Badacsonytördemic – Káptalantóti (OKT 14th day hike)

We start our tour at the railway stop with the longest name in our country, the Badacsonytördemic-Szigliget train station, where we find the stamp in the waiting room. We reach the National Blue Trail route on the access road leading to the station, where we turn left. Before the asphalt changes to the cobblestones typical of Badacsonytördemic's center, we turn right onto Zöldfa street – this street is part of the bike path around Lake Balaton, so during the summer period we can expect significant bicycle traffic. At the end of the street, we turn right, then immediately left.

Opposite, the mass of Badacsony rises, and walking along the gentle slope of the hill, we get closer to it. The asphalt of Rodostó street is lined with vineyards, orchards, cellars, old and new holiday homes, and residential buildings. As we go uphill, we get a beautiful view of Szent György Hill, and trees appear: acacias on both sides of the road provide shade, then with a right turn, we enter the forest. The slope continues, but the terrain conditions change; the deep road is framed by 8-10 meter high loess cliffs, with access roads branching off from the asphalt strip on both sides.

Along the fences and retaining walls replacing the loess cliffs, we step onto a staircase, after the last step we go around a reed-roofed house – the former Rodostó tourist house building. Built in the Rákóczi memorial year of 1935, on the 200th anniversary of the prince's death, the building served as a resort for prominent members of the Workers' Guard during the Rákosi period, and permanently closed after the regime change. The local government of Badacsonytördemic applied several times to take over the state-owned tourist house, but this did not happen: in autumn 2024, the Hungarian National Asset Management Agency auctioned the tourist house; it is currently privately owned and cannot be visited. Not far from here is the Kisrodostó hostel, whose name likely includes a reference to the venerable "big brother".

Also prepared for the Rákóczi memorial year is the next section of our route, the 464-step Fugitives' Stairs. Not only the name of the stairs commemorates the kuruc era: you can also stop at resting places set up on terraces, named after prominent figures of 17th-18th century Hungarian history (Ilona Zrínyi, Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, Krisztina Csáky, Kelemen Mikes). Walking along the stairway secured with a railing, we pass between the crumbled debris slopes of Badacsony's famous basalt organs, then leave the columns themselves behind.

The basalt organs were formed by the cooling of slowly solidifying volcanic rock material and the resulting shrinkage. In nature, we often encounter hexagonal shapes – think, for example, of honeycombs – a shape considered by scientists as "lowest energy." The stresses formed in the contracting solid volcanic rock, such as the crack lines with 120° angles, primarily 'relieve' the stress; these cracks release most of the energy – the inner angles of the regular hexagon are exactly this size. The thickness of the 'organs' suggests that the lava cooled slowly. Due to the different geological composition of the next witness hill on our route, Gulács, we will encounter much narrower columns there.

At the Kelemen Mikes resting place, a small trail heads off to the right, allowing a detour to the edge that offers a beautiful view of the steep slopes of basalt organs. It is interesting to observe the rocks here, whose fracturing planes are almost perfectly regular, straight lines – as if sliced with a knife. We reach the top of the Fugitives' Stairs, where the Panna Czinka Rest stands. Czinka Panna, a famous Hungarian Gypsy musician and virtuoso violinist of the 18th century, is said by legend to have composed the Rákóczi March – which likely led to the resting place bearing her name –, but the march was actually composed well after her death. From the shelter equipped with tables and benches, we can take a short, comfortable detour from the left via the K▲ mark to the Tördemic lookout, from where we can view Szent György Hill and the Keszthely Mountains.

The K markings lead further along a comfortable rollercoaster-like path on the rim of Badacsony, frequented by many. On this section of our route, we walk along the southern rim of the hill, and from the top of the steep hillside, we get captivating views of Lake Balaton at several points, each equipped with resting places. We pass the memorial plaque of Maria Henrietta, Queen of Belgium, who was raised in Hungary as the daughter of Palatine Joseph and visited this place in 1871. The people of Badacsonytördemic commemorate this event with regular memorial tours. Interestingly, the inscription on the plaque is in three languages: Hungarian, Flemish, and Walloon.

After another lookout and resting place, we reach the Ranolder Cross, erected in 1857, whose base many have carved their names into over the years – according to the dating of the inscriptions, many are nearly one and a half centuries old. The 12-meter high structure erected in 1857 was pulled up the hilltop with buffaloes hauling the stone blocks. From the ledge created in front of the cross, we can enjoy the panorama overlooking Lake Balaton, just like at our next stop, the József Egry Lookout. The fortress-like building's lower floor also functions as shelter from rain, making it suitable for bivouacking. We leave the rim of Badacsony, turn into the forest, then at a bench, the K turns right, leading along the steep staircase – passing by the memorial plaque of Dr. Lajos Jugovics, a geologist who successfully fought against the mining of Badacsony – to the Hertelendy Memorial Stone. From the so-called Páholy rock terrace beside the stone erected in memory of Ferenc Hertelendy, former chief ispán of Zala county, we look eastwards at Lake Balaton, all the way to the Tihany Peninsula's tip.

We continue our journey along the staircase back to the top of the hill. As the slope smooths out, the steps disappear, and on a wide forest path, we arrive at a shelter for bivouacking with a rain cover, then shortly to the Blue Trail Badacsony stamp. A few steps detour from here leads to the Kisfaludy Lookout, from where we have a panoramic view of the Keszthely Mountains, the Tapolca Basin and its emerging witness hills, as well as Lake Balaton and the hills of Somogy behind it.

Badacsony – Káptalantóti

From the lookout, we start descending on a widely trodden forest road. About 350 m further, the S▲ mark branches off to the left, allowing a detour to the magnificent Kőkapu viewpoint. Below us yawns the steep wall of an old basalt quarry, so nothing obstructs the view from the Keszthely Mountains to Hegyes.

Returning to the K mark, we begin a steep descent: on our left, a debris slope whose 'flow' on our path is artificially blocked by a parapet. Although not visible from here due to dense vegetation, we now leave the characteristic basalt columns of the northern side of Badacsony through the narrow 'gap' opened between them, the Kőkapu.

The K leaves the S markings to the left, then after a short 'braiding' also the P trail – opposite the K● signs, we can detour half a kilometer to Klastrom-kút – and continues the descent along stairs. Soon the first houses appear, and similar to the first stage of our tour, we continue among holiday homes, vineyards, old wine cellars; the buildings provide a beautiful view of the asymmetric cone of Gulács. On a field road, we arrive at the Köböl-kút resting place and the nearby cross. On the covered concrete rim of the inactive waterwheel, a bucket lies abandoned.

We turn right onto an asphalt road, thereby leaving the small cemetery of Köbölkúthegy (or Korkován), belonging to Nemesgulács. To the right, Badacsony rises steeply – from here, the basalt organs of Kőkapu are visible. On the field road, we reach the Nemesgulács–Badacsonytomaj main road, carefully crossing its 2x2 lanes, then climb the foothills of Gulács. Fallen trees and leaning bushes along the forest path indicate the obvious fact that Gulács is much less visited than Badacsony. After a short climb, we turn right along the cone side, then the branching K▲ mark gradually climbs – named after our famous geologist Lóczy – the steep witness hill; along it we can detour to the peak of Gulács, visit its spectacular rock flow, basalt columns, and panoramic viewpoints overlooking Badacsony.

Unlike Badacsony, Gulács is a diatreme, or the remnant of a volcanic vent infill. During volcanic processes about 3.7 million years ago, basaltic lava accumulated on the vent material reaching the surface, then, with erosion of the hill's surroundings, it emerged. Today, at the top of Gulács, we find solidified, columnar-jointed lava, under which lies the volcanic vent material that did not reach the surface.

The K mark descends a crumbly slope from the side of Gulács, then continues circling the hill. On the northern side of the cone, the path flows into a cart road, turning right – a direction sign shows that to the left, we can visit Gulács's former quarry, the Lovas mine. Descending comfortably, we arrive at the Sér-kút spring and resting place, renovated by the people of Nemesgulács in 2020. Near Nemesgulács, the Szent György Hill appears opposite, then passing a riding school, we take a straight, sandy field road to the white church tower of Káptalantóti.

The next 2.5 kilometers of the tour passes among sun-exposed fields, without shade. The view of the surrounding rising witness hills eases the monotony of the seemingly endless paths: from this angle, the true steepness of Gulács becomes apparent, as well as the abandoned quarry with basalt columns exposed by mining. As we progress, Tóti Hill peeks from behind Gulács, and opposite, the flat peak of Csobánc also 'approaches.' Upon entering Káptalantóti, we turn left onto Badacsonyi street; after 400 m, we find the stamp attached to the food store's barred window.