Spectacular circular walk on the back of Haláp

Itinerary:

• Start going uphill from the parking lot, then after detouring around the barrier, the nature trail begins on the left.
• After 100 m at the junction keep left, follow the marks of the nature trail.
• At the 5th, microclimate-themed signboard the path splits. Our route continues left, towards the northern side of the hill.
• Upon reaching the top of the mining yard, take a detour towards the edge.
• Continue to follow the nature trail signs on the plateau. When we reach under the peak, climb up the stairs.
• On the way back, check out the sculpture park and the "terrace" below the peak.
• After descending into the mining yard, start right, and walk counterclockwise.
• Leave the yard towards the signboard number 12 (Old Haláp pictures), then turn left to return to our starting point.

Detailed description of the route

The mined witness hill

Heading towards Zalahaláp, the Haláp almost goes unnoticed, blending into its environment. This would have been unimaginable until the beginning of the 20th century, as the 358 m high hill offered a view similar to that of its witness hill relatives rising further south. The hill, now with an average height of only 291 m, once rose to a height comparable to Csobánc - just 20 meters shorter - from its surroundings. Today, only a solitary rock peak attests to this on the southeastern edge of the plateau.

The basalt mining on Haláp was not a unique phenomenon in the Balaton Uplands; extraction took place on several witness hills until the mid-20th century (for example on Badacsony and Gulács), but it ceased in the 1960s due to conservation pressures. In contrast, basalt was extracted on Haláp at a large scale until 1986, and the mine operated to a smaller extent even afterwards. After decades of transition, in 2018 the company operating the mine requested the area to be declared protected, primarily for preserving the geological values exposed at the surface as well as the natural values of the area.

Unlike its popular counterpart, Hegyestű, where one side of the hill was mined, on Haláp the center was mined, effectively scalping the basalt cap. The edges were left higher, forming a massive, deep "crater" in the middle.

Around the nature trail

We start the circular walk to the left, i.e. west, as a well-placed arrow indicates. Soon the path forks: choose the left side, and after a few steps, you will already see the next signboard. From here, we follow the 12-stop Haláp nature trail route, which fortunately has many similar signboards, making it almost impossible to get lost.

After walking only a few meters, stop for a short detour. A bench has been placed a few steps away where we can first look around. The distinctly shaped witness hills of the Tapolca Basin stand guard in the distance, with the shimmering water of Lake Balaton behind them. Closer, the flat-topped Csobánc is outlined, followed westwards by Tóti Hill, Gulács, Badacsony, and Szent György Hill. Beneath our feet lie the houses of Zalahaláp. You don't have to settle here immediately, as there will be many opportunities to enjoy this inexhaustible panorama, even from a slightly higher place. One of the most lovable features of the nature trail is that there is a bench-table set at every lookout, allowing us to choose among pleasant, scenic resting places during our hike.

Continuing, we gradually reach the first few information boards that describe the wildlife of Haláp. It turns out that there is unfortunately no data preserved about the natural vegetation that developed over centuries, but a diverse plant and animal world has now formed in the former mining area. Apart from the often barren raw rock, forests, shrubs, bush forests, and grassy areas alternate, and we can encounter protected species such as the greyhound orchid, steppe fescue, and sorbus with flour, as well as common roe deer species. Regarding animals, abandoned mining sites especially favor some strictly protected bird species, and experts expect that Haláp could become a nesting site for the Eurasian eagle-owl and peregrine falcon. Large game animals also like to hide in the relatively undisturbed area, so foxes, roe deer, and red deer are not uncommon visitors.

As we approach the northern side of the hill, the landscape gradually changes. The number 5 signboard (Microclimate) is an important station, not only because of its interesting content but also because here we can still choose the easier round or the slightly longer, but much more exciting and scenic route. Going straight ahead leads to the mining yard, but this way we miss the northern side of the hill and the path along the upper edge of the "crater." In our description and on the map, we follow the complete circle, so here we turn into the forest.

On the northern side, the angle of sunlight is smaller, the warming is slower, and parts of the slope remain in shadow even during the hottest hours. We experience this here too, since the original scree forest has remained intact in the undisturbed mining area. Compared to the sunny southern side, we arrive in noticeably cooler and darker forest, where a fairy-tale-like sight awaits: huge moss-covered stones among the trees seem to have frozen mid-roll.

Our path turns right, uphill, winding among the stones. On a short stretch, we have to overcome a steep slope, helped by stairs supported by planks. This ten-meter section is the only more difficult part of the route. We exit the forest and soon find ourselves above the gigantic mining pit. We can see with our own eyes the mined interior of the hill and what remains of it. Since we stand more than 10 meters high, we should not approach the edge closely; the panorama is excellent even from a distance. We can inspect the small remaining rock cone rising opposite, our next target. Before that, we can rest on benches, while admiring at once the hollow surrounded by basalt columns and the row of witness hills in the background.

From here, we continue further, following the path through the glade. While we circle the hill, sometimes the view opens northward, with the most interesting elements being the Cseket Hill located on military grounds, hence rarely seen up close, and Somló rising behind it.

Following the edge of the mining yard we reach the mountain peak, which we ascend via steep stairs. From the tiny, railing-protected lookout we get the widest panorama so far, unfolding over this landscape inhabited and cultivated for two thousand years. The nature trail board helps identify the mountains if it is not obvious from outside: from left to right the best-known ones are Csobánc, Tóti Hill, Gulács, Badacsony, and Szent György Hill. We also get a full view of the center of Haláp, and the already familiar sight welcomes us to the north as well.

After descending from the peak, in an intermediate courtyard, we find an interesting open-air exhibition. The Waking Volcano Sculpture Park features two sculptors, Zoltán Balanyi and Rhea Marmentini, who carved and assembled their intended landscape-wound-relieving spatial sculptures over a year.

Volcano and mine

Let's walk down to finally explore up close the huge grassy area we have so far seen from above, the former mining yard. Starting right, along the basalt column wall, we get to know the functioning of the area's volcanism, the formation of basalt, and the history of the Haláp mining.

With an age of nearly 3 million years, Haláp is one of the youngest volcanoes in the region. At the end of volcanism, thanks to slow cooling, basalt lava cracked into regular five- and six-sided columns during shrinkage. Mining the hard yet well-shapable rock made visible geological structures that would have otherwise remained hidden. The special feature of the basalt columns standing on Haláp is that they can be studied not only in vertical but also in oblique and horizontal forms while walking inside the "crater."

Haláp basalt is one of the hardest kinds, so it is no wonder that the Romans may have already quarried basalt on Haláp for building the road crossing the Tapolca Basin. Modern production began in 1912 but really picked up after World War I, as the accelerating road and railway constructions demanded enormous amounts of crushed stone. The next boom followed the period after World War II, when war damages significantly increased the country's stone need. In the 1950s, mining was carried out on three levels in nine yards. An interesting fact is that a cable railway connected the mine and the village, of which the lower end can still be seen. After the mine closed, the buildings were demolished, and today almost no built trace remains of the nearly century-long activity, except for the display of carved basalt-rich stone piles as memorabilia.

After discovering all the interesting features of the former mining yard, leave the middle of the hill at signboard 12, following the lampposts. Going left, we soon find ourselves on the path we started from, returning to the parking lot in a few minutes.