Dry valleys exploration route

Itinerary

• We start from the bus stop heading northeast following the K+ marking.
• Soon the P marking joins us; we continue upwards in the Vár Valley along it.
• At the fork turning left onto the P+ markings, we head towards Bátorkő castle, then hike to the eastern side of Vár-berek peak.
• Turning right, we descend back to Várpalota on the K+ marked trail.

Route Description

Up the mountain through the gate of Vár Valley 

From the bus stop, we start on the K+ trail heading north-northeast. Upon reaching the castle, the P marking joins the route from the right; from here, we follow it out of Várpalota. We cross a concrete bridge over a seasonal creek bed, then turn right onto Mátyás King Street. After passing four-story panel buildings and gardens, we reach the city edge beside the fenced Jewish cemetery. The asphalt ends here, and we continue on a gravel road. The ascent signals our arrival at the entrance of Vár Valley – through this gorge, we gain admission to the inner area of the Eastern Bakony. At a junction, a sign shows the first part of our route follows the Vár Valley nature trail. Information boards at stops provide details about the geology, wildlife, and anthropogenic relics of this part of the mountain range.

This site is already part of the MH Bakony Combat Training Center. If training or military use occurs in any section, entry to marked hiking trails may be prohibited; entry roads are guarded, and warning signs are posted everywhere. We can get information in advance under the Safety regulations and Current information tabs. The Várpalota shooting and training ground is part of the approximately 250 km² Bakony Combat Training Center, established in 1905 and still operating as the largest training area in Central Europe. It does not form a contiguous unit but is spread in several parts roughly from Kincsesbánya heights to the Tapolca area. Parts of the areas around Várpalota have become part of the Natura 2000 European ecological network due to their natural values, and since then military use has become environmentally conscious.

As we ascend, the valley gradually narrows: we walk between increasingly close mountain slopes, alongside/beneath dolomite bastions and rocks. The thicket closes above us, and we find ourselves in a special forest consisting of oak, ash, hornbeam, and black pine stands. In the dolomite rock capable of karstification along the entire length of Vár Valley, 18 smaller caves also open in the rocks; number 1 can be seen on the left side of the trail, and number 2 a bit higher on the right. We reach resting benches alongside which the nature trail board offers insight into the flora of Eastern Bakony.

Cliffs and karst shrub forests

A few dozen steps, and we reach the crossroads of the P+ marking, turning left onto it. From here, we climb out of the valley and continue on the trail led along the side of Fajdas Hill, from where we will have excellent views of the area and distant landscapes. Among large rocks, we climb up a narrow dolomite ridge through an occasional washout, where the horizon opens up. We stroll among pines to the first lookout point, from where we can walk around and observe the winding Vár Valley from above; behind it appear the sparsely forested hills of Palotai Bakony.

The partial tree cover is due to the well-fragmenting and constantly moving dolomite, which only allows shallow soil formation. Typical vegetation of such stony rocky areas is the karst shrub forest, which also appears on the southern slopes of Eastern Bakony. Due to the sub-Mediterranean influence, the microclimate here is drier and warmer, so some plant and animal species evoke Mediterranean mountain ranges. Hence the presence of downy oak, flowering ash, rowan, kermes oak, or buckthorn. Typical characteristics of shrub forests include their low height and composition of only a few tree species, while the shrub layer and undergrowth are rich. Also, they are not continuous but mosaic patches of opening groups of trees, groves, rock steppes, and grassy meadows. They usually settle on calcareous rocks (limestone, dolomite), but volcanic bedrock is also possible. In the 20th century, many of these rocky areas were planted with alien but well-adapted black pine, which is why we see conifers during our hike.

We cut across a sunny grassy area past kermes oak bushes. This light- and heat-loving shrub's northernmost distribution is in the mid-mountain areas of the Carpathian Basin. Due to its shaggy flowers, it is also called paróka tree; it has been used for centuries as tanning and medicinal plant. Its leaves decorate the hillsides in bright crimson-red in autumn.

Bátorkő - "Royal place: calmly, dominantly, and nobly overlooks the surrounding forests."

The sky temporarily closes above us as we enter a larger downy oak grove. Soon, from another lookout, we can enjoy views of neighboring hillsides before returning to a thicket trail. Next to a small meadow at Lelátó-peak's rocky cliff, we reach the edge of Vár Valley again, where we get a good panorama of the upper gorge and spot the ruined residential tower of Bátorkő rising above the canopy layer. After another forest section broken by clearings, we reach grassy terrain with benches and tables for resting. Venturing to the edge of the dolomite cliff, we get a closer look at our next stop: the ruin of Bátorkő castle, built on a massive rock below in the valley. Looking around at the many white stone cliffs rising above the trees, we marvel and can identify our later target, the top of the Vár-berek rock.

In his 1942 essay Bakony, Béla Hamvas writes about Vár Valley: "The path leads from the city through the karst valley deep into the mountain range. Here the traveler immediately experiences Bakony's most essential feature: diversity. This landscape has imagination. For half an hour, one walks in a gorge that could well be in Bosnia, or somewhere on the Balkans. Then suddenly, it reaches among larger and larger trees, magnificent beech, oak, alder, linden, and ash, always under darker, mossier, stringier trunks. The cool semi-shade has a completely new character. Previously, the traveler wandered on limestone karst; now they are in Niebelung Forest. Large gray rocks covered with green moss beside the path, and humid, foggy, gray air. It's like the deepest Thuringian forests. The valley narrows and becomes more rocky. Where you can see between the trees, a steep rocky cliff is visible on the right and left. Suddenly, a daring cliff appears with the remains of a tower on it. This is Bátorkő, supposedly built in the 14th century, later Matthew King's hunting lodge. Royal place: it calmly, dominantly, and nobly overlooks the surrounding forests."

A few minutes of descent bring us to the ruins of a mountain eagle's nest built in the 13th century. The castle is also known as Pusztapalota beside Bátorkő. Until the mid-15th century, it functioned as a manorial center and guarded the roads crossing Bakony. The local people consider it Matthew King's hunting lodge, a place mentioned by famous writers including Mikszáth, Móra, Krúdy, and even inspiring Petőfi. The good hunting grounds here are remembered by the name of Fajdas Hill rising above us, referring to a beloved type of game for hunters. In the mid-15th century, the fortress of Várpalota was built, which led to the decline of Bátorkő, finally ruined during the Turkish occupation. Afterward, it was known as Pusztapalota. Today, from the formerly three-story residential tower, only one wall and a minimal trench remnant remain. Due to the lack of a drawbridge, the tower base can only be reached with some climbing.

Up to Vár-berek

Continuing the descent, we reach another resting place, then enter the upper section of Vár Valley. Among beeches and ashes rise large moss-covered rock blocks that narrow the path. A few steps left lead to a detour where the Gazsi-lik stone cavity opens, allowing close study of dolomite karstification. The three-meter-deep cavity can provide excellent shelter in rainy weather.

After the cave, we leave the previously faithfully followed Vár Valley and turn left into a side valley, still on the P+ marking. (From this junction, it is possible to return to the starting point at the bottom of Vár Valley by following the P marks!) Over the next 2 km, we ascend 150 meters to the highest point of our route, from where we descend back to Várpalota. Entering the side valley of Bükkfa-kút-ditch, we continue our hike through a real gorge forest. The name refers to a once trickling spring that no longer exists, but we encounter large beech trees on the ascent. Passing puddles and protruding rocks, we reach the 469-meter-high rock of Vár-berek, where a junction welcomes us. On the right fork marked with P▲, with a 350-meter detour, we can visit the rocky ridge descending from the summit, from where we get panoramas of Fajdas and the narrowing of Vár Valley, as well as a view back to an earlier resting place where we saw Bátorkő castle. We descend eastward from the top of Vár-berek and along a comfortable path within minutes reach the crossroads of K+, where turning right, we begin the final section of our hike.

Back to Várpalota

We descend further on a path through a young forest and enter the rocky-ledge of Csörget Valley, walking under older trees. The K+ mark leads on the base of a gorge-like forested hollow to the border of Várpalota, from which no view is gained. However, if we detour left at some junctions into grassy hillsides with rocky outcrops, bushes, and shrub groups, we can enjoy excellent panoramas. The dolomite rocky grassland area covered with fescue species such as sheep's fescue, hidden sedge, and frost-dusted bluegrass unveils the surrounding scenery. Opposite, the marshy plain of Sárrét widens, and in the foreground, we can see Várpalota's buildings and the lake system created due to coal mining around the town. The Nitrogen Works site in Pétfürdő is easily recognized by its smoking chimneys. To the west rise the mounds of Fajdas and Bér hills. To the east, we see the grassy ridge of Baglyas Hill decorated with an antenna tower, its heavily eroded slope bordered by debris cones formed from erosion above. Behind it are the residential estates of Székesfehérvár, and beyond them stretches the plain of Mezőföld to infinity. We can clearly identify the now non-operational cooling towers of the Inota Power Plant and, next to them, the also closed aluminum smelter's industrial facilities. Béla Hamvas, who worked as warehouseman and caretaker on this huge construction site and was a writer and philosopher visiting the area in his youth between 1951 and 1954, is noted here. Next to the buildings, we can also observe Hungary's first wind turbine commissioned in 2000. Our route traces the well-visible curve of Csörget Ditch below us, deepened by runoff waters into the rock surface, similarly to other short ravines on the southern slopes of Palotai Bakony.

Two structures rise in front of Baglyas Hill from the grassy area. The 10-meter-high Maderspach Viktor lookout tower formerly functioned as an observation tower for the Várpalota shooting range. After losing its function, it was renovated and somewhat rebuilt and now offers hikers views from its windows of the surrounding scenery. It is named after a hunter and nature explorer landowner from southern Transylvania, a great expert of the Retyezát and Páreng ranges, also called the king of the snowy mountains and wild Hungarian. The other building is an obelisk memorial to General Károly Csörgei, who became a victim of a tragic artillery demonstration in 1928.

Finally, on the marked valley floor trail, we exit the forest strip and descend to the large suburban road junction walking between grassy and rocky gorge slopes. Keeping direction, we pass under two high-voltage power lines, then step into Rózsakút street, now walking on asphalt. The terrain is familiar: touching the corner of the castle, we return to the starting point of our hike on the K+ marking along the already covered section.