Pilisszentlászló – Visegrád (Day 35 of the OKT Hike)

The Pilisszentlászló stamp can be found on the fence next to the World War II memorial, located beside the bus turnaround, which also serves as the town square.

The history of this village, framed by mountains, begins with the aristocratic hunts in the forests: in the Middle Ages, the royal road connecting Buda and Visegrád was lined by the Kékesi hunting lodge, on the site of which the church stands today. Then, from the 13th century onward, the nobility galloping through the area could enjoy the hospitality of the Pauline monastery at that very spot. Due to its location and its association with the nobility, the village also held political significance; it was destroyed during the Ottoman period, after which the Pauline monks repopulated it with Slovak settlers, renaming it Szentlászló.

We quickly leave the village behind and, climbing through a forest of hornbeam and beech—sometimes steeply, sometimes more gently—we make our way up to the Szarvas-szérű clearing. Its name refers to a flat, compacted area of land and is a testament to the long-gone days of grazing and haymaking. From here, we follow the paved road for a while, then cut across the side of Szent László Hill before descending to the flat expanse lined with the Pap-rét clearings, where we find the stamp on the fence of the forester’s house.

The sparkling pond in the clearing by the house is a reminder of the grazing that once took place here. A hunting lodge once stood on the site of the forester’s house, which Horthy himself visited: the paved road was built at his request in the 1930s to connect his castle in Szentendre with his hunting grounds in Visegrád.

Pap-réti Forest House – Nagy-Villám

Leaving the clearings behind, the Blue Trail continues along a forest road and then across the Pálócki Meadow, after which a long forest section follows. And not just any section: on the mountainside of Urak asztala, a narrow, picturesque trail winds its way around centuries-old beech trees, cutting across the steep slope. The dense, untouched forest is due to the (long-defunct) air defense base that was once located on the mountaintop; the unmanaged, impenetrable thicket provided the perfect cover to hide it. Looking back from the site of a fallen tree, the Naszály massif and the eastern ridge of the Visegrád Mountains come into view; there is no trace of logging here, and after rainy periods, the roar of the Kalicsa Stream rushing through the gorge below can also be heard—this truly is an atmosphere unlike any other in Transdanubia. The origin of the name “Urak asztala” is unclear, but since it is a dominant feature of the area, it may, like the Prédikálószék, reflect a religious origin related to its elevation (according to this theory, it evolved from “the Lord’s table”). According to other theories, it may have been a resting place during the royal hunts at Visegrád or perhaps the boundary between the estates of the surrounding settlements (where landowners met during inspections).

The trail eventually widens into an abandoned forest road and leads out to the picturesque clearing at the Vízverés saddle. The former hayfield stretching across the saddle between the two mountains is dotted with a few stately old trees, and on the other side we find two rest areas. From here, we follow the trail for a while longer; through the sparsely standing trees, we can already catch glimpses of the Danube. Down below to the left, on the mountainside, an exciting experiment once took place at the head of the valley known as Bölényes. King Matthias was reportedly the last to hunt these massive bison in the forests of Visegrád; in later accounts, it appears that only a single specimen that had escaped from captivity was sighted. Then, with the assistance of Miklós Horthy, five bison were relocated here from the Budapest Zoo in 1923. This wild animal, which by then had become nearly extinct throughout Europe, was the subject of an international effort to breed it—and the relocation was part of that effort. Although there were reportedly instances of calves being born, it is difficult to assess the success of the experiment in retrospect, and the bison reserve was closed in 1930. At that time, the surrounding area was largely off-limits to casual tourists; it was a hunting estate visited by Horthy.

We descend onto a forest road, then follow a trail again near the ridge. The trees thin out, and the view opens up at the Moli Rest Area —named after the hiker Lajos Molnár and equipped with a bench: below, the Danube laps at the foot of the Pulpit Rock, forming a horseshoe shape around St. Michael’s Hill, while to the left, the winding forested slopes of the Visegrád Mountains rise up. What makes this spot exceptional is that, rather than viewing it from a distance, we can admire a substantial portion of the landscape surrounding the river from within. We can peer into the depths of the thoroughly eroded volcanic structure—of which St. Michael’s Hill was once a part.

From here, we descend along a trail—in places steep and crisscrossed with roots—toward Borjúfő, which the Blue Trail bypasses, though the rocky outcrop is clearly visible from the path. Following the K▲ trail marker, it’s just a few challenging meters to the dark andesite cliff; from its ledge, we can see the gradually rising, forested terrain of the mountain range and the Danube winding at its base, and on the opposite side, the peaks of the Börzsöny range rise above St. Michael’s Hill and the neighboring, lower ridges. A quote by Albert Wass has been carved into the rock.

The predecessor to the K trail in this area was established in the 1930s after a long struggle, as the surrounding wilderness had previously been a manorial estate closed off to tourists, and the new hiking trail could only be built along its edge, bypassing the lookout points.

We emerge onto a forest road that leads, with a slight incline, to the Zemplén-like, marshy hayfields of the Sóstói Meadow. These small meadows—which are among the mountain range’s particularly rich habitats and distinctive landscape features—once served to provide winter forage for the village’s livestock; today, they are protected from reforestation for conservation purposes. Rainwater collects in small depressions on the flat surfaces of the compact volcanic rock, making the soil waterlogged. To the left, among the trees, we find a small pond covered with duckweed; during dry periods, it is nothing more than a muddy patch. Some of these small bodies of standing water are man-made; they were intended as watering holes for mountain grazing livestock. Lake Sós is likely a natural formation: according to earlier records, the meadow was once divided by several seasonal, tussock-covered bodies of water.

From here, we take a long walk along the slope of Sas Hill, mostly ascending along Király Road, which, according to tradition, connected Visegrád Castle with Buda—more precisely, with the hunting lodge at Nyék— so kings and their entourages also traveled along it. At the end of this section, we emerge onto the plateau of Fekete Hill next to a rest area, from where the Börzsöny Mountains appear in the distance; but if we walk out to the western edge of the meadow, we can also look out over the Visegrád Mountains and the Danube. After volcanic activity subsided, only low rolling hills stretched across what is now the Danube Bend region; and tectonic movements fractured this rock mass in a checkerboard pattern, raising it higher along the fault lines that are clearly visible on maps. The limestone plateau of Fekete-hegy also came to rest in its current elevated position in this way.

German settlers who planted vineyards on the sunny slopes of Fekete Hill also built mounds of white stone to prevent soil erosion, which is why the name is so strange. The snow-white limestone is essentially the remnant of a coral reef from the shallow sea that surrounded the young volcano, and it formed approximately 16 million years ago in a subtropical climate much warmer than today’s. On the other side of the meadow, you should definitely make a detour to get the stamp. We’ll find one at the entrance to the Nagy-Villám restaurant, from where it’s worth walking on to the parking lot next to the building: the neighboring Börzsöny Mountains look surprisingly massive from here. For the other stamp, you’ll need to hike up to the summit of Nagy-Villám along the K▲ trail, which leads to the Zsitvay Lookout (be sure to check its opening hours in advance). The tower, which requires an admission ticket, offers an excellent panoramic view of the Danube Bend landscape, including the entire massif of the Börzsöny. Its namesake, Tibor Zsitvay, served as president of the Hungarian Tourist Association before becoming a member of parliament and then a minister; and later served again as the association’s leader—in short, a prominent figure in the hiking community of his time, who initiated the construction of the Nagy-Villám lookout tower, built in the 1930s.

Nagy-Villám – Visegrád Ferry

From the base of the peak, the Blue Trail continues along a narrow path that follows the contours of the steep mountainside; and even though the noise of traffic can be heard from below, the old, gnarled, and chaotic beech forest retains its natural appearance—and in some places, you can glimpse the Danube winding below us. After a short climb, we reach the parking lot of the Visegrád Citadel. The citadel offers the usual attractions (a wax museum, a weapons exhibition, etc.), but it’s worth visiting just for the view of the Danube Bend.

From here, the Blue Trail descends along a path strewn with boulders—requiring caution in places—and dotted with patches of bare rock and gnarled oak trees, with some sections being quite steep. From certain vantage points, you can look out in both directions, where somber rock and a white building merge on a tiny terrace. The chimney-like breccia towers are built from the fused debris of a former volcanic structure. The chapel, which appears to have a slanted foundation, and the Stations of the Cross leading up to it were built in the 18th century, when German settlers inhabited the area following the Turkish invasions. (At that time, the site offered an excellent panoramic view of the Danube.)

From the stations of the Calvary, we enter the streets of Visegrád, through which the K trail leads us to the banks of the Danube. We find the last stamp for the Transdanubia region on the ferry terminal building, and after crossing the Danube, we continue our hike at the foot of the Börzsöny Mountains.