bélháromkút in 1232. The shape, floor plan, and proportions of the abbey preserve the medieval state. The study trail from the abbey to the peak of Bél-kő presents the cultural history, natural values, geological composition and mining history of the mountains.

The walk along the study trail of 7 stations takes around 1.5 – 2.5 hours. It’s open to the public.

24. GEOLOGICAL STUDY TRAIL AT SZARVASKŐ

Built in the narrow valley of Eger Stream, the settlement of Szarvaskő is surrounded by steep hillsides composed of volcanic rocks. The study trail presents the geologically and geomorphologically separated part of the south-western Bükk, the beautiful outcrops of the area composed of Jurassic shale, basalts of submarine volcanic eruptions and gabbro intruded into the sediments of the former seafloor, together with the ruins of the castle of Szarvaskő.The study trail consists of 10 stations, the walk along the trail takes around 3-3.5 hours running mostly across protected and strictly protected areas ofthe Bükk National Park. It can be visited freely along the marked study trail.

25. BEEHIVE STONES AT NYERGES (SADDLE-BACKED) HILL, EGER

Nyerges-tető is found in the eastern side valley of Ostoros Stream on the outskirts of Eger. The top of the beehive stone on its western side was formed to have a saddle shape. Bowl-shaped depressions, canals, holes were created into the surface of the plateau. On the south-east wall of the range and on a separate block there are 24 niches and niche traces. The area is a protected natural monument, it can be visited free of charge via the Mész Hill – Nyerges Hill study trail established by the Kaptárkő Association.

26. CAVE DWELLINGS AT POCEM, NOSZVAJ

Cave and cellar dwellings probably emerged in Noszvaj from the 19th century. Easy-to-carve rhyolitic tuff made it possible to create homes for the extremely poor. Cave dwellings nowadays are, except for a few, non-habited. In the south-eastern part of the village, known as “Pocem”, a large number of cave dwellings has been used as an art colony since 1997. The participants of the artists’ colony have been shaping the spatial forms carved into the stones ever since, based on contemporary concepts. Cave dwellings in Noszvaj are architectural monuments under local protectionand the Farkas-kő (Wolf Stone) beehive stone at Noszvaj is a natural monument. It’s open to the public.

27. STUDY TRAILS AT FELSŐTÁRKÁNY

Three study trails start from the shore of the lake on the north-eastern edge of Felsőtárkány.

1. The Kő-köz (Stone close) circle presents the Szikla (Rock) Spring, the rocky pass known as Kő-köz and the lake. The trail is 800 m long with 5 stations taking 1 hour for a complete walk.

2. The Barát-rét (Monk Meadow) circle to Bujdosó-kő (Exile Stone) 2.6 km away presents the sights along the trail in 4 stations.

3. The Castle Hill circle takes the visitors to a hill top and to a long ridge.

The trail is 10 km long with 6 stations taking 4-5 hours for a complete walk.

The study trails run in the area of the Bükk National Park and can be visited freely along the marked trails.

28. BEEHIVE STONES OF SZOMOLYA

The most characteristic landforms associated with volcanism in Bükkalja are the beehive stones.

People of ancient times carved niches in the cone-shaped stone ranges and towers. The purpose of the niches is yet to be cleared. There are 117 niches on the eight major groups of rocks in the rhyolitic tuff range above Kaptár Meadow. The most beautiful is the 4th group, also known as Királyszéke (King‘s Seat), which has 48 niches of different sizes and depths. The Szomolya Beehhive Stones Nature Reserve is in the conservation and property management of the Bükk National Park Directorate. It can be visited freely via the built study trail.

29. CELLAR VILLAGE AT BOGÁCS

The soils developed on Miocene volcanic tuffs are rich in trace elements and mineral matter, tasty grapes grow on such soils. The cellars carved into the compact but easy-to-carve rocks are excellent for storing wine. The cellar rows of Bogács have a history of several centuries, one of the most significant places in the Bükkalja wine region is the cellar row along Cserépi street at Bogács. Most of the cellars have wine houses as a wine house with standing walls was built in front of the cellar carved into the rock. The cellar village offers rich programmes and welcomes visitors with open cellars.

30. SUBA-LYUK, CSERÉPFALU

The cave on the steep slopes of Hór Valley can be reached via a short walk from the Suba-lyuk Cave Museum and Visitor Centre on the outskirts of Cserépfalu. The significance of the inactive spring cave consisting of a single large hall is increased by the Neanderthal findings recovered in the cave.The skeletal remains of a 25-35 years old woman and a 3 years old child were found in the cave filling, along with animal bones, knapped stone tools and charcoal artefacts suggesting the use of fire. Suba-lyuk is a strictly protected natural value and is under archaeological protection. It can be visited free of charge.