Pilisszentkereszt – Pilisszentlászló (Day 34 of the OKT Hike)

In Pilisszentkereszt, the starting point of our hike, there are two places where you can get your card stamped: at the Felső Pub on Dobogókő Road—which is ideal mainly for those arriving by bus or those looking to have a drink—or at the liquor store on Fő Road along the Blue Trail. The trail marked “K” begins to climb northwest on Szabadság Road, so we leave the village nestled between the Kovácsi and Kanyargós streams.

The historic center of the village lies to our left, around Fő út and Forrás Street, in a community that was revitalized in the 18th century through the settlement of Slovaks and Germans. Pilisszentkereszt’s history stretches back a long way: during the Árpád era, a royal hunting lodge stood on its outskirts, which King Béla III donated to the Cistercian Order. The few remaining ruins of this building can still be visited today by following the “Z” trail. Interestingly, Gertrudis, the murdered wife of King Andrew II, was buried here. During the Turkish invasions, both the abbey and the village were destroyed.

We leave the Pilisszentkereszt basin behind as we climb the hillside, passing between houses. At a bend, we cross the road to Dobogókő, then continue the ascent along the edge of the Kakashegy resort. After about 1 km, we reach a fork in the trail: the K↺ trail marker turns left. It’s worth following this to take a short detour to a lookout point, from which we can view the Pilis-tető massif, with the Vaskapu Rock gleaming white on its side.

Continuing along the K trail from the trail junction, we reach the Zsivány Cliffs. They’re not very visible directly from the trail, so it’s worth taking a short detour—and even climbing up to the highest one: a steep but passable path leads to the top. The depth from here is staggering—as is the fact that these “bastions,” cemented together from volcanic ash and lava, once filled valleys and only rose to the surface over millions of years as their surroundings eroded. The Zsivány Cliffs got their name from the bands of outlaws who set out to search for the treasure that King Béla IV is said to have hidden here.

The Blue Trail turns right; after passing the saddle, we bypass the Nagy-Hideg-lyuk. Exploration of the cave began in 2016 and is still ongoing; it got its name from the cold air (around 9 °C) that typically flows out of it in the summer. Due to the unique characteristics of the airflow caused by temperature differences, the direction of the draft reverses in winter: cold air from the surface flows into the cave (which is otherwise not open to the public), where icicles as thick as an arm can form.

We walk along a path lined with benches and, in places, paved with stones, running parallel to the Kanyargós Creek. At the head of the valley, we cross a wooden bridge, and soon after, we arrive at the Dobogókő resort. We reach the center via the gravel streets of this neighborhood, which belongs to Pilisszentkereszt: a parking lot and a bus stop greet us, and across from the park we can see the Baron Loránd Eötvös Shelter, next to whose entrance we find the stamp.

Dobogókő – Sikárosi Forest Ranger House

At one of Hungary’s most renowned hiking destinations, we can collect the first stamp of this section; the stamp is available at the entrance to the tourist lodge. The K trail markers are located behind the lodge, next to the observation deck built on the ridge of Dobogó-kő (the site’s name is inspired by the “stone podium,” i.e., the top of the rock).

Below, one of the three points where the Carpathians and the Danube meet unfolds before us—only here, in the Danube Bend region, between the northwestern and southeastern ends of the mountain range, does the river wash the foot of the mountains. Directly across, St. Michael’s Hill is easily recognizable by its jagged side, and behind it, the peak of Csóványos crowns the massif of the Börzsöny. Nearby, on the side ridge of Prédikálószék, the barren rocky outcrops of the Vadálló-kövek pierce through the forest canopy; further back, Naszály comes into view, and on a clear day, even the Mátra Mountains. With a bit of luck, to the northwest, the Selmeci Mountains of the Upper Hungary region and the Tribecs massif can be glimpsed against the backdrop of the Holló-kő Ridge. To the east of the Börzsöny, the High Tatras sometimes even appear on the horizon.

The streams of the Visegrád Mountains, rushing toward the Danube, have carved out a landscape rich in steep slopes and deep valleys as they cut their way down toward the Danube, which deepens its bed as the mountains rise. As we bid farewell to the landscape, we can take one last look at the monument to Ödön Téry, who was a defining figure in the nascent, organized nature tourism movement in Hungary at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He also played an important role in the construction of the mountain hut built on Dobogókő.

Before setting off, we can enjoy a bite to eat and a drink at the Baron Loránd Eötvös Mountain Hut, named after the iconic Hungarian hiking organization, the Hungarian Carpathian Association, and the president of the Hungarian Tourist Association—which emerged from it—as well as a minister, physicist, and renowned mountaineer. In addition to the stone building, the park also features a smaller cottage with a porch; this was the first mountain shelter in Dobogókő, completed in 1898, making it one of the oldest tourist lodges in the country. At that time, crossing the mountain range was generally only possible on multi-day hikes, which is why it made sense to build lodging in the central area. Since visitor numbers quickly outgrew its modest size, the stone building was handed over as early as 1906 and was expanded twice over the next two decades.

Inside and around the building, one can find numerous mementos of the renowned figures from the heroic age of Hungarian hiking, as well as of the tourist lodges in the country’s mountainous regions. The proximity to Budapest and the magnificent location simultaneously elevated Dobogókő to a major destination for organized hiking; however, its important role did not protect the settlement from everything: in the decades following the nationalization of 1949, the condition of the two buildings deteriorated until they fell into complete disrepair. In the 1990s, the MTE restored the shelter after a lengthy effort, while the smaller cottage had already been renovated earlier, in the 1980s—it has housed the Tourism Museum ever since.

We’re walking through the woods on the edge of the mountaintop; the trail soon crosses the paved road. With a detour of just a few meters, we can look out from the top of the ski slope toward the Szőke Spring Valley; above it, on the other side of the Prédikálószék massif, the ridges of the Visegrád Mountains undulate. This ski slope was the first to be built in post-Trianon Hungary. The lift’s machine room doubles as a restaurant: the Zsindelyes guesthouse is one of Imre Makovecz’s earliest and most famous buildings, and together with the yurts standing next to it, it underscores the spiritual significance attributed to Dobogókő.

After crossing the asphalt road, the Blue Trail continues through a beech forest along a walking path; then, after a rest area, a long descent begins. We pass a spot called Öreg-vágás, whose name, according to folklore, commemorates a murder: After the 1848–49 Revolution and War of Independence, an elderly, sorrowful soldier was on his way home when, at this spot, a young man killed him with a scythe and stole his last pay. Afterward, the murderer got drunk at the tavern and blurted out what he had done, but we do not know what became of him.

We reach the valley of the Bükkös Stream via a rocky mountainside and then a steep ravine lined with ancient beech trees, where the terrain levels out. At a cleared section of forest, we turn right, and after a short walk through the woods, we emerge onto the Sikárosi Meadow. Its basin, dotted with clusters of trees and framed by mountains, is lined with wide hay meadows and the wooded strips that separate them. At first, it was home only to forest rangers, but the well-situated basin, with its ample water supply, gradually drew farmers to the area as well. However, no village ever developed, and the former Bükki-puszta farmstead is now only hinted at by a few mounds. The small settlement became the scene of a horrific and somewhat mysterious murder: in 1947, five teenage boys were tending to the animals when someone slaughtered them. That same day, the perpetrator also killed two other people near the Lajos Spring; his identity was never revealed. Sometime in the 1950s, the residents were ordered to evacuate the former houses due to a military exercise, and they had nowhere to return to: the buildings had sustained severe damage. Nothing definite is known about exactly what (and when) happened.

Streams flowing down from the surrounding mountains run through the wildflower-filled Sikárosi Meadow, and their sediment fills the basin, keeping the soil moist; and in one corner springs the Szilágyi Bernát Spring, which we pass as we cut through the forest strip. This wet environment has provided a home for a multitude of horsetail species. Since the plant repels pests (such as grazing animals) with its silicic acid content, it is suitable for “scrubbing” dishes—hence, some species were popularly known as “sikár.” This may well be the origin of the name “Sikáros.”

There is a shaded rest area at the Bernát Szilágyi Spring; a short distance further on, at the corner of the last hayfield, on the fence of the hunting lodge (which serves as lodging), we find the following stamp.

Sikárosi Forester’s House – Pilisszentlászló

A valley section that is different from the previous ones—but no less beautiful, and in fact particularly charming—begins here: from this point, we follow the Bükkös Stream as it winds through the old forest along the broad valley floor.

We cross a ford and pass by the Lenkó Memorial Obelisk—Ede Lenkó, a member of the TTE, passed away here during a winter hike in 1917. The stream, swollen by waters from the highest part of the Visegrád Mountains, carves meanders into the alluvial deposits lining the valley floor; in the wake of its floods, somber piles of boulders lie scattered about. In times of calm, the water trickles beneath fallen tree trunks; in one of its bends (where we cross it), the water often disappears entirely. After another ford, the trail leads to the Carpathian Spring, which has muddy soil but abundant water. The original survey was conducted by the Hungarian Carpathian Association in 1933; in keeping with the spirit of the times, the purpose of its naming, according to the dedication speech, was to “awaken an unquenchable desire to reclaim the Hungarian Carpathians,” for “every drop is a tear from the captive Carpathians.”

We cross the Bükkös Stream via a wooden bridge and follow it for quite some time. Incidentally, at the time the Kárpát Spring was claimed, the watercourse was still known as Bucsi, a word that in various Slavic languages meant “roar,” “rumbling,” or “beech forest.” After a narrow stretch of trail along the stream, we come to a rest area with a moss-covered roof and a large rain shelter (the former youth camp), and shortly thereafter, we turn left in front of the renovated campsite. We cross the paved road and, at the bottom of the Öreg-nyílás Valley, begin a gentle ascent over stream crossings and beneath beech trees. We follow the paved road for a short while, then cross the stream bed via a wooden bridge; on the other side, we pass through a colorful, mixed forest of beautiful hornbeams and oaks as we cross the watershed, beyond which lies the Pilisszentlászló basin. On the edge of the basin, we reach the Kis Rigó restaurant, where one of the stamps hangs on the fence. We find the other one by walking down to the village center, past the bus turnaround, on the fence of the Waldorf School.