Ancient rocks and old names

Itinerary

• From Dömös follow the P markings to the branch before the Rám-szakadék.
• Along the Rám-szakadék the Z markings lead all the way to the branch above the gorge.
• Turn left onto the Z◼ markings, which we follow to the gate of Rám Mountain.
• We climb up the Rám Mountain on the Z▲ markings, then descend back on the same.
• At the gate turn left onto the Z◼ markings, which we follow along the Thirring Circuit to the edge of the Dobogókő plateau.
• Turn right to the K marking, which leads to the Dobogókő viewpoint.
• From Dobogó-kő we hike on the P marking; this marking leads back to Dömös via the Tost Rocks and Körtvélyes.

Detailed tour description

From riverbank to creek bank

From Dömös we start the hike next to the church following the carefully painted P markings. The street turns right and leads into the narrow Malom Valley, where neat houses cling to the base of the slope. Observing the close integration of built and natural environment it quickly becomes understandable why Dömös became popular among various artists in the 19th century when a small art colony formed at the village edge out of newly built or renovated holiday homes. Due to the Danube Gorge and the steep mountain slopes, the village fortunately could not spread out widely, thus it has remained a pleasant forest-edge settlement with a quite unique location. Looking ahead, the forest draws closer and it is also worth turning around to see the steeply rising Szent Mihály Mountain towering at the end of the street on the far bank of the Danube.

The marking soon turns off the valley floor asphalt road to cross to the other side of the creek. There once stood a mill on the stream here which could provide continuous energy throughout the year with its reliable flow. The grey boulders in the bed come largely from the mass of Keserűs Mountain leaning over us. Following the base of this substantial mountain block, we walk along the outer edge of the collapsed, ruined caldera of the former volcanic formation. Geological conditions also do not support the claims of some sources that the Róza tunnel starting to the left was drilled into the hill for coal or rather lignite mining. Water stands at the bottom of the narrow corridor, and entry is forbidden because there is a large bat colony inside. (There is also another mine tunnel nearby.)

The atmospheric path follows the widely spreading creek giving many opportunities to notice the enormous stones carried away by the wild floods. A snack bar also operates along the winding asphalt road on the other side. A varied old-growth forest covers the valley; here and there, the roots of some ancient trees emerge like stiff snakes from the eroded soil. After a short climb, a turn reveals a rotunda-like rain shelter in a meadow; on our left the small friendly building of the Szentfa Chapel gleams in the beech shade. It commemorates an apparition when in 1885 the image of the Virgin Mary shone on a beech tree to two girl goose-herders. News of the miraculous tree soon spread and pilgrims flooded the valley and village - which tried to deter the masses in a crude way: only 2 years after the first apparition the bailiff and some policemen simply cut down the tree. To replace it, a chapel was built at the site within decades. Next to it joins a ditch disturbed by floods, at its mouth springs the Kaintz spring (named after a former tourist trail).

The path does not leave the creek. After a ruined building we turn right at the call of the Z marking. We cross the asphalt road and, as the nature trail sign also draws attention, after leaving the rest area we head for the Rám Gorge.

Towards the volcano's belly!

We ford the creek by stepping stones and head into narrower mountain slopes. Fallen trunks lie on the steep slopes, otherwise mostly beeches populate the cool, humid climate valley. Going deeper (passing a spring) we finally reach the gorge entrance, indicated by the appearance of the still low cliffs, the running water, and most clearly the handrail intended for climbing. Debris lies in the bed, and our progress is hindered not only by rocks falling from the cliffs but also by the fact that the trail shares the creek bed. The first waterfall less than 2 meters high appears but we avoid it as the flooding creek has sawed a branching path around a hard rock block.

Inside the terrain temporarily calms and we cross the creek roaring over mossy rocks many times. Conditions then change again, and suddenly we enter the pressure of huge raw cliffs; this reveals the canyon's structure before us. During one volcanic phase forming the Visegrád Mountains, violent eruptions blasted all kinds of debris and molten dust into the air, which fell and rolled down the slopes covering huge areas. Over many millions of years, the creek cut deep grooves into the fused breccia material, mainly dacite. The gorge is about 600 meters long and bridges a vertical height difference of 112 meters (water and hikers going up). The path is bordered in places by walls over 30 meters high; here and there enormous blocks fallen from the cliffs indicate the gorge is still being shaped — the struggle between creek and rock mass is far from over.

Chains of rock basins

Soon we reach a gloomy rock basin where at first glance no continuation seems possible. A memorial warns of hidden dangers, and a railing and wooden cross block the short, drier branch of the gorge. The squeezed path leads right where the gorge sharply turns left — here we meet the first larger waterfall spanned by a ladder. The relatively soft tuff wall is hollowed archedly by the flowing creek in its full height but struggles with the more resistant lava slab down which you must descend stepwise. Climbing the slippery ladder covered with water spray starts the narrowest, most exciting section of the gorge: we walk in a wild rocky gorge, squeezed between high ridges in the creek, movement limited by handrails. Debris fallen from the volcano's eruptions builds knobbly walls barely covered by vegetation, and the water’s sight does not soften the wild forms as it rushes down the next stone slide as a 7-meter-high waterfall.

The ladders (and pipes) offering help are not old; in the first half of the 20th century, if logs and rocks did not provide a grip or step, nature walkers had to retreat. Later chains offered handles, then bigger ladders were installed, and the current installations, undoubtedly safe, durable, and slightly intrusive in appearance, are a 21st-century innovation.

The path leads through sharp bends before we climb the last ladder in two parts. The gorge widens then shrinks again (perhaps more than ever) and finally on a bigger waterfall we swing across holding onto the railing (step places carved in stone here). No more serious obstacles remain as the upper part has been thickly filled with flood debris; the now useless handrails lie at ankle height. A wooden bridge leads over the bed, then tiring wooden steps follow. Small wood steps are needed as we walk a slippery, unstable clayey surface made wet by the springs of Három-forrás stream and its branches, whose material the creek washed into the lowest meters of the gorge. Roots of old beeches covered the worn soil layer, and the path is bordered by hollows. A resting place offers a chance to catch breath before we turn toward Rám Rock.

Glance from beneath the mountains

The name Rám, as seen on the map, appears several times here, and although various legends typically speak of people falling between the canyon walls shouting: "Rám falls!", or that the word's old Hungarian meaning of 'copper' implies a mint behind the naming, the reality is simpler. It could derive from the German 'Ramsberg', meaning "bear's garlic mountain", or simply the 'Rahm' family name. (Several nearby place names also have personal name roots.)

The Z◼ marking turns left and first crosses young coppice, then a nature-like state forest shaded with giant beeches through the Három-forrás region. The Dobogókő massif rose along a fault line here, where the mountain ridge hosts a chain of springs fed by absorbing precipitation. We advance on a wavy path, and the carved wooden gate also informs of the spiritual significance associated with the place, under which the Z▲ marking hides.

Hikers have built an entire army of stone men from scattered stones on the ground; beyond them, Rám Rock's trampled, exhausting climb awaits. The tough but quickly passing challenge is rewarded by excellent mountain views. Deep in the Visegrád Mountains, looking out from between mountains, Dobogókő’s ridge runs high on the right, while Keserűs Mountain bulges opposite (its end identifiable by Prédikálószék). On a side ridge the barren cliff line of Vadálló-kövek towers above the forest. Our rock is built of rock slide material rolled down the former volcano's mantle, carved by erosion and uplifted by tectonics. (The rock tower rising straight from the ridge is named Ferenczy Rock after a former warden of the Hungarian Carpathian Association.)

Land of dark giants

We walk back down from the rock to its base, to the gate, where we turn left onto the Z◼ marking. This only leads to the asphalt road for a few meters, which we then leave to head for Dobogókő. The path is barely used, and the ominously dark, sheltered forest it runs through is due to the steeply sloping hillside. Higher up massive Thirring Rocks spill rolling debris and mossy stone fields making it a truly wild, isolated wilderness. We also pass the interesting Nagyboldogasszony spring: a spring house resembling a bunker surrounded by large stones stands by a tree, inside a chapel is part of the water collection basin. The spring’s developers, followers of the Nagyboldogasszony Charity Church, do good deeds every Pentecost — such an event also led to the construction of this secluded multifunctional spring house. At a cleared patch, the path takes a sharp right and climbs sweat-inducingly to the Thirring circuit – at the bird shape drawn by the route's run with outspread wings.

On the side of the Dobogókő plateau, the old beech forest hides startlingly large rock towers, but the steeply sloping canopy hides the colossal rocks completely. Approaching nearer, impressive andesite breccia ridges emerge from the semi-dark dusk: once swept by glowing debris flows on the slopes of Keserűs Mountain, these piled up in the valleys then fused and were buried. Erosion later released the resistant blocks from their surroundings, and their discovery was made possible by the Thirring circuit, established in the early 1990s, offering no view but a wild atmosphere. We pass the rocks named after the circuit from above on this hike (going out on them is dangerous and offers no view). Thirring Gusztáv (geographer) was one of the initiators of the Dobogókő shelter, author of several guidebooks, an influential figure in organized hiking in Budapest, and a founder of the Tourist Journal at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The path approaches Dobogókő (the shrine for the deaf is visitable on the side) and zigzags up to the plateau. Upon reaching the K marking (or rather the abundance of markings) we turn right and, passing the park, step out onto the Dobogókő terrace, from where the breathtaking Danube Bend panorama unfolds. Opposite, easily identifiable by its rugged flank, is Szent Mihály Mountain with Csóványos peak behind it as the summit of Börzsöny massif. Near us on the side ridge of Prédikálószék, the barren rock row of Vadálló-kövek breaks through the forest mantle, and behind it Naszály appears, and on clear days Mátra too. On lucky occasions, in the northwest behind the Holló-kő ridge, the Selmec Mountains of Upper Hungary are visible. East of Börzsöny the rocky world of High Tatras can sometimes gleam on the horizon.

The picturesque scenery is shaped jointly by the legacy of volcanism and the emergence of the Danube. The eroded, northward horseshoe-shaped volcanic caldera was crept into by the river, its incision keeping pace with the area's slow uplift. Thus, the streams flowing towards the Danube carved progressively deeper valleys, shaping the dense and varied terrain. Temporarily bidding farewell to the landscape, we can glance at the Téry Ödön memorial, who, similarly to Thirring, was a defining figure of national organized hiking awakening at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (founder and leader of the Hungarian Tourist Association, founder and editor of the Tourist Journal, and originator of many hiking trails and shelters). He also played an important role in the construction of the shelter built on Dobogókő.

Uncovering an unexplored mountain range

Before setting off, there is the opportunity to eat or drink at the Baron Eötvös Loránd Shelter. Its name refers to the cult organization of Hungarian hiking, the Hungarian Carpathian Association, later the Hungarian Tourist Association, whose president he was — also minister, physicist, and recognized mountaineer. Next to the stone building, the park also holds a smaller porch cottage; this was the first Dobogókő shelter, built in 1898, making it one of Hungary's oldest tourist houses. At that time crossing the mountain range could mostly only be attempted on multi-day hikes, justifying the construction of a lodging facility in the central area. As traffic quickly outgrew modest size, the stone building was handed over in 1906 and expanded twice in the following two decades. Alongside excellent kitchen and accommodation, the house interior and surrounds host many memorials of noted figures of the golden age of Hungarian hiking and of mountain shelters throughout the country. Construction of other mountain buildings and newer hotels accelerated mostly after the Second World War. Proximity to Budapest and the fine location made Dobogókő a key site for organized hiking, but its cult status did not protect it: after nationalization in 1949 the condition of both buildings deteriorated until they became ruinous. In the 1990s the Hungarian Tourist Association restored the shelter with long effort, and the smaller cottage was renewed earlier, in the 1980s — since then the Tourist Museum has operated there.

Along historic paths, tracing old names

We continue on the P marking behind the tourist house, walking on a comfortable promenade bounded by fences and forest along the edge of the Dobogókő plateau. The promenade bends right at one point, and opposite we see the next panorama terrace’s resting place secured by railing: the Rezső Lookout (named after royal forest officer Rezső Tirts). Its magnificent view, like Dobogókő's, is completed by the upper section of Szőke-forrás Valley and the impressive block of Keserűs Mountain carrying Prédikálószék.

From here the tourist road slopes with the ridge, crosses a thinned beech grove patch, then, slightly leaving the ridgeline, reaches the crest of Tost Rocks in oak-beech forest. In the lack of leaves you can somewhat overlook the Malom Valley from above (in summer the panorama is heavily limited), but it is not advisable to walk on the dangerous cliff edge. A laddered, rough trail descends the cliff side down to the tourist road bend, where the sloping breccia block compels a tight retreat from the narrow trail. The small switchback and resting place are an early work of the Hungarian Tourist Association from the 1910s, when the still unchanged red marking was transformed into a promenade. The Ilona resting place built at the foot of the cliff (named after royal forest officer Rezső Tirts’s wife who played an important role in the area's exploration) is framed by railing; behind it the relief of Saint Bernard protrudes from the wall’s knobbly surface. The relief depicting the mountaineers’ and wanderers’ patron saint is Hungary’s only Saint Bernard relief. There are uncertainties around its placement and manner; the most probable, according to the Tourist Journal, is that in 1942, during renovation of the partially Dobogókő-connected Téry trail, the local section of the Hungarian Tourist Association, the Dobogókő Family, made it. At the time, this was said to be the most beautiful corner of the trail offering views.

A few meters’ walk brings us down to Szakó Saddle. Initially in closed forest and then after crossing a service road we pass through a clearing with views of Keserűs Mountain. (A detour right after the asphalt road is feasible to Fényes Spring.) The forest only opens up at the wide, flat meadow of Körtvély — at its end the huge block rising as Prédikálószék and its rocky side looks like an enclosed mountain basin. It is presumed that here or nearby stood King Béla I’s royal court, where he died when the building collapsed. Leaving the mowing ground we enter forest again. Some pines mix with the beeches, then on slippery, muddy sections we cross two ditches. Earlier the Károly and Lajos bridges facilitated crossing here when the Téry trail was diverted into the side of the Vörös Hill ditch. (As part of the infrastructure then, several resting places were established, now long gone.) The landslide-affected and rocky, pitlike indented mountainside follows the ditch, dense beech forest providing shade. Finally, we turn from the main road to a slope next to Dömös with a spectacular view, from where the grim-looking Szent Mihály Mountain appears again. Closer are ruins of the 12th-century provostry: the excellently restored Romanesque crypt is highly recommended to visit during opening hours.

The marking finally leads onto a street and into the center of Dömös, where our hike ends.