Bodajk – Gánt (OKT Day 23 hike)

From Bodajk, continuing our hiking journey on the National Blue Trail from the Fenyő bistro. The stamp can be found in the press, and if it's closed, there is an outdoor stamping opportunity in the village. For this, we must start heading south on the Blue Trail, and after walking nearly 700 meters, we find the second Bodajk OKT stamp at the entrance of the castle. The path passes under a very beautiful calvary, for which we recommend a short detour because the view from the top is spectacular! At the summit of the calvary, from the shadow of the stone crosses, we can enjoy a panoramic view: to the west, the slopes of the Bakony Mountains blend into the landscape, and to the east, beyond the Móri trench, the rugged stone walls of Vértes rise. On clear days, we can also recognize Csókakő Castle, while on the northern side of Csóka Hill, the town of Mór dominates the scenery.

Looking just nearby, the charming little streets of Bodajk wind beneath us, directly in front is the Calvary Chapel, and behind it shines the Shrine of the Virgin Mary of Help. The current church became an important pilgrimage site in the 17th century, and a chapel has stood on the site since the Árpád era. In 2023, Pope Francis granted the church the status of a minor basilica. The Calvary, built in 1736 along with the chapel, besides the stone crosses, also features statues of the Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene.

The Blue Trail also passes by the Hochburg–Lamberg Castle or hunting lodge in Bodajk, built in neoclassical style between 1837 and 1839. During World War II, the building was completely plundered, and in 1965 it was converted into a tourist hostel. It served this role until the early 1990s, then passed into private hands, but renovations only occurred in the mid-2010s. Currently, an interactive exhibition operates in the castle, which together with the castle park can be visited after purchasing an entry ticket here.

Leaving Bodajk, we cross the railway, then continue on dirt roads through arable fields in the Móri trench. It was in this depression in 1810 that the infamous Móri earthquake occurred, which had a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale and claimed fatalities alongside significant material damage.

We cover 5-6 kilometers in the Móri trench on the Blue Trail, crossing the very busy main road 81, after which we touch the edge of the village of Söréd. While walking on the plains, dotted with smaller slopes and alongside arable fields, the walls of Vértes tower continuously before us, and we noticeably approach Csókakő, with the 326-meter-high castle appearing increasingly large. The OKT stamp is located on a wooden pole at the resting place below the castle here. In the spacious area, there are buffet stalls, a functioning blue well, and a restroom. Beside the Trianon memorial site, there is also a neat playground enriching the offerings.

The main attraction of Csókakő is the 12th-century castle that stands on one of the outer rocky positions of the 479-meter-high Csóka Hill. It was renovated in 2017 and is freely accessible. The detour from the Blue Trail involves only slight climbing but is worthwhile, as the view from the castle is dazzling. Below spreads Csókakő, surrounded by the vineyards of the Mór wine region, with the slopes of the Bakony Mountains visible on the opposite side. Inside, you can visit the chapel, the dining room, and the ceremonial hall on the top floor of the tower.

The castle's primary role was to defend one of the busiest routes in historical Hungary, the military road mentioned in the Tihany founding charter. A chain of castles protected this path, including Oroszlánkő, Gesztes, and Vitányvár, all of which the National Blue Trail also passes by. During the Turkish era, the castle changed hands multiple times. Finally, after 143 years of Turkish rule, it was liberated in October 1687, ending its fortress role.

Csókakő – Gánt

Leaving the stamping place at Csókakő, we climb up onto the plateau through the deep Vár Valley, which shapes the southern edge of the Vértes. Although the mountain range looks like a wall from afar, this small valley is not steep, long, but not particularly exhausting to ascend. Still in dense forest below, the vegetation becomes increasingly sparse as we reach the 453-meter ridge of Kocsmáros Hill on the eastern side of Csóka Hill. Continuing on the western side of Vértes, height differences become minimal, and the trail nature varies from paths to forest roads to asphalt sections, with diverse surface quality. Cleared forest strips, dense beech woods, and open oak groves follow one another. Along a few longitudinal valleys interrupting the plateau, several natural viewpoints have formed, most not crossed by hiking trails, but the Blue Trail passes near three of these, including the Géza rest spot, which is directly on the route.

The rest spot features a makeshift fire pit, though you can only sit on logs pushed there. It was named after Dr. Géza Göblyös, a tour guide from Székesfehérvár; a commemorative stone pillar was built in 1973. Since we are not above the surrounding terrain, the view is modest: looking at the forest opposite and down into the deepening Long Valley.

About 200-300 meters beyond the Géza rest spot, the Blue Trail passes two more viewpoints. Visiting these on unmarked paths is recommended for adventurers as the panoramic view is even narrower than at the Géza rest spot. Nonetheless, these are very beautiful places, with some old, huge trees remaining and smaller dolomite rocks poking out of the ground. The viewpoints open on the northern side of the hill, allowing a view towards Juh Valley.

After visiting the viewpoints, we start descending from the plateau towards Gánt. The Blue Trail turns into the Juh Valley, losing about 160 meters of altitude over the next 2 kilometers. The valley unexpectedly opens up into a spacious clearing, from where, depending on time and interest, we can make a longer detour to the remains of the former Kápolnapuszta village. For this, turn left onto the K●-marked hiking trail, which leads straight through the valley with high walls for 1.2 kilometers.

At the fork of tourist trails, you find the village cemetery, which also serves as a memorial for the horrors of war that destroyed the Swabian village. In the 1930s, the village had 16 houses and 62 inhabitants during World War II; however, March 16, 1945, was a bloody day in its history when soldiers of the 2nd Ukrainian Front killed all men over 15 years old. Their graves were established in the village cemetery, where a marble plaque was erected in 1993 bearing the chilling inscription "War, deportation, death." The remaining population gradually left Kápolnapuszta, and in 1979 the film's production team found only one resident there – who also appears in the film. His house operated as a tourist hostel for a while but is now just a ruin, with only one facade recognizable. Besides this, nature has reclaimed most of the village remains, and in autumn 2025 a cellar entrance was still visible.

The village used the water from the Vörösmarty spring, which still exists today but is in a neglected state, without a spout. A resting place has been created beside it, but the benches and tables are now in poor condition.

Returning to the Blue Trail, at the eastern end of the meadow, a ridge named Sasbérc reveals further sights. It houses the second-longest cave in Vértes, the Gánt Cave, while the ridge towering above offers exciting views of the surrounding landscape. An unmarked but well-trodden path leads to the cave from a wooden, spacious resting place with rain shelter, which is also excellent for bivouacking here. The path is very slippery and quite steep due to the gravelly rock. Behind a rock fissure, a passage closed by an iron door extends 149 meters into the mountain's interior.

After the rock containing the Gánt Cave, we continue toward Gánt's boundary, with a huge pasture dominating the landscape to the left up to the village's edge and a forest strip bordering the hiking trail on the right. We make a sharp left turn onto the outermost street, then walk on an asphalt road into the center of Gánt, where the OKT stamp can be found on the restaurant wall. The other stamp is located in the Gránás tourist lodge operating since 1984 – for this, we need to enter the lodge’s yard, and the stamp is in the electric meter cabinet.