The essence of Vértes: the Vértes Panorama Nature Trail

Itinerary

During the route, you need to follow the arrows on the signs labeled Vértes Panorama Nature Trail.

About the route in detail

Traditional nature trail on wild and varied terrain

If you take a closer look at the map of Vértes, you may easily notice the Meszes Valley above Csákberény, untouched by tourist trails, which, along with its connecting valley network, offers a truly wild landscape. This unique landscape is introduced by the nature trail starting next to the Count Fülöp Merán Hunting and Forestry Museum located at the village boundary. We find the orientation board right next to the museum, and a unique marking guides the visitor along the trail. Although the “curriculum” of the nature trail is far from new or innovative (it introduces the typical natural and human-made environment of the southern slopes and valleys of the Vértes mountain range, i.e., various forest communities), the 4.6 km long route passes through such varied terrain with such great routing that the charm of the landscape clearly captivates everyone lightly open to beauty and special places. And since there are no tourist routes on this heavily dissected, wild area, this nature trail is also a bit of a secret. Not to mention that a charcoal burner’s shelter is presented next to the museum.

The charm of the dolomite bare rocks

The uniqueness of the hike (and of Vértes) lies in the fact that, depending on the topographical conditions, rock grasslands, karst scrub forests, dry oak forests, beech forests, turkey oak forests, and cultural forests alternate here in a surprisingly dense and close arrangement. Let’s look at them one by one! Dolomite, as a sedimentary rock, crumbles strongly, creating the spectacular terrain along the nature trail and on the southern side of Vértes, marked by steep rocky cliffs, deep valleys, and bare dolomite slopes (a series of dolomite bare rocks).

The nature trail, which can also be seen as a time travel, first takes you uphill through a planted pine forest on a ridge, where the boards simply but correctly explain why it was important to plant non-native pines on the mountain slopes above villages that were intensively used in the past and thus significantly eroded (board 2: bare reforestation). We also learn why and how the pine is dying today (board 3: pine dieback), and how, with a little attention, it yields its place to natural plant communities after preparing the soil. Just as we read the latter on the third board, the landscape magically changes: the forest becomes low, the area turns into a grove, and beautiful rock grasslands that are home to rare plants appear. We arrive at the turkey oak, flowering ash karst scrub forest (board 4 of the same name), which likely shows its truly magical face in the fall when the turkey oak puts on its colorful attire.

Then the path leads us to a ridge above the Meszes Valley, which is home to a forest reserve, from where the view is truly magical: not so much the distant landscape stretching south, but the scattered closed rock grasslands along the sides of Meszes Valley and the connecting smaller valleys attract the eye. The silent waiting hiking boot wearer would hope that a red deer might step into one of the meadows any time. Here we find the unique valley network presenting board 5.

After a sunbath, head to the shady beech forest!

After the detour, the nature trail shortly turns sharply left and descends into the neighboring Pénzverő Valley. Just a few dozen meters above our heads, we see the bottoms of the previously visited rock grasslands; here, however, the gloomy shade of an ancient beech forest greets us. The dramatically different forest communities occurring so close together make Vértes truly magical (board 6: forest community boundary). A few meters below the Mediterranean-like rock grasslands that are home to particularly rare southern plants, on the steep northern slopes, there is a cool beech forest, which, quite the opposite, offers shelter to cold-loving relic species from the Ice Age.

It is worth resting and observing next to mossy cushions of fallen rock blocks; from here, the path leads back to the museum faster, with fewer stops (board 7: forest tending and board 8: cultural forests) (along the way, we also find a charming image of Mary that invites contemplation).

The Vértes Panorama Nature Trail’s true “rival” is the neighboring Haraszt Hill nature trail above Csákvár, and together they provide a really good reason to explore why the beautiful Vértes is unique in its kind, with or without children.