Short forest walk from Mátyás Hill to Kőtaraj

Itinerary

• We start westward following the K+ sign from the Kolostor út bus stop.
• Following the K+ sign, we climb up to the Hármashatárhegyi út.
• We turn right onto the K sign.
• Within minutes, we turn right from the K sign onto the K▲ sign.
• On the K▲ marked hiking trail, we descend through the Kőtaraj to the Máramaros út.
• We turn left on the asphalt and follow the sign to the bus turnaround.

About the route in detail

Across the Mátyás Hill

The path starts from the right curve of the street, a stair-reinforced trail going between trees. Houses have crept onto the slopes of the small Mátyás Hill, but the summit area is still covered by forest. The hiking trail climbs up a new set of stairs, reaching the edge of the quarry on the hillside. The vegetation separates us from the view for a while longer, but a bit higher we can step beside the railing.

The Mátyás Hill quarry supplied building materials to the rapidly expanding Budapest in the late 19th century. The large quarry yard wall mainly shows limestone and marl, while opposite it the higher points and villa districts of the Buda hills can be seen. We climb through a forest of varied composition, sometimes preserving remnants of former pine plantations, as our trail leaves the quarry landscape behind. Near the summit, we pass a small clearing and then start descending along a rocky path. To the left, at the foot of a large rock outcrop, opens the 17-meter-deep vertical shaft of the Mátyás-hegyi rock cave. After enjoying the cooling effect of the flowing fresh air, we continue along a path crossing rock stairs! Soon we reach a road where we must turn right. We do not walk all the way to the panoramic city district, but beforehand, a few meters after stepping onto the asphalt, we turn left at a fork. We walk along a forest road through houses clinging to the side of Remete Hill to once again turn onto a forest trail at the parking lot.

We reach the 351-meter peak side of Remete Hill by a gentle climb, then our roller-coaster-like path changes again to a short descent. At the gate of a villa, we step onto a rocky path parallel to Hármashatárhegyi út. We briefly walk along the National Blue Trail route, crossing the road leading to the summit twice, changing to the K▲ sign on the second occasion.

On the Kőtaraj rock ridge

We again enter a closed forest environment, where the forest road soon narrows into a path. Fortunately, intensive forest management has not been characteristic of much of the Buda side mountain forests for a long time, so we enjoy a particularly varied and well-preserved forest. We descend for 1 kilometer on the slope of Tábor Hill, when the forest becomes slightly more open and pine trees appear. We emerge onto the Kőtaraj dolomite ridge: here, at the end of the narrow spur of the hillside, the rocks break through the ground in a massive formation. The snow-white ridge is wilded by pines, and below us lies Budapest. We can see Gellért Hill and the nearby forested side of Remete Hill.

We start downward on a gravel path, winding down a small dry valley between houses. We reach a street and can visit the Máramaros út bus turnaround after about 5 minutes walk to the left.