Pilisi Hike - Stage 3 (Pilisszentkereszt - Pomáz)

Pilisi Hike - Stage 3

New day, new experiences! With this motto, hikers set off and put on their hiking shoes. This is the third day of the Pilisi hike, which I continue from Pilisszentkereszt for over twenty kilometers all the way to Pomáz. Looking at the map, mainly experiences of caves and viewpoints await us on this section. 

Leaving Pilisszentkereszt to the south, our hiking route follows the National Blue Trail. I thought, before heading towards the Som Hill tourist house, I would take a detour to the famous Dera Gorge at the junction, where I had been several times before, but never saw the creek trickling there in summer. Due to recent rains, I saw some chance that the gorge would show its true summer face. Just a few steps off the original route, we find ourselves at the wild upper entrance of the gorge. I was not disappointed because, although the water did not cascade like Niagara through the narrow canyon, the small waterfalls provided excellent photo opportunities. The 600-meter-long gorge with its small wooden bridges sometimes evokes the atmosphere of mountain streams in the High Tatras. I did not rush; there was no need to hurry. Sitting among the cool rocks of the valley, I listened to the water's babbling and relaxed for a while. This little break lasted about an hour until my thoughts started to thicken and urged me back to walking. Later, while moving on, I thought I was lucky not to be here on a weekend when the gorge sees high visitor traffic and hardly any chance for immersion.

On the original route, after a few hundred meters of gentle ascent, we reach the Som Hill tourist house, renovated in 2013, which operates mainly as a key hostel. When I passed by, no one was staying there, and thus the otherwise nicely renovated and atmospheric building seemed somewhat deserted and closed. Here, near the tourist house’s annex, we find the Pilisi hike stamp. While making the imprint, the sky began to rumble, and gray clouds arriving from the west started to cover the sun, which added to the heavy, humid air. Indeed, I had been waiting for some kind of storm for days to stir and refresh the air – but now I could only think that instead of a jungle, I would be walking in a greenhouse if the sun came out again after a little rain. My worries were only partly confirmed as the rain passed by, and the sun did not shine, but I still experienced sauna-like conditions. With sweat dripping from my forehead and accompanied by clouds of mosquitoes and horseflies, I marched on through the Long Hill saddle. The air was thick and heavy, nettles stung, horseflies bit, and sometimes I tore through spider webs at head height. What can I say? This is not the time to hike.

Crossing the Long Hill saddle, we can observe a forestry experiment studying how different logging methods affect habitat conditions, natural regeneration, and forest wildlife. Several experimental areas can be seen in the forest: clearcutting, preserved tree groups, gaps, and uniform thinning – each having a different environmental impact on nature. The study's goal is to find which method best ensures the forest's natural renewal capacity while maintaining timber production. Looking at the forest, I prefer the control area where no intervention took place because the sight of disturbed nature is not pleasing to me. Of course, I understand that people need wood too, but the sight of a clearcut is never uplifting. Fortunately, this is not very typical of this area. The hiking trail mostly goes through park-like hornbeam-oak forests. On the Long Hill slopes, we can find protected plants such as the pale helleborine, spring adonis, spotted iris, silky phlomis, Hungarian bedstraw, or Hungarian bugle. I'm no great botanist, but I’m sure I encountered the silky phlomis.

On Long Hill, we verify our presence with the Pilisi viewpoints hiking badge stamp, from where there is a magnificent view west and south. From here, I can clearly see why I suffer so much from the weather. Just a kilometer or two south of me, the sky has broken open, and the storm continuously moves ahead of me, leaving behind the suffocating climate. Moreover, the sun began to shine, intensifying the humid experience even more. I thought, no problem, I’ll detour to the Holy Well above Csobánka to refresh myself. After a short three-hundred-meter detour, I reached the chapel and spring, where according to legend, in 1842, a shepherd was driving his flock when the Virgin Mary appeared before him. Since then, miraculous healings have been reported by those who drank or washed in the spring’s water. Thus, the spring became known as the Holy Well and remains a visited pilgrimage site today. Unfortunately, the chapel’s surroundings are quite littered, marked not only by a few chocolate wrappers but also carefully prepared packs of trash left on the benches. I do not understand. Perhaps their owners expect the waiter to collect the picnic remains?

After the short detour, I followed the blue trail again, but not for long, as I decided to make another detour on the Blue Cave trail to the Cat Cave, which I had never visited before. Since it had rained shortly before me, everything in its wake was damp and slippery, especially the water-gully rocky path leading down to the cave. The forest’s silence was broken by the sound of people coming clearly from my direction. A few minutes later, I was talking with a young man at the Cat Cave entrance who, with his team, explores the unexplored passages of the cave. From him, I also learned that there is another cave nearby, the Dino Hideout, which my map does not even mark. Experts have been exploring both sites for a long time. The Cat Cave is 139 meters and the Dino Hideout 230 meters long, both containing barite crystals indicating hydrothermal cave formation but later transformed into karst sinkholes. Colonies of Hungary’s most common bat species, the lesser horseshoe bat, and the common bat live in these caves. I only viewed the caves from the outside as the researchers disappeared into the depths. I didn’t linger long because I still had more than half of my daily route ahead, so I climbed back to my original trail.

I continued on the blue trail through the Csobánka saddle, with views of the mountains to be climbed that day and Csobánka village. At the village boundary, we reach an abandoned dolomite quarry dug into the side of Little Kevély. Circling the mountain on the left, we continue climbing on the blue trail to Kevély saddle, where next to the resting place, we also find the Blue Trail stamp. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of litter here, but I am almost no longer surprised in Pilis. From here, less than a kilometer remains to the Great Kevély, the next viewpoint and certification point on our route. The stamp is not on the summit but along the way, on a clearing—provided no one has stolen it. For example, when I was there, the stamp holder box was empty. Obviously, the thief is unaware of how much frustration this causes hikers who collect these imprints. I thought about reporting the vandalism to the stamp providers (Pilisszentkereszt Nature Hiking Association), but a notice was already posted on their website stating this was the second such case in a short time. The stamp will be replaced again, but who knows how long it will remain if some take it home... I had no choice but to prove my visit with a photo.

After venting my frustration over the missing stamp, I continued to the summit, from where I enjoyed the panorama for the umpteenth time. Whenever I’m here, I always linger a bit on the white limestone rocks. The weather cleared, the thunderstorm clouds moved away, the air finally stirred a little, and the sun shone brightly. Looking down from here, the landscape with the ruins of the “Eger castle” and nearby settlements spreads out like a model. The peaks of the Buda Hills opposite are clearly visible even in such humid weather. Falcons circle above my head, and next to me, a large longhorn beetle basks patiently among the rocks, posing for my camera. After a few photos and at least half an hour, I set off again on the red trail. After half a kilometer, turning back in direction, we proceed on the red square on the eastern side of Great Kevély and return to the previously visited Kevély saddle rest area. From there, we follow only the yellow stripe all the way to Pomáz. But there are still five kilometers and a few sights ahead.

One of these is the Bear Cave on the side of Little Kevély, reached by a steep path and a great cool spot in summer heat. This is no coincidence, as the cave’s huge mouth opens northward and dense vegetation protects it from heat. First animals, then prehistoric humans, hermits, treasure hunters, and later archaeologists have all frequented the cave, which nowadays mostly tourists visit. Excavations found cave bear bones here and other remains of extinct species, such as the woolly rhinoceros, aurochs, woolly mammoth, wild bull, and cave hyena. The presence of prehistoric humans is evidenced by 145 flint tools found here. Even the unimaginative person can easily imagine the life of the prehistoric man who once lived here because the cave is a “classic” shape like those seen in movies. The cave’s cool, dripping dampness was quite refreshing, even in the ten minutes I spent here. But I had to continue because my water was running low, and my destination was still far away.

We are again near Csobánka boundary, but our hiking route does not enter the village. I optionally descended for a small refreshment and some bakery goods. The interesting name Csobánka piqued my curiosity. What does it mean, and where does this word originate? From the hiking guide booklet, we learn a lot about Csobánka and the origin of the village name. Linguists link it to the Iranian word "suban," from which our conquest-era word "csobán" (shepherd) derives. So the village name may indicate the settlers’ occupation. This area was inhabited even before the Romans, but during the Turkish era, Csobánka, like many other villages, was depopulated. Serbian settlers arrived in the 1690s, becoming Csobánka's second founders. Later Slovaks, Swabians, and Roma also came to the village, but the 20th century's history repeatedly reshaped the village’s ethnic composition. I only stopped for a quick purchase in the village, but I still had the chance to inspect the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Gabriel, built in 1746 – admittedly only from outside. I left the village towards the Oszoly peak towering above the settlement.

Entering the forest, we find a memorial plaque for the poet József Berda on a high cliff, who praises the region in his poem titled Csobánka. Just a few dozen meters from here, the stony, rocky hiking trail starts climbing up Oszoly. At this time, climbing the 329-meter rock was tiring. True, if we don’t go down to the village, we don’t have to climb so much to the summit, which, by the way, is not officially part of our hiking route. But it’s definitely worth coming up here for the magnificent view. I did not linger here as long as on Kevély because fatigue, sunshine, and an approaching storm together urged the end of my day’s journey. Heading southeast, I hurried down the mountain and found myself in a dense, young oak thicket. Signs were sparse, and paths branched out, so only someone well oriented could keep the correct direction. Luckily, I quickly passed this section to open terrain, from where Pomáz’s houses were clearly visible. Here, in this barren terrain, typical of Pilis, don’t look for signs, just go headlong towards the Árpád statue or follow the cart path.

At the Árpád leader statue, we had to stamp the booklet, but we had not yet fully reached Pomáz. The town center was still at least one and a half kilometers away, where my hike ended. I covered the distance somewhat bedraggled in dreadful humidity that drained my strength. But it wasn’t this that I thought about when going to rest, but the experiences of the day. It felt good to relax a little in the Gorge, to sit on Kevély, and to discover caves previously unknown to me. Refreshed at my accommodation, I was already examining the next section on the map, which would last from Pomáz to Pilisszentlászló and lead from Pilis to the Visegrád Hills, introducing new landscapes.