Panorama hike from Zebegény

Itinerary

• We start from the zebegény train station heading northeast on the S▲ trail mark.
• At the saddle after the Kós Károly lookout, we head south on the S↺ trail mark.
• After about 600 m, the trail turns left and joins the S● trail leading down to the Bodzás valley.
• We follow the S● trail to the Ernő spring, then to the bridge in front of the youth camp.
• After the bridge, we switch to the S+ trail mark.
• After the Dobozi ridge, we continue uphill on the branch KΩ trail from S+.
• At the saddle of Szent Mihály hill, we return to Zebegény following the S trail north-northeast.

Detailed description of the hike

From Zebegény to the Kós Károly lookout

Zebegény was first mentioned in documents in 1295 under the name Zebeguen – the Copper Age pit dwellings, hearth, and pottery remains found on Calvary Hill indicate it has been inhabited for a long time. During the Turkish occupation, the Hungarian population of the village died out and it was repopulated only in the 18th century by Slavic, then German settlers.

We start from the village center on the S▲ trail mark. The first attraction is the Havas Boldogasszony parish church, built in 1909 based on plans by Kós Károly and Béla Jánszky, featuring a light interior decorated with Secessionist murals and colorful stained glass windows designed by Kós Károly. We head toward Calvary Hill, which the S▲ trail ascends via a serpentine road. We pass by the rock sanctuary of a former church; the rest was demolished after the parish church was built. At the top of the hill, the wife of a local smallholder, Józsefné Fischer Zoller Borbála, erected a beautiful chapel in memory of her deceased son, featuring a wooden shingle, onion dome roof, and an altarpiece depicting the Ascension of Christ, which was unfortunately lost in a fire. Next to the Calvary chapel stands the monumental "Flag of the Nation and Memorial to Our National Heroes' Tragedies," designed by Géza Maróti and built between 1935 and 1938.

Continuing on the S▲ trail, we reach the famous Kós Károly lookout, named after the well-known Transylvanian polymath, designed by Árpád Csóka. The building, resembling a Roman-era fortress and inaugurated in 2014, offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Danube Bend and Pilismarót from its upper floor. Its predecessor was built on the columns of the Flag of the Nation monument in 1964 and was preserved because, while similar monuments were demolished at the time, it was listed as a lookout in records, thus avoiding destruction.

Forest walk to Ernő spring

Leaving the lookout, we continue south through a small saddle on the steep S↺ trail above the highest holiday homes. About 600 m along the relatively wide road, the trail turns left and meets the narrow S● trail leading to the Bodzás valley. The first section is very beautiful: it descends the mountain’s southeast side through groves dominated by flowering ash, fuzzy oak shrubs, and silicate rocky grasslands. On the steeper part, winding down, we can see the original enclosure of Ernő spring at the valley bottom from the rest stop. The cool water now surfaces from a lower, also enclosed branch. The small stream originating here babbles beside us to the youth camp with large debris piles indicating its strength after heavy rains.

Through viewpoints to Julianus barát tower

After the bridge, we switch to the S+ trail, heading south again parallel with the railway tracks. So far, we have walked on volcanic andesite and dacite tuff; here, however, we step on Holocene silt and sand deposited by the Danube. After the holiday homes, turning right, the S+ trail continues as a deep path for a while. On the increasingly steep, narrow trail, we soon reach beautiful viewpoints, where the presence of fuzzy oak and butcher’s broom indicates a very warm, dry microclimate.

From the Dobozi ridge upward, we continue on the branch KΩ trail departing from S+, which skirts the peak of Szent Mihály hill closely and then almost level leads to its saddle. From there, we follow the S trail north-northeast toward Hegyes-tető. Taking a 300-meter detour south on the S trail, crossing the summit of Szent Mihály hill, we can rest on a curved stone bench installed by the Encián Tourists Association in 1914 in memory of their young deceased member, Lili Miklós.

About 50 m ahead, we encounter the first fenced research shafts, deepened in the 1950s by the Geophysical Research Institute to infer the quality of underground ore deposits through micro-blast measurements at the bottom, searching for precious metals, lead, and tellurium.

We soon arrive at the Remete saddle, from where we go directly across the Ürmös meadow to the two-story Julianus barát tower, a nearly 15-meter-high medieval bastion-like lookout. The lookout, protecting against wind and rain, was also built by the Encián Tourists in 1939 on the 25th anniversary of their founding, supported by the Hungarian Tourist Association. It was renovated in 2011 by Ipoly Erdő Zrt. The dominant motif of the panorama opening before us is the Danube. On clear days, to the north, the High Börzsöny waves roll, and we can spot the elevated lookout of Csóványos. Looking east towards Visegrád and Vác, we see Naszály; to the south Dömös and the Visegrád Mountains; to the west, Slovakia colors the view.

Back to Zebegény

Leaving the tower, after Világos square, the S trail turns left toward Remetekereszt-bérc, then along the ridge through dry oak woods, it bends to meet the S↺ trail to return to Zebegény. This section has fewer sights, so faster progress can be planned here.