Mókus Kör

Itinerary

• After the start and scanning the first QR code, set off on the P+ trail crossing Budakeszi Road.
• After approx. 1.5 kilometres, continue on the S+ trail, which again crosses Budakeszi Road at the Korányi Institute, then when you reach the asphalt road at the “Forest’s Prayer” sign, you will find the first checkpoint and the 2nd QR code. From here, proceed to the nearby Szilfa clearing along the S+ trail, then turn right onto the P+ trail.
• After leaving the Petneházy Inn and Equestrian Farm, you reach the P trail. Turn left and follow the P trail all the way to Nagykovácsi. The trail leads along a concrete road for a short stretch of about 100 metres, then turns right where you will find the 3rd QR code on two facing overhead power line poles.
• Follow the P trail all the way to Nagykovácsi, then in the village, after crossing the creek, turn left along the creek – that is, the Ördög-ditch – (leaving the P trail), then enter the square in front of the church (Tisza István square), where the 4th QR code awaits on the bike rack between the bus turnaround and the parking lot.
• From here, continue westwards on the Z trail, first along Kossuth Lajos Street, then keeping left onto Telki Road. Turn right from Telki Road onto the path crossing the field, then reach a wide gravel road and turn right again.
• Passing a small parking lot and a barrier, turn left onto the Sisakvirág nature trail. Follow the unmarked path straight to a fork, then turn left at the nature trail information board. From here, the Z∆ trail leads you to the Nagy-Kopasz summit, where on the topmost level of the lookout tower you will find the 5th QR code.
• After descending from the lookout tower, continue along the Z∆ trail, then turn left onto the Z+ trail, and follow this until it joins the S+ trail. Continue on this (which for a long stretch coincides with the K+ trail). On the S+ trail you will reach the 6th QR code, located on a fence post in the wildlife park, about 700 meters after climbing a wildlife ladder.
• Continuing on the S+ trail, you will reach the now familiar Szilfa clearing – from here you must go the same way (just in the opposite direction) as at the start of the route. Accordingly, crossing Budakeszi Road, after a couple of hundred meters the S+ trail merges into the P+ trail, from where it is only a few hundred meters to the finish. After scanning the 7th QR code at the finish, your finish time will be recorded on the leaderboard.

Detailed description of the route

Like every instant challenge route, this one also starts with checking in: you need to scan the START labelled QR code on the large side window of the Szépjuhászné Buffet, then enter the 6-digit “Runner ID” you received during registration into the pop-up window on your phone. This automatically starts the timing, and the route begins, during which you must visit the checkpoints in the given order following the route, and scan the posted QR codes everywhere (always entering your own ID, these give your split times), then finally return to the Szépjuhászné Buffet to scan the FINISH label.

Land of pioneers and lung patients

The route starts on the P+ trail, crossing Budakeszi Road, then briefly passes alongside the Children's Railway track. Trains have been running here since 1949, back then it was still called the Pioneer Railway (Szépjuhászné station was called Ságváriliget) on this narrow-gauge railway winding through the Buda Hills. However, some things don't change: since the beginning, children have been involved in managing the fairly dense railway traffic, naturally under adult supervision. We soon leave behind the track and approach the busy Budakeszi Road, which we cross near the National Korányi Pulmonology Institute. Founded by Frigyes Korányi following a Western European model, this lung hospital has been receiving patients since 1880 – back then the sanatorium was still far from the city's noise, but nowadays the last streets of Budakeszi are quite close to the historic buildings.

After crossing Budakeszi Road, a path leads into the woods past a cross. The “Jange Toni Kreuz” crucifix – whose name reveals the nearby settlement's Swabian past – was set up in 1801 by the Budakeszi Jankovics family in memory of their child who was lost and luckily found in the nearby forest. From here the S+ trail bends towards the Budakeszi Wildlife Park, which the route does not enter (though after finishing you can return to get to know the animals living there). The second QR code (WILDLIFE PARK) is here on the back of the “Forest’s Prayer” sign. (If anything happens to it, the code can also be found on the back of the forestry cyclist information sign next to the barrier.) After the first successful check-in at the base, the route leads to a triangular clearing. Szilfa Clearing is a nearly one-hectare green area from which you have an excellent view of János Hill and the Erzsébet Lookout Tower at its top. If we were not only at the first kilometers of an instant challenge, one might rest here a bit.

From the corner of Szilfa Clearing, turning right onto the P+ trail continues the route. We walk on a wide, well-navigable path to Kis-Ördög Ditch, where we proceed on a wide dirt road that continues as an asphalt road alongside Petneházy Meadow (and riding club). At the top of the ascent, where the line of corrals ends on the left, we reach the border of Adyliget. In the 1920s – on what then belonged to Nagykovácsi – they started developing a family house suburb here, which was named after István Tisza at that time. It has been known by its current name since 1949, and since 1950 it has been part of the capital. Here we turn left onto the P trail (a wide dirt road), which we follow all the way to Nagykovácsi. Along the northern side of Napkocsmáros-dűlő, we pass a wooded area, then briefly touch an asphalt road, from which turning right you can see in the hillside dirt road with an electricity pole on each side; here we find the checkpoint named KECSKE-HÁT FELÉ (5.4 km from the start), with a QR code (3rd) on each pole.

Coal mines, pastry shops, and the third QR code

Heading towards Nagykovácsi, first we ascend to the hill called Kecske-hát (454 m), then pass by the Red Puddle, where wild boars probably frequently and in large numbers come to wallow. The 80-90 cm high red patches on the trees around the small pond indicate that the animals rubbed off the excess mud there. This routine plays an important role: the mud cools them in summer and the mud remaining on their skin and fur protects them against parasites (ticks, fleas, mosquitoes). After this, the descent to Nagykovácsi is uneventful.

The dead-end village lies in a basin surrounded by Nagy-Szénás, Kutya-hegy, and Nagy-Kopasz, and is sliced through by the Ördög ditch. Its name is self-explanatory: in the Middle Ages, it was named after royal blacksmiths living here. During the Turkish occupation, the village was not depopulated, but its population drastically decreased, so in the early 18th century the Habsburg rulers settled Swabian people here. Observing the typical suburban settlement image today, it is almost unbelievable that not long ago serious coal mining took place nearby – the last mine, the Hope mine, operated until 1969. The fourth QR code is found opposite the Church of the Assumption, on top and inside the closed bicycle storage next to the bus turnaround (an extra code is on the back of one of the signs indicating parking for the disabled on the other side of the bus turnaround).

The square has an excellent pastry shop for refreshments, and on Saturdays there is also a market in the parking lot, where you can get truly tasty butcher’s products, cheese, and jams if the time limit is not pressing. After passing the church, keep right (Kossuth Lajos Street) where the S, Z and ᵯ trails lead towards the edge of the village. On the way, you also pass another pastry shop. At a Y-shaped fork stands a stone cross with a German inscription commemorating the Swabian population displaced after World War II – here you must turn left following the Z and ᵯ trails, then after a few hundred meters turn right onto the road crossing the field. Upon reaching the other edge of the field, turn right onto a wide bulldozer road, then after passing a small parking lot and barrier, turn left onto the unmarked Sisakvirág nature trail. Here, you can make a short detour of a few tens of meters to the Shepherd’s Cross. According to legend, a shepherd used to graze his flock in these peasant fields who lost his life in a sudden storm. In his memory, first a wooden cross was erected, later replaced by a stone cross, which was knocked down in 1945 and restored in 2016.

Continuing along the Sisakvirág nature trail, we are already traversing the base of Nagy-Kopasz, then upon reaching the Z▲ trail, turn left and start climbing the mountain peak. This is the most strenuous (though not too difficult) section of the route, but the splendid panorama from the Csergezán Lookout on the summit makes up for the elevation gain. The fifth QR code is found on the lookout level 18 meters high (you must climb one hundred steps to reach it), from where you can admire the peaks surrounding Budapest: Hármashatár Hill, Hárs Hill, and János Hill, between which the city's houses are visible, and even the contour of the Gödöllő Hills in the distance. Looking north, the mostly flat Pilis Peak dominates the panorama.

The adventure of King Mátyás and the beautiful shepherdess

From the mountain, start descending on the Z▲ trail, then after a few hundred meters turn left onto a road marked with Z+ and P▲ signs. Follow the Z+, then the S+ trail from here almost to the end of the route. After climbing a ladder over a wildlife fence, you find yourself on a small, flat peak, from which descending you can spot the next 6th QR code on a fence post of the wildlife fence, which runs alongside the marked path for a short section – the location can't be missed. For a stretch, the trail runs together with S↺ and Z↺ signs; here you are near the Budakeszi Wildlife Park, which is worth returning to after the route if you have time. At Szilfa Clearing, you are already on familiar ground; from here, you must return by the same route to Szépjuhászné station from where you began the route. The FINISH QR code (7th) is next to the START code, and upon finishing within the time limit, you can also collect your finisher medal during the buffet's opening hours, along with 1000 forints worth of consumption.

You can even end the route by taking the small train, while reflecting on what the area might have looked like in King Mátyás’ time, when according to legend the ruler met a beautiful shepherdess here. From the saddle enclosed by János Hill and Nagy-Hárs Hill on the way home, you can make a quick detour to the ruins of the Budaszentlőrinc monastery just a few minutes’ walk away. The Pauline monks who settled here began building the monastery in the 14th century, which was destroyed by the Turks after the Battle of Mohács defeat.