Adventure hike on the rocky crown of Csobánka

Itinerary:

• We start on the S+ trail along Kossuth Lajos Street up to the saddle below Oszoly, to the S trail.
• We turn up on the S and S▲ trails with a short detour to the Oszoly block to the summit viewpoint.
• Returning to the saddle, we continue on the S trail through Csúcs Hill to the southeastern edge of Csobánka, from where we hike under the Kevély saddle accompanied by the P trail.
• From the Kevély saddle, we make a circle around Nagy-Kevély from the north on the P◼ trail, then switch to the P trail, descending through the summit back to the Kevély saddle.
• We make a detour on the K▲ trail to the Kis-Kevély summit, then descend on the S trail touching the Mackó cave to the edge of Csobánka.
• In Csobánka, we follow the P+ trail along Táncsics Street back to the center.

Detailed description of the hike:

Above Csobánka, between limestone and sandstone cliffs

We start from the main square of Csobánka on the S+ trail towards the sharply rising peaks above the village. In front of us, a rocky hillside steeply soars upwards. Several limestone towers form the wall where domestic climbers have been practicing their climbing techniques and training their bodies and minds for over a century. In good weather, especially on weekends, we can certainly see climbers balancing on the vertical walls.

We turn up Kossuth Street to the forest edge by a shaded street corner grove with old oaks. Reaching under the rocky Oszoly summit, we break away with a suddenly steepening path to the saddle below the summit. We soon reach the challenging but only 100 meters altitude gain saddle where the shapes soften, and we join the S trail coming from Pomáz. We take a short detour on the S and then S▲ trails to the Oszoly summit and the viewpoint below it. We walk through a young forest dotted with downy oak relic trees and meadows. The broad crowns of the old trees show that not long ago, open pastures still opened the gentler hilltop, where the oaks preserved as the main sun trees could grow spherical crowns. The village got its name from the founding herding shepherds, the csobánok.

After the summit, the panoramic view unfolds with a captivating exposure and rich details, appearing as the most impressive peak in the area both in sight and atmosphere. From a bird's eye view, we can see the village and the wide valley of Kovács Creek, framed by the defining mountains of the Pilis and Visegrád ranges. The most striking is the sharply protruding Pilis block with precise geometric shapes, below it the tilted layered plates rising Hosszú Hill and Ziribár, as well as our further peaks, the Kevélys and Csúcs Hill. The steep Pilis range with cone shapes contrasts with the rolling, massive volcanic mass of the Visegrád range, which peaks to the north of Kovács Creek at Dobogókő with its antenna towers.

Returning to the S trail, we continue south into a smaller saddle, from where we launch the next rock wave ascent, Csúcs Hill. The serpentine trail leading up the rocky ridge offers glimpses of Csobánka in several places through sparse vegetation. The far side of the hilltop was an old quarry where many buildings in the village were made from the local sandstone, which is much more resistant, easier to carve, and less fractured than dolomite. A few larger blocks remain in the quarry yard, which on close examination is clearly made of fine gravel and sand particles cemented from the 30-million-year-old sediments of the Pannonian Sea coast.

The Great Kevély panoramic loop

After the quarry, we descend to the Majdán saddle, then after some sideway walking, cross over above the houses of Csobánka to the P trail, which climbs up the side of Kevély in a beech forest shaded gorge. Below the Kevély saddle, we cross a forestry road and join the P◼ trail winding up the northern side of Kevély. Although it leads with a detour to the summit, the rocky, beech-forested northern side of the hill offers a pleasant sideways walk. The ascent is gentle, only in the most stony parts do we have to grip a little for an easier route. We can discover small cavities at the rocks, and several cave passages open in the wider surroundings between the limestone blocks, such as the Zöld and Kristály caves just below us.

Turning onto the southeastern ridge, we side along more open, bushier, wooded areas, switching back to the P trail climbing the ridge. We break through low-growing karst shrub forest toward the summit region, where the rocks composing the mountain increasingly dominate our surroundings. The highest of the peaks surrounding Budapest, the main mass of the Pilis range, is built from Dachstein limestone and main dolomite, formed 220 million years ago from the consolidated skeletons of shallow sea creatures off the northern coast of present-day Africa. The hundreds (sometimes 2000) meters thick rock mass tilted northeast due to tectonic movements, faulted and fractured on the southern side, and steeply protruded. This massive tectonic movement is the reason for the whole Pilis range and the Great Kevély’s eagle-nest-like elevation. Due to its position, it offers a great viewpoint from where we can see the Buda Hills, the Pest Plain, and the Danube valley wedged between. On clear days, the larger buildings of the capital can also be seen emerging from the gray mass, and to the east, Hungary's highest mountain range, the Mátra, is also visible.

The sunny, rocky southern side is home to a warmth-loving and drought-resistant dolomite rock grassland, where a unique ecosystem has developed. Dolomite is characteristic for its poor solubility but easily crumbles due to its brittleness, especially on heat-exposed, sunlit slopes. On this continuously degrading, crumbly surface, only sparse soil cover forms, and very little mineral material from the dolomite enters the otherwise poor soil. Only species specialized for this extreme environment can survive here, such as the common rockrose, red campion, cat-tailed veronica, pasqueflower, or the strictly protected Hungarian pasqueflower. Let's respect the home of the living beings here and observe this fragile community by staying on the tourist trail!

Detour from Kevély saddle to the charming little sibling

Descending on the other side, we walk through a mixed area of rocks and clearings, then arrive after a short walk at the strategic Kevély saddle. At the lowest point of the Kevélys ridge, many hiking trails meet, providing resting places for tired hikers. Today, only a stone bench and sign remain at the edge of the meadow in the saddle facing Kis-Kevély, reminding us of the former shelter here. The hut named after Aurél Stromfeld was built in the 1920s by members of the Nature Lovers’ Hiking Association from materials carried on their backs for five years. After World War II, the house came under the management of the Pilis Park Forest, which the Budapest Nature Lovers’ Association wished to operate after the regime change. However, the house burned down to the ground the day before the official handover, and the ruins were bulldozed only years later.

From Kevély saddle, we make a detour on the K▲ trail to the Kis-Kevély summit, which in character resembles its big brother but is less visited. Due to its more pronounced viewpoint atmosphere, it is worth making this nearly one-kilometer detour. We snake up the rocky block through a tunnel of bushes with barely 50 meters of elevation. The actual rock fall is located after the highest point, on the western cliff of the mountain block. Accordingly, the rocky cliff offers an impressive view over the continuation of the Pilis range, the edge of Csobánka, and the Pilisvörösvár Basin, with the Buda Hills and Gerecse in the background. If we are patient enough, we can also wait for the sunset here, enriching the hike with an unforgettable experience.

The remaining part of our journey offers only a comfortable descent from the Kis-Kevély block. Although there is a steep path down the western side from the summit, it is unmarked and crosses a highly rocky environment on a protected area. It is worth walking back to the Kevély saddle and returning to the S trail to descend gently towards the village. After a longer sideways walk, we struggle with serpentine paths on the steep sections, where a new attraction unfolds from the rocky hillside: the spacious vaulted entrance of the Mackó cave. This comfortable refuge is a great habitation cave, testified by numerous animal and human finds uncovered from its sediment.

Among the cave layers, one of the richest bone and tool assemblages from the upper Pliocene has been found. Most of the flint tools from the Pilisszántó culture are blades, but chisels, scrapers, and drills have also been preserved among the tools used by the ancient humans who once lived here. Additionally, numerous animal bones (reindeer, horse, cave bear, hyena, ancient deer, aurochs, woolly rhinoceros) have come to light from the cave sediments, partly accumulated from the diet of these ancient humans and partly from the remains of animals that found shelter in the cave in earlier times.

The S trail leads down to the edge of Csobánka, from where we return towards the village houses along the P+ trail. With a short but steep descent along Táncsics Street, we arrive back at the center.