Hármashatár Hill circular route on the Guckler road

Itinerary

• From Fenyőgyöngye we start uphill on the National Blue Trail K mark.
• At a slight right turn we cross to the other side of the asphalt road and start on the Z+ mark, which we follow on the Guckler Károly road up to the Virágos saddle.
• At the Virágos saddle several paths meet, here we choose the K mark again through the saddle, then turn left. We follow this passing the Guckler lookout all the way back to the starting point.

Detailed description of the route

Our starting point is the junction of Szépvölgyi Road and Hármashatárhegyi Road, from where we first follow the National Blue Trail K mark. The shaded, pleasant hiking trail winds alongside the asphalt road among the trees, slowly but surely ascending towards the summit of Hármashatár Hill. Soon, where we cross the asphalt road for the second time, we reach an information board, behind which the K mark sharply turns left parallel to the road.

After 300 m the K mark crosses to the other side of the asphalt road, and we walk roughly the same distance uphill on the comfortable, stony path until we spot the Z+ mark on the right. At this point, we stop the “summit attack,” cross the asphalt road again, and arrive at the start board of the nature trail. From here we follow the Z+ mark.

Landscape & walking path with deliberate design

Guckler Károly was the chief forester of Budapest at the end of the 19th century. He led the reforestation work which replanted trees on the Buda Hills after they were completely deforested by the population – partly by firewood harvesting, partly by transporting the fertile soil of the forests to vineyards, as the forest itself was not highly valued. A severe phylloxera epidemic, however, put an end to local viticulture. After the devastation, seeing the barren hillsides, locals began to protest; as a result, reforestation quickly started with planting pine and oak groves. Based on Guckler's designs, a promenade secured with retaining walls was built on the steep slope of Hármashatár Hill, which makes up about a third of our route. This road continues all the way to the side of Csúcs Hill and interestingly is deliberately flat: it winds almost continuously at about 370 meters above sea level. The nature trail is a back-and-forth route, so information boards are lined up on both the right and left sides.

Sports & nature knowledge – hand in hand

The Guckler Károly path is a popular walking trail where walkers and runners come even during the week – following the footsteps of the legendary pentathlete, András Balczó, who won here on home terrain at the 1969 pentathlon world championship (this is detailed on the 3rd board of the nature trail). At the 4th board, we can make a small detour towards the Tábor Hill cave, which is actually a small rock shelter. Most of the promenade leads among leafy trees and has no natural viewpoints; therefore, vegetation was thinned at some places during the development of the trail. These small terraces allow us to sense the elevated position of the path. As we describe a left turn on the side of Tábor Hill, from a bench placed on a rock outcrop we can already peek out, while the first viewing terrace awaits us at the 5th board of the nature trail: it offers a panorama of central Óbuda. Here and at the 6th board, which also serves as a viewing point, the “telescopes” actually only guide our focus to interesting sights; there is no lens inside, but they still serve well in identifying the main landscape features. The 6th board says “Finally we see Óbuda!” and next to it we can observe the northern end of the 3rd district and nearby sights, including the Megyeri bridge and the Óbuda Gasworks.

During our walk, ash, ash tree, sessile oak, and beech mainly provide the dense foliage, occasionally accompanied by pine forests. The nature trail boards tell about the animal and plant life, as well as about the time when vineyards still dominated the hillside. The most exciting information on the geological quick course after the 6th station at the 11th station is that the mountains of the Buda Hills, including the limestone and dolomite rock pieces around and beneath us, actually formed several thousand kilometers away about 200 million years ago. The information board also commemorates Guckler Károly's legacy, whose black marble memorial plaque looks down on us from high on the rock. At this station, we also find a few benches and tables to rest.

Following the pilots’ tracks

The 8th stop of the nature trail is located at Virágos saddle, here we bid farewell to the boards and begin our actual ascent to Hármashatár Hill on the K mark. We cross a small meadow, it is worth looking back towards the unfolding panorama here. We expect a multi-stage climb, stepping firmly on the numerous smaller rocks protruding from the soil. This is already Vihar Hill, crossing which another climb awaits, and soon we reach the Rotter Lajos tourist house on Hármashatár Hill.

Opposite the tourist house, in the landscaped area, there is a playground and bistro, above which black pines tower. The black pine played a key role in the forest’s reforestation mentioned earlier, as it is a low-demand tree that binds the soil well. After stabilizing the soil condition, the opportunity also arose to replant native tree species.

Hármashatár Hill has a strong flying history, recalled by the bistro operating from a hangar transformed from an aircraft hangar, called Hangár. Strangely as it sounds now, nearly a hundred years ago, flying enthusiasts sought high points, and at that time plenty of barren areas existed from which planes could take off. According to the information board in front of the tourist house, establishing the airfield here was only possible after some struggle, thanks to the determination of the tourist house’s namesake, Lajos Rotter. Nowadays, the airfield still called Hármashatár-hegy airfield is located in the valley northwest of us. Regarding the Rotter Lajos tourist house, it originally functioned as pilot accommodation.

Budapest on a silver platter

Passing in front of the bistro the square opens up, and we reach the octagonal mass of the Guckler Károly lookout, which though only 4 m high, towers above the landscape. From an elevation of 499 meters above sea level, we can look around the area; there are plenty of sights, it is worth spending more time and searching for sights in every direction. Budapest can be seen from the Megyeri bridge to the Rákóczi (Lágymányosi) bridge, and to the north and west the ridges and more famous peaks of Pilis are visible, behind which the Börzsöny also appears. Prepare for the wind, which constantly blows among the pine beams.

From here the trail leads only downhill on the K mark. We pass above a wider clearing, from which we can look down all the way to the airfield, then we dive into the trees to descend the hill on sometimes stair-stepped, rocky, uneven terrain. After a short while, the asphalt road appears on the left. This time we stay on its right side on the K mark and only cross to the other side when it sharply turns right. This way we return to our starting point, the Fenyőgyöngye restaurant.