Nice view: the Green Mali Delta

Itiner

• From the tram stop 17, 19, 41 (Budapest, II. district) Komjádi Béla street, down Komjádi Béla street to Árpád fejedelem útj, from there the first corner is Kavics street. Take the Z▲ sign to the left.
• Continue on Z▲ all the way to the lookout of the Apáthy cliff.
• From there down the Nagybányai stairs, left on Csalán street.
• From Csalán street, turn right on the Battai stairs, then at the end of the stairs turn right on Napraforgó street and Zuhatag street to reach the Nagyhíd stop of tram no. 56.

Detailed description of the tour

The hike starts from the Z▲ sign on the stone fence on Kavics Street and continues with some stairs on the József Hill stairs. Continuing along the Z▲ sign, the first major stop is the Szemlő Hill and the József Hill lookout point, which offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Danube.

The old German name of the mountain was József-hegy (Josefs Berg), which was changed to Szemlő-hegy by the 1847 baptism of the dune. When Buda was recaptured, the gunners were watched from here. However, the original geographical name was somehow left on the lookout, which is why the strange situation may have arisen that the lookout on József Hill now stands on Szemlő Hill. A large reservoir is hidden in the belly of the mountain, below the lookout.

Once you've enjoyed the view and continue along the Z▲ sign, you'll soon see a brick building on the right, the entrance to the Joseph Hill cave. The József-hegyi cave was discovered in 1984 during the excavation of the diplomatic quarter's houses on the Rózsadomb, and is rightly called the Crystal Cave. Thanks to its snow-white gypsum, aragonite and calcite mineral deposits, it is one of the most vulnerable and most strictly protected caves in Hungary. The labyrinth, with a total length of 5,200 metres and a vertical extent of 85 metres, extends over a narrow 3 hectare area.

The József-hegyi cave is not open to visitors, but if you want to add a short cave walk to your tour, you can do so a little later, with a 500-metre detour. After crossing the Pusztaszeri road, a path marked ZΩ with a tourist sign branches off to the right along Cave Street, leading directly to the entrance of the Szemlő Hill Cave, a few hundred metres away. The Szemlő Hill Cave is well developed, you can walk around it in street clothes and it takes about half an hour to visit. For those who have never been there, it is worth a visit for a really spectacular introduction to the world of caves.

Continuing along the Ferenchegyi road, you will reach the district of Zöldmál. Zöldmál was named in 1847 instead of the former German Grüngraben. A mirror translation of the name to Zöldáro would have been too vulgar for the then glamorous times. Gábor Döbrentei and his family must have associated the warm, greenish slope of Mount Ferenc with the warm fur on the belly of the fur-bearing animals, the mál.

At the heart of the green mallow is the Ferenc Hill Nature Reserve, which is actually located on the flat, 265-metre-high Ferenc Hill ridge, protected from construction. The Z▲ signleads to the top of the mountain in a beautiful oak forest.

From Ferenc Hill, you return for a while along the Z▲ signto the green belt of houses, before arriving at Budapest's, or perhaps the world's, smallest urban natural habitat, the less than one-hectare Adam Balogh Rock Nature Reserve. From Ádám Balogh Street, we climb a few wooden stairs made of beams to the Little Rock Lookout at the top of the cliff. From the lookout point you can see Szabadság Hill, János Hill and Hárs Hill. The area is named after the Kuruc brigadier general Ádám Balogh Béri, who was beheaded in Buda on 6 February 1711, perhaps not far from here.

Another walk between houses follows, then following the signposts we reach the last natural stop on the tour and the official end point, Apáthy Rock. The Apáthy rock is a steeply sloping rock formation jutting out from a 258-metre high point above the lip of the Ördög ditch. It takes its name from the former owner of the area. The area around the rock has been protected since 1977 and is home to 26 protected plant species (e.g. Buda rabbit-tail grass and Hungarian gargoyle), seven protected species of futrinka, and also praying mantis and death's-head butterfly.

The Apáthy rock offers a beautiful view to the west, and its steep, high walls make it a remarkable experience of space. It is probably one of the five most beautiful viewpoints in Buda. The Z▲ sign ends at the viewpoint. If you don't want to spend the night there, you have to walk down into the valley to the tram stop of tram 56.