Cikkek

We can provide the best experience for our visitors if they buy combined tickets in advance, or on the spot.The combined program of the Bükk Observatory lasts for two hours. In these two hours visitors can see our exhibition, the dome, and they can watch a movie in the Planetarium.On the tickets bought online, or on the spot, you can find the presentation places and the starting times of programs. You are kindly requested to pay attention to it, and to keep your tickets until the end of your visit.

In 2017, at the initiative of four settlements – Borsodnádasd, Felsőtárkány, Répáshuta, and Szomolya – and under the coordination of the Bükk National Park Directorate, the Bükk Region Geopark was established, covering an area of 2,817 square kilometers. It encompasses one of the most complex geological formations in the country, including the Uppony Mountains and the Bükk Mountains. The Bükk Region Geopark is located across two counties – Heves and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén – and includes 109 settlements. By receiving the UNESCO Global Geopark designation, the Bükk Region Geopark officially became part of the international geopark network in 2024, recognizing the region's unique geodiversity.

Access by carThe observatory can be found 31 km away from the city center of Miskolc, via Lillafüred it takes about 45 minutes to get there.From the city center of Eger it is also 31 km far, you must leave the town in the direction of Felsőtárkány. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the observatory.

Dear Visitors!
The AstroBistro is closed during the winter opening hours, but during this period you can still enjoy coffee/tea, packaged biscuits, chocolate and biscuits in our visitor centre.
Hot meals are not available, the nearest restaurant is in Répáshuta.
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Our educational trails are primarily marked, themed hiking trails designated in natural areas, where information boards help visitors learn about the characteristics of the landscape, the geology of the area, its natural values, and its cultural heritage. They often lead through or showcase protected natural areas. We have produced publications for some of our educational trails, and the underlying content is available online, even via QR codes placed on the information boards.One of Hungary's first marked tourist trails (between Mátrafüred and the Szt. László spring in Mátraháza in 1888) and our first exhibition site with information boards, which can be called an educational trail, was established in the Horotna Valley in the Szalajka Valley, within the operational area of the Bükki National Park Directorate, in 1972.
Our educational trails are mostly free of charge and open to the public. They offer a special, unforgettable experience for those who want to discover these treasures on their own, but they are also venues for nature conservation camps, activities related to nature and environmental protection days, and professional and field exercises. We are confident that learning about the values conveyed by our nature trails will contribute to more effective nature conservation.

FloraThe area of the Bükk-Region Geopark is not identical with natural landscape boundaries. The Bükk Region (as a mesoregion) forms the „core” of the area, several contacting microregions are also part of the area. Among the microregions forming part of the Great Hungarian Plain are the Gyöngyös and Heves plains, Borsod-Mezőség and the Sajó-Hernád plain. To the west and north, both the Mátra (through the Eastern Mátraalja, South Mátra and the High Mátra microregions) and the microregions of the North Hungarian Basins are involved (Pétervására Hills, Ózd-Egercsehi Basin, Upper Tarna Hills, Tarna Valley, Sajó Valley). One of the most typical specifics of the area is the significant forest cover, which is more than three times the forest cover of Hungary (21%). Considering the central part of the Bükk, this value is above 90%. This fact greatly determines the natural condition of the area.The area of the Bükk-Region Geopark belongs to the flora district of Borsodense, of the NorthHungarian Range (Matricum) flora region of the Pannonian flora province including the Bükk Mountains according to the Hungarian geobotanical classification. The western and northern hills and mountainous parts of the area (Mátra, Pétervására Hills) are part of the Agriense flora district, while those that are part of the Great Hungarian Plain belong to the Crisicum flora district.The flora of the Bükk Mountains is considered very rich, even in Hungarian scales. In the flora enumeration compiled by András Vojtkó 1,320 vascular plant species were elaborated. The number of species occurring in the delineated area of the Geopark is much higher, as in the adjacent areas not part of the Bükk Mountains (like Borsod-Mezőség, Pétervására Hills, Sajó and Tarna valleys) also contain habitat types (like areas with alkaline and sandy grasslands, floodplain meadows, watercourses, backwaters) that do not occur in the Bükk. The total number of species for the site (including species of anthropogenic habitats) is estimated at 1800–1900 species. The floristic richness of the area is also shown by the occurrence of 26 strictly protected and 364 protected plant species.Floristically, it is particularly interesting that in the area of the Bükk Mountains dealpine-glacial and sub-Mediterranean interglacial species can also be found, as well as cold-continental species, and its endemic and sub-endemic plants are also noteworthy. Sadler's giant fennel (Ferula sadleriana) and calamint (Calamintha thymifolia) as example sof endemic and pre- or interglacial relict species occur only on Bélkő Hil. Some European smoketree (Cotinus coggygria) occurrences are also believed to be relict-like in the area.It is likely that some notable dealpine species of the Bükk, such as the victory onion (Allium victorialis), Alpine rock-cress (Arabis alpina), variegated reed-grass (Calamagrostis varia), Alpine clematis (Clematis alpina), pink species (Dianthus plumarius subsp. praecox), Tatra-hawkweed (Hieracium bupleuroides subsp. tatrae), stone bramble (Rubus saxatilis), blue moor grass (Sesleria varia), common yew (Taxus baccata), heart-leaved oxeye (Telekia speciosa), Alpine yellow violet (Viola biflora) appeared probably here during the Ice Age. The occurrence of the Baltic acidophilic thrift species (Armeria elongate) further expands the range of rarities in the Bükk. The development of the characteristic flora of the mountains was the result of the possibilities of diverse local habitats that are hardly present in other parts of the North Hungarian Mountain Range. This floristic richness was partly derived from the diversity of the bedrock (limestone, dolomite, shale, rhyolite, basalt, porphyry), and partly the and soil types. Habitats with extreme microclimate conditions associated with the relief conditions (sinkholes, steep-sided valleys, rock cliffs, rocky ridges) also allowed species to survive even after changes in the macroclimate.The variety and richness of the vegetation of the area have been shaped by a number of factors, in which the landforms of the area, climatic conditions, base rocks and soil types and the history of vegetation development with past and present land use play a decisive role. These factors are further influenced by mesoclimatic and biogeographical differences between certain parts of the Bükk. Thus, for example, the effect of the Pontic-continental climate is strongest in south-eastern Bükk, while the sub-Mediterranean effect is strongest in the Bükk, even though xerotherm associations are typical for both areas. Similarly, there are significant differences, for example, in the northern vegetation of the north-western slopes of the Bükk Plateau and the Ómassa valley.