Szénás Kör (Small circuit)

Itinerary

• The route starts from Solymár following the Z mark, which you follow all the way to the foot of Solymár castle hill.
• From the Solymár castle the route follows the Paprikás creek valley to reach the Jegenye Valley (keeping slightly right at the foot of the castle, then going straight through a green barrier).
• Upon reaching a clearing in the Jegenye Valley, follow the S mark, still along the creek.
• Crossing the Solymár road, continue on the S mark, then turn left about 250 meters from the road onto the S+ mark.
• Upon entering the houses of Budaliget, continue straight on the Honfoglalás road on the K+ mark.
• Back in the forest, turn left at the top of a climb and follow the K mark to the Remete Gorge.
• At Remeteszőlős, follow the K+ mark, then after crossing the Nagykovácsi road follow the P+ mark.
• At the P mark, turn right, then leave the P mark to the left for the PΔ mark.
• The PΔ mark crosses the Kopasz Forest before you turn right onto the ZΔ mark – this hiking path leads over the Nagy-Kopasz to the border of Nagykovácsi where you reach the settlement by turning right on the Z mark.
• In Nagykovácsi, turn left onto Telki road, and follow the S mark on the forestry road to a ladder/turnstile on a fence – here turn onto the K+ mark that leads through the fence.
• The K+ mark merges into the K mark after climbing Kutya Hill; follow this to Zsíros Hill, then switch to the Z mark, which leads back to Solymár center.

Detailed description of the route

The Szénás Kör is an endurance route offered in two different lengths, which anyone can complete individually as they wish. The small circuit is 31 kilometers long (the large circuit is 75 kilometers), with a friendly 9-hour time limit (to be completed in under 5 hours if running), meaning there is opportunity to rest here and there, admire the view, have a sandwich, or listen to an Örkény one-minute story – but let’s not get ahead!

This route begins with registration, which the prospective hiker can do at https://szenaskor.hu/regisztracio. This does not entail any obligations, but registration does: keep the received five-digit code as it will be needed at checkpoints after scanning the QR code. Also be prepared with 3500 forints in cash, payable as a completion fee upon successful finish. In return, you get a finisher medal (bronze for first finishers, silver for second, gold for third), and you support the Euniors ISE association that created the route.

Solymár’s name itself is interesting, likely a speaking name, as the village’s former – medieval – residents may have raised hawks and participated in royal hunts, although researchers can only speculate as there is no direct evidence. The settlement’s history is eventful: the area was inhabited already in the Bronze Age and Roman times, but was depopulated during the Turkish occupation. In the early 18th century, it was repopulated with settlers from Germany, but after World War II, a large part of their descendants, nearly half of the village’s population, were expelled. The settlement's Swabian past is remembered, among other things, by street name signs, worth stopping to browse during the hike.

The route starts from the center of the village, at the Apáczai Csere János Cultural House and Library located at Templom tér, where the QR code needed for check-in is at the second window on the right when facing the entrance. From here, the first few kilometers follow the Z mark to the Solymár castle. The fortress on Mátyás Hill was already a watchtower in Roman times and was built as we know it in the 15th century. As usual, it changed hands many times until it was destroyed after Buda was occupied by the Turks, its stones dispersed; restoration was completed in 2006. Our path leads right in front of the castle next to the Fatima chapel, a religious building completed in 2013, with an unusual shape.

Leaving the castle, the path continues in the Paprikás creek valley, starting on an unmarked trail, then from a clearing follows the S mark in the Jegenye Valley. This popular destination always gathers many tourists, which is no surprise as the highest waterfall in the Budai Hills is found here. Incredibly, between the World Wars from 1929, there was a bathing resort in the valley with a cabin row for bathers. The water was held back by a dam (its ruins still visible), but the water temperature in the narrow valley limited the popularity of the so-called Rock Bath.

Crossing the Solymár road, the route continues in the Middle Jegenye Valley, then at a fork turns left onto the S+ mark reaching the houses of Budaliget. Inspecting the smaller and larger houses, it’s apparent that money and taste do not always go together.

At the Honfoglalás road, turn right, then continue straight following the K+ mark back into the forest. After a climb, the path leads onto Remete Hill, where turning left at the K mark leads down a pleasant few hundred meters followed by a steep, rocky trail leading down into Remete Gorge. Indeed a hermit lived in the Remete cave in the 18th century – there are a total of twenty small and large caves in the narrow valley.

From the gorge, the route goes out on the K+ mark to Remeteszőlős, where the first checkpoint is found in a small park surrounded by various curiosities. There is a phone booth where you can listen to Örkény’s one-minute stories by holding the receiver to your ear, a book stop where you can exchange tired books for new ones, a musical drinking fountain, and even a barefoot educational trail. The route continues on the K+ mark in a street parallel to Nagykovácsi road, then crosses the busy road continuing on the P+ mark.

Almost continuous climbing leads to the Nagy-Kopasz summit, following various markings: after P+ comes P, then PΔ, and later ZΔ marks on the trees. The 559-meter summit’s name is misleading: the term 'bald' rather suits the view of the Nagy-Szénás visible from the lookout tower atop the hill. The lookout tower, named after Pál Csergezán, is 18 meters high made of redwood, standing at the highest point in the Budai Hills. 100 steps lead to its top, from which in clear weather the region can be seen from Esztergom to Százhalombatta.

From Kopasz Hill to Nagykovácsi leads the Szénás Kör route, following ZΔ then Z marks to reach the village. The route just touches the western edge of the settlement but it’s worth spending a few hundred meters for a detour to the church and the nearby shop and confectionery. As with Solymár, the village name reveals the previous occupation of its residents: royal blacksmiths likely once lived here. It was depopulated during the Turkish occupation, later settled by German-speaking settlers, and after World War II, the German-speaking population was expelled. Nowadays, the village population grows mainly thanks to new settlers relocating from the capital. From Nagykovácsi continue west on the S mark (Telki road); the forestry road continuously but not too steeply ascends. Leave the dozer road at the K+ mark (signaled by a turnstile and ladder) to reach Nagy-Szénás through Kutya Hill on the K mark. From the dolomite peak, in clear weather, a wonderful panoramic view unfolds to the lucky hiker (winter, windy yet clear days offer the best views).

From the Nagy-Szénás summit, the trail leads almost entirely downhill to Solymár. First, it goes through the northernmost streets of Nagykovácsi (worth making a detour at the junction of Kút street to visit the miner’s memorial), then back into the forest. Near the former site of the Zsíros Hill tourist hostel (operating between 1928-1986) is the Muflon Pond, where you can refill your supplies for the remaining few downhill kilometers. From here, continue descending on the Z mark to Solymár to collect your well-earned finisher’s medal.