Tata lake circuit: a walk in the city of waters

Itinerary:

• The Tata Old Lake is surrounded by a nature trail marked with white leaves on a green background, which we need to follow along the wide gravel road around the lake.

Detailed description of the route:

It is practical to start our lake-circling hike closest to the city center, at the middle lock of Tata Old Lake, at the eastern foot of the castle. The robust water level regulating structure was built in the mid-18th century, but the lake existed since the 14th century with the moat belonging to the castle. Originally established for fishing purposes, this artificial lake is in fact the oldest fishpond in our country. Nowadays, after the summer period, the water level is slowly lowered by meters with the help of the lock, forcing the fish towards the deeper corners, thus becoming easy prey for fishermen using enclosure nets. The scenic fish catch event in Tata is held on the long October weekend, keeping the ancient craft alive.

Our walk around the lake is accompanied by the white branch on green background nature trail marking, yet it is almost impossible to accidentally stray from the wide gravel road surrounding the lake. Runners also like to use this over 7-kilometer route, so we only need to follow those who are finishing their daily workouts. The water surface of Old Lake, covering more than 200 hectares, is a real paradise for water sports lovers. During the summer, we can see many rowers and sailors on the lake, even special ones like dragon boats. If we feel like it, we can rent a canoe or kayak at the boathouse, and complement our tour by enjoying the lake's aquatic life up close. For those less adventurous, a sightseeing boat service also operates on the lake between the St. John dock and Builders' Park.

Leaving the boat station, the lakeside houses disappear behind us as we move into a more natural environment. The water surface of Old Lake opens up in the larger southern basin, the far shore being more than a kilometer away. The true size of the water mass is really visible from here. The Old Castle, our starting point, becomes smaller as fewer people walk along the shore, and the city's noise stays behind.

Refuge of the sky wanderers

A birdwatching tower was built at a point distant from the city center but still easily accessible, from where we can best overlook the lake surface. In the winter season, during low water levels, the Tata Old Lake serves as a wintering ground for tens of thousands of waterfowl. Migrating waterfowl arrive in groups from the Eurasian tundras with the onset of colder weather. By fitting some geese with transmitters, their migration direction and rhythm were tracked, revealing astonishing details. These sky wanderers can fly up to 1500 kilometers in a single day. They arrive here crossing several countries around the Carpathian Basin, taking a detour around the Ural Mountains from the river estuaries of western Siberia.

The geese typically spend nights on the lake and graze in the surrounding fields or forage in the marshes during the day. Accordingly, we can admire the flocks circling over the lake and city especially during dusk return or dawn departure. The best occasion for this is the Tata Wild Goose Festival held on the last weekend of November, where birdwatchers help us observe the gathering birds on the lake through large magnifying telescopes set up in advance.

As the walking path leaves the hotels on the eastern shore and the resort area, we enter a wetland forest typical for such areas. In the almost impenetrably lush understory of the shrub-covered floodplain forest, we can admire the majestic willow and poplar trees that love water. Here we slightly move away from the lake’s water surface, and a true forest atmosphere dominates in the poplar forest. The ancient trees with their massive trunks line the path like columns, and the lianas growing on the bushes act as a backdrop hiding the floodplain's interior. These dense forests host a rich animal life despite the city’s proximity, including foxes, wild boars, badgers, deer – a whole forest ecosystem is present in this wooded belt bordering the lake from the south.

In the shade of the lakeside poplars

About halfway through our hike, we reach the far side of the lake, to the bridge crossing over the Által creek, where we can walk down to the river mouth. Walking north along the riverbank, we arrive at the lakeshore lined with reeds, shaded by planted poplars along the path. Opposite us is the silhouette of the castle and the cluster of buildings beside it, while around us the lakeshore’s original aquatic world covered with reeds and bulrushes persists. On the right side of the path, the Által creek enters the lake through an artificial channel, while on the left side is the original outlet with bays, restored recently from an overgrown area filled during last century’s landscaping and dredging. The protected marshy bay is a true home for waterbirds. In summer we can see egrets, herons, cormorants, and kingfishers feeding here.

Returning to the lake-circling path, we continue through the Által creek valley, where oaks, alders, and planted pines also appear. Our pleasant forest walk returns to the lakeshore, and in the clearing-dotted forest we noticeably approach the city again. Thanks to the thinning of the dense vegetation along the shore, the lake is accessible in places via boardwalks. Thanks to improving water quality, we can even take a dip in the cooling water of the lake at the artificially created free beaches during hot weather.

Approaching the city, after a slight right bend the path rises on the left, and we pass at the foot of Calvary Hill. Numerous paths lead up the hillside, most of them reaching Calvary Street. Calvary Hill shows an interesting geological composition. The overturned layered sequence toward the city side starts with Triassic rocks, while toward the lake it ends in young Quaternary freshwater limestone after the Jurassic red marble. It is worth visiting the protected geological outcrop’s spectacular limestone walls, where during a guided tour accompanied by a rock exhibition in the geological garden we can get closer to the legacy of millions of years.

On Calvary Hill, we can also enjoy a great view from the Fellner Jakab lookout tower rising above the city. The paths leading here are quite adventurous; it is worth making a detour at the end of the hike, turning back from the old plane tree in front of the castle via Fazekas Street, and climbing the local height by a longer but more certain route.

From the gnarled limestone rocks to Tata’s symbol

At the foot of Calvary Hill, we notice rocks lining the path along the lakeshore. Examining the gnarled rock closer, we see traces characteristic of freshwater limestone, layered with pores and cavities. The city of waters was built near one of the largest spring systems in the area. The fault system separating Gerecse and Vértes is close here to the regional low point, the Danube, thus the Tata trench is an important outflow point of the underground water system of the Transdanubian Central Mountains, mainly composed of karst formations.

Thanks to this significant karst water replenishment, the area is rich in water, which is related to the formation of rocks around the lake. The karst water rising from deep depths deposits dissolved limestone material from inside the surrounding mountains at the springs, releasing pressure and carbon dioxide, leaving unnecessary burden behind. Interestingly, during nearly half a century of mining activity in the Tatabánya water depletion, the caves of springs rising from deep were dry, making it possible, for example, to explore and examine the spring caves on the shore of the neighboring Cseke Lake. Fortunately, after the cessation of karst water decline, sometimes exceeding 100 meters, after the 2000s the water level rose significantly again, approaching the original state, thus these special natural formations have come to life again.

After the rocks, near the end of our trip, we enter a landscaped cultural area as we circle the Esterházy riding hall building. The old horse chestnut and plane tree rows lead back to the Esterházy castle and the castle, into the lively atmosphere filled with tourists’ buzzing and ducks’ quacking. In the shade of the old lake plane tree with its impressive trunk circumference, we enter the medieval castle surrounded by a castle moat, which was a favorite summer palace of Sigismund Luxembourg and King Matthias, and today it is the symbol of Tata.

On the far side of the castle, we return to our starting point, but it is worth taking a small detour to visit the Tata city center located on the far side of the castle and palace, where at Kossuth Square in front of the parish church we can select a tour according to our interests from the informative board, and view the city’s monuments equipped with informational signs.