Vértes Figure Eight Bike Tour

Itinerary

• We start from Szárliget railway station along Baross Gábor street, then continuing on we join a forest asphalt road following the former Szálláskúti railway track.
• Crossing the Road 1, we continue further on the forestry road.
• Upon reaching the Fáni valley, we turn right at the first fork, left at the second.
• From Vérteskozma on a minor road we reach the main road between Csákvár and Oroszlány.
• After leaving Kőhányáspuszta, following the power lines carefully turn left onto the forestry road.
• Leaving the mining sites, we turn left and cross the mountain range on the forestry road. We climb up to Pátrácos, then roll down for a long stretch in the picturesque Horog valley.
• On the road between Csákberény and Csákvár, we turn left, then at the roundabout head towards Gánt.
• Crossing Gánt, we return to the main road between Csákvár and Oroszlány, turning left there.
• From the main road, we pedal back to Vérteskozma, then to Fáni valley, where we turn left at the Devil’s Chair.
• We touch on the Mátyás rest area, then reach the road between Vértessomló and Felsőgalla (Tatabánya).
• Crossing Felsőgalla, we reach the road heading back to Szárliget.

Detailed tour description

A bit of tuning in

Before embarking on discovering the countless wonders of Vértes forest along the lower right quarter of the partly lying figure eight, as a warm-up it’s worth climbing to the old cemetery of Körtvélyespuszta, which provides a great introduction to the tour. For this, we start from the Szárliget railway station along Baross Gábor street, then follow the K mark on a field path. We reach the main road number 1 near the former Birka Inn, right where the forestry road starts towards Körtvélyespuszta.

After the climb, we stand quietly in the old cemetery of Körtvélyespuszta belonging to the Esterházy family estate, in the silent reverence of the forest; Gothic-lettered German gravestones remind us of the settlers living here and the "people of the plains". The plains were independent settlements outside towns, with an agricultural character. Most were established in the Great Plain but some were also found in our medium mountain ranges (in Gerecse and Vértes, thanks to the varied terrain there were several). They generally formed part of estates, housing a few dozen people, mostly agricultural servants. The settlements consisted of servants' houses, stables, repair workshops, sawmills, other economic buildings, and larger places had mansions or castles. The mountain plains were mainly characterized by livestock keeping (sheep, cattle, horses), while plant cultivation was usually limited to orchards (apples, plums, etc.), home gardens, and fodder production. They also generally played a central role as hunting grounds and forest management areas, and larger ones had narrow gauge railways. During the socialist decades the plains became depopulated; for example, the film crew of "One and a Half Million Steps…" caught the last resident of the most famous plain of Vértes, Kőhányás-puszta, in 1978. Today the "luckier" mountain plains have been turned into resorts, some with tourist houses or forester's lodges in buildings. But most now await decay without function, only ruined houses and the cemetery preserve the memory of a hardworking past.

Since we are here and can’t say no to our curiosity, it is worth exploring on foot the Mária Gorge, which holds a prestigious place among Hungary’s hidden gorges, located directly beside the forest road leading to Körtvélyespuszta (in fact, after leaving the bikes, the Körtvélyesi lookout is just a step away from here!).

As cycling is supposedly forbidden on main road 1, we cannot cover even the 1 km needed for the actual continuation of the tour on it. Therefore, following the rules, we must return to Szárliget, then along the continuation of Baross Gábor street on the forest asphalt road following the former Szálláskúti railway track, we reach the appropriate point of road 1 (the first quarter starts on the far side of the main road).

First quarter: and here’s the beloved Vértes!

After the detour at Körtvélyes and the tough climb, we can enjoy the gentle, picturesque forestry road that follows the route of the narrow-gauge railway operating between 1918 and 1945 on the southern side of Vértes from Szálláskút-puszta towards the wild Fáni valley. We leave behind the noise of main road 1 and cycle through increasingly beautiful forests with pleasant undulations. The peace of the forest is rarely disturbed here, although it used to be different as we always realize browsing the Vértes map, since remnants of the former management are found everywhere: railways penetrated into the valleys for beech and lime trees, and traces of livestock farming can still be found in the inner areas in the names of roads and places.

Suddenly, on a sharp right turn, a truly Vértes-characteristic rocky south-facing mountainside appears out of nowhere. Soon another cliff appears, and with a great contrast, we immediately arrive in the magical shady old beech woods of Fáni valley. We are near Vérteskozma of medieval origin, which once hosted the guards of Gesztes castle, and perhaps here the landscape magic of Vértes is at its most captivating. The list of habitats around the village is quite long, and due to the vivid relief, we find very different habitats located quite far apart right next to each other at Fáni valley. The tectonic and erosion-origin northern-facing steep mountainside transitioning into a cliff is home to cold-tolerant plant species from the ice age that usually live above 1500 m in the Carpathians and the Alps. The southern slopes, the valley-edge plateaus, or the abandoned cliff hide warm-loving species that are native to the Mediterranean climate and mark the northern distribution limit of our medium mountain ranges.

Soon we arrive in Vérteskozma, a beautiful resort village once inhabited by German settlers recruited by the Esterházy family, later depopulated after the war, and for a time inhabited by miners. That is the history of Vértes in one sentence… The village and its surroundings invite resting and sightseeing, so it is worth stopping by (the forestry road meets the local road at the edge of the village). Turning right onto the main road that uniquely crosses the mountain range between Csákvár and Oroszlány, luckily we can travel quickly northwards without enduring the noise of passing cars too much. At the already mentioned Kőhányáspuszta it is worth stopping to admire the Esterházy chapel, then onward about 2 kilometers ahead a new forestry road starts, and with it the next section!

Second quarter: from mining lake to primeval forest

On the second section of the figure eight, little will disturb our forest glide, but we can visit two of the famous castles of Vértes right away, and the picturesque ruins of the Vértesszentkereszt monastery with short detours. A few hundred meters walk from the road on the K and KL routes leads to the somewhat dilapidated but still atmospheric Oroszlánkő castle (Csáki castle ruins), which once had great influence on the life of the region as the famous Csák clan ruled here and Oroszlány got its name from here. For the barely recognizable Gerencsérvár, a couple of kilometers cycling detour northwards is needed: turning right at the mining sites, then leaving the bike and taking a few steps left on the Z sign, followed by a right turn onto the ZL sign. We find the beautiful but only viewable from a distance Vértesszentkereszt monastery ruins further on the forest asphalt strip heading north (accessible via the ZL marked path from the forestry road).

Returning or continuing on the original route, the asphalt road ends at a T-junction where a left turn brings us to the first crossing of Vértes. Let’s take a breath, though the upcoming climb is not that terrible after all — we are not in Börzsöny! The top of the climb is Pátrácos, where there’s a nice old tree, a much better spot to rest. Especially as from here we have several kilometers of rolling ahead mostly on newly built excellent quality concrete. But don’t let the need for speed take over completely, no matter how much we want: it’s worth stopping at the Juh-döglő forest reserve and breathing in the "primeval forest" scent, marked by a sign next to the road (they couldn’t solve tree transport to the nearby narrow-gauge railway from the steep slope, which made it possible to preserve the old forests here — strict no entry).

We continue rolling towards the Csákvár-Söréd country road, from which we can detour to Csákberény where the Vértesgyöngye restaurant offers affordable and good meals. The main attraction of the village is the hill: the Orondi vineyards are part of the Mór wine region, and in Hungary probably nowhere else does a vineyard border a karst scrub forest with cliff walls coated by kermes oak, which provides a particularly picturesque view in autumn. Here we also find the excellent Vértes Panorama Nature Trail and the Gróf Merán Fülöp Hunting and Forestry Museum. If planning a two-day tour, we can also include the impressive castle of Csókakő (and find accommodation there)!

Third quarter: a drop of Hungary

Established along with Kőszeg as the first Nature Park in Hungary, Vértesi Natúrpark’s real value is diversity since almost all characteristic Hungarian landscapes can be found here: its center is Vértes, including the Zámolyi Basin. At the foothills of Vértes, the Great Plain meets the medium mountain, significantly increasing landscape variety and the richness of wildlife. An interesting evidence is the many commercials, series, and historical films shot here. Leaving Csákberény towards Csákvár, for example, we soon arrive among the picturesque Bucka hills, where Nicolas Cage, Richard Burton, and Vanessa Redgrave have already been, where Asterix and Obelix marched in the film "Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia", and where Péter Rudolf and Péter Haumann "climbed" in "The Adventurers."

Due to the landscape diversity, Vértesi Natúrpark advertises itself as if it were a drop of Hungary, where all typical Hungarian landscapes can be found. In the third quarter, the main question is whether to explore this drop of Hungary or to travel to Mars (there is not enough time to visit both even in the two-day version). In Gánt, the unmissable Balás Jenő Bauxite Mining Museum and the abandoned reddish quarry reminiscent of the Martian landscape invite a stop; in Csákvár, the Nature Park Visitor Center, the Geszner house, and the Vidrafű nature trail in the Zámolyi Basin can be visited with a guide. Above Csákvár, among the fairy tale rocks, can also be explored the reddish kermes oak Haraszt hill nature trail! The two attractions surely make up for the somewhat monotonous cycling on the main road.

Last quarter: one castle awaits another

The visit of attractions is planned so that the last section has the fewest sights but definitely the biggest challenge for us! Both from Csákvár and Gánt, we return on roads to Vérteskozma, climbing our first real steep Vértes ascent on the way. However, the hardest section of the route may still be ahead: the forestry road opening north under the already known Fáni valley’s Devil’s Chair also delights our tired legs with a serious, real medium mountain climb. After the climb, in the long descent on the other side it’s worth refilling our bottles at the atmospheric spring of Mátyás-kút, then, refreshed, we can speed along the not very good asphalt. However, the only attraction of the last quarter definitely justifies the effort: a one-kilometer walk (Z+ - Z - ZL) leads up to the Vitány castle ruins, one of the most romantically regarded castle ruins of Hungary, built to protect the Tata valley and still surrounded by impressive walls, where we can say goodbye to Vértes with a nice panorama. Soon we reach the road heading towards Tatabánya, from where we head to either railway station. We can choose the closer Tatabánya (Alsógalla stop), or cycle back to Szárliget via the beautiful Felsőgalla.