The rocks of the Pomáz oak forests

Itinerary:

• From Dömör-kapu turn left and follow the Z▲ mark all the way to the Lajos-forrás.
• From the Lajos-forrás follow the Z▲ mark to reach the top of Bölcső-hegy, then descend back by the same route.
• From the Lajos-forrás the K+ mark leads to the fork near the János-forrás.
• Turn left onto the Z mark which leads up to the top of Kő-hegy.
• From the tourist house follow the S and ST markings to the left.
• At a fork turn right following the ST marks towards the Vasas-szakadék.
• From the gorge continue following the ST marks downward from the mountain.
• We join the Z mark which leads left towards the Dömörkapu asphalt road.

Detailed description of the route:

The gateway of the mountains

Dömör-kapu is the gateway of the Visegrád Mountains in every sense: located at the edge of the mountains, the road through it heads deep into the ridges, and its bus stop and parking lot are common start and end points for hikes. Moreover, its narrowness indeed forms a gate: the slopes of Cser-hegy and Bölcső-hegy are barely separated by a stream and an exploration road. Some sources say its name is of Serbian, others Turkish origin, both meaning "iron gate", "rock gorge"; in any case, it indicates some kind of narrowness. Geographically, the terrain has lost much of its original form: until the early 20th century, the Bükös stream cut through solid andesite in a deep ravine, stepping out of the gorge as a waterfall about 6-7 meters high. The quarries opened in the 1920s and the construction of the road literally wiped out the gorge, but the lower step of the waterfall—like a roar—can still be seen today. To view it, from the hike's starting point, just walk upwards a little on the asphalt until you reach a bridge. To the right below, the stream splashes down a roughly tiled rock staircase—once flowing down, its swirling pool channels the water to the foot of the mountain road. (Its roar in the stony, sometimes staircase-shaped bed also gave the stream its name: it was called Bucsiná, which in various Slavic languages means roar, rumble, but also hornbeam.)

From Roman slaves to the HÉV station

Our hike starts between the bus turnaround and the parking lot on the Z▲ mark, whose path climbs to the quarry tops biting into the valley slope. (An unmarked side path leads to one of the quarry yards.) The hiking trail winds below loosened rocks, then changes direction to climb a rocky-bottomed oak forest. Soon we reach the top of a man-made rock ridge—be careful as the edge is not secured! Fortunately, you don't have to step to the edge of the drop to enjoy the panoramic view: you can see the outer ridges of the Visegrád Mountains, and the slopes fading toward Szentendre. Nyerges-hegy appears, while toward the mountain interior, the valley carved by the structural depression of the Bükös stream curves. Facing us gape huge scars on the side of Cser-hegy—although the forest slowly regains space, it cannot inhabit the vertical mining walls. In the panorama of the mountains framing Dömör-kapu, probably materials from independent volcanic eruption centers' lava channels are revealed—durable and well-utilizable (basaltic) andesite for construction. While the Romans began extracting it, large-scale modern mining started in 1923 and lasted until the '60s. The extracted stones were transported on a cableway to the HÉV station 6.5 km away, where a crushing plant also operated. (A storage tunnel used for explosives can be seen below, near the waterfall.)

The romantically winding trail snakes here and there through mossy oak forest along the steep edge, revealing the deeply carved, shady valley of the Bükös stream from various points. It's as if you are not hiking at the edge of the mountains; the low-traffic hiking trail recalls the picture of our higher mountains, only the noises frequently filtering up from below stubbornly remind you that a popular, easily accessible excursion spot lies in the valley. At the end of a forest section, we find a rest spot: the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor viewpoint rest. From the Tibetologist's memorial, we can take one last look into the long valley of the Bükös stream before ascending the slope.

Drehers and the good water

The path initially leads through a beech-dominated sparse forest, then through younger woods and clearing patches to ascend higher. (From the latter, there is a view of neighboring mountains.) The climb temporarily ends when you reach the sadly dilapidated building of the Lajos-forrás tourist house. Despite its ruins, the wood-covered building still exudes friendly forest elegance, and it's not hard to imagine what kind of atmospheric, lively resting place it could (and could) have been for local hikes. Next to the parking, a plentiful spring emerges into a pool; the water of the Lajos-forrás was reportedly an important point for King Louis the Great’s hunts, but its name probably refers to Podmaniczky Lajos, who owned the nearby forest areas during its occupation. (Previously it was known as Dobra Voda, meaning "good water" among the Szentendre Serbs.)

The spring and the excellent location also appealed to the Dreher family, who owned the area before World War II and built a hunting lodge and farmstead on site. They tried to keep nature walkers out of the area, but from 1947, walkers could still take possession of it: as a gesture symbolizing the "overcoming" of previous social inequalities, the Nature Friends Tourist Association transformed one of the outbuildings into a tourist house. Six years later, under the hands of the State Tourist Houses Management Company, the Ságvári Endre tourist house opened, equipped with a restaurant and 85 beds. It was later expanded multiple times, and a bus line from Szentendre reached it within a few years. However, from the '70s onwards, several management changes followed, and the condition of the house gradually worsened, the restaurant replaced by a buffet. In its final period, it operated only as a hostel for school groups until it closed permanently in 2005. Its renovation is sometimes discussed, but currently, there are no plans.

Behind the Lajos-forrás, the Z▲ mark heads for the summit of Bölcső-hegy. Initially, the incredibly steep mountainside is covered by diverse, natural groves, only disturbed by the young forest of a former ski slope clearing. Above, somber stone boulders lie scattered on the mountain's flat nose, from which the summit block rises almost like a rock castle. Like Cser-hegy, Bölcső-hegy is the remnant of a former lava channel, and its structure reveals the characteristic structure of a stratovolcano: while Lajos-forrás springs from a surface debris rock paste, tuff formed by explosions, on it solid rocks formed from andesite lava flows are deposited. With one last effort, we reach the 588-meter peak.

A repeatedly lost and then regained view

Since autumn 2021, a lookout tower stands again at the lava rock-surrounded summit. The building has had an especially unlucky fate, as it was built twice in the 20th century, but each time it only briefly adorned the summit. In spring 1934, the Hungarian Carpathian Association erected a wooden tower on Bölcső-hegy, with a protected shelter built all around its base. The forest owner gave special permission for the tower and the trail leading to it, which fell on a closed-off area. However, in 1936 the forest came into the possession of the Dreher family, who were not friendly with nature walkers: despite legal regulations, they closed the hiking trail within months and had the tower demolished. After World War II, the tower was rebuilt, but when an air defense missile base was put into service on nearby Lom-hegy (from 1981), it was dismantled again so that the military facility could not be seen from the top. Today, a simple structure just above the foliage adorns the summit, and its narrow stairs and observation terrace can only hold 1-2 people at a time. From there, one can overlook the entire, very active surface of the Visegrád Mountains from Szentendre to Dobogókő, with Börzsöny closing the range to the north and the Buda Hills undulating to the south. The highest representatives of the Northern Medium Mountains, the Mátra, and on clear days even the Bükk can be spotted in the distance.

The path descends back to Lajos-forrás, from where we follow the K+ mark to the right. A long and monotonous section begins as it leads through exploited, maturing forests and patches of clear-cuts along a straight wagon road. We descend gently, accompanied to the southwest by the ridges of Nagy- and Kis-Csikóvár. Finally, at a fork, we turn left onto the Z mark, inviting us into a vigorous forest. We pass by János-forrás and climb steeply on a rocky path to reach the plateau of Kő-hegy.

The case of Kő-hegy and the Danube

The forest becomes park-like, with short paths to the right inviting to the viewpoints of the rock ridge breaking off the plateau's edge. However, the only secured panorama point is the Petőfi Lookout, where behind railings, one can watch the meeting of the Transdanubian Mountains and the Great Plain. A vivid mountainous landscape appears from the steep hillside, and one can admire some of Budapest’s most famous peaks. Gellért Hill, Hármashatár-hegy, and the ridge of Kevélyek appear, behind them the massifs of Nagy-Kopasz and Nagy-Szénás. Many other peaks can be identified, and to the northeast the Mátra ridge appears blue.

The modest-height, flat-topped Kő-hegy stands in sharp contrast to its edge rock ridges. The coffee-brown breccia ridges built from distinct volcanic explosion deposits form layered bands well visible on the mountain, representing the mantle of the former volcano spreading at the mountain’s foot. From time to time, huge debris flows rolled down here carrying the lava flow material. The fused, harder blocks resisted erosion better than their surroundings, and Kő-hegy later even stood out. The hardest rock blocks were slowly exposed by erosion, and when the Danube appeared in the region, it washed steep slopes into Kő-hegy’s sides, causing landslides and collapses. Such landslide remains form the resistant rock ridge of Kő-hegy. The plain spreading below was the Danube’s floodplain in previous centuries; the Szentendre-Pomáz plain was drained in the 1880s and was mostly covered by reeds, with marshy lakes reaching depths of 2 meters. The lowest part of the ancient swamp land formed in the floodplain of the river and the confluence of mountain streams is still identifiable on maps as Tófenék. (Local legends also preserve the water and rocks’ relationship, as the Szentendre Serbs tied their rafts to the iron rings on the wall of Kő-hegy.)

It is worth seeing the oddly shaped mushroom rock below, slender at the base and spreading on top, also called "Napoleon’s hat." The bizarre tower’s lower level, built from fine volcanic debris falling during the eruptions, is less resistant and erodes faster. In contrast, a harder, more resilient lava block sits on top, somewhat protecting the thinning leg from erosion.

House by the lake

The tower built from natural stone commemorates Sándor Petőfi’s 1845 visit. The trail bends towards the center of the hilltop, but before that, one can take a detour right on an unmarked path: from the sloping terrace, primarily facing east, there is a panorama towards the Gödöllő Hills and the Mátra ridge can be distinctly seen. (On very clear days, the Nagy-Eged of Bükk also emerges from the mist.) On the plateau’s Pomáz side edge, one can notice regular, circular depressions, which during World War II were positions where anti-aircraft guns defended the Budapest airspace. Allegedly, they were shot down by the Soviet air force in 1956, so the pits are in fact bomb craters.

We turn inward on the flat hilltop where some researchers believe a fortified settlement stood in the late Bronze Age, while others think the uncovered ditches are only traces of grape cultivation that once completely covered the plateau, remains of stone piles along plot edges. Today, we find a particularly friendly, hospitable tourist house in the central clearing. The Czibulka János shelter was named after its initiator and was born out of the mountain house building boom following Trianon: it was handed over in 1933 and later expanded. It still welcomes guests today, and its kitchen offers a reliable refreshment opportunity.

From the tourist house, we continue our hike leftward on the S mark. Before the spacious meadow definitively gives way to the dense forest, we encounter a temporarily marshy depression of an intermittent lake. The clayey hollow used to be continuously flooded but today shines with water mostly after snowmelt or during prolonged rainy periods among the vegetation. The marking leads to a pleasant path crossing the slope of Cseresznye Hill. After a long and pleasant forest walk, we reach a fork where we turn right following the signs of the ST educational trail.

The split mountainside

We quickly leave behind a clearing, and below the trees, a huge, somber rock wall breaks from the ground on the right. Getting closer, the view changes: it looks as if the rough rock mass split in two, with an improbably narrow passage between its walls. Only a few meters long, together the width, height, and mass still make a magnificent impression. The gorge arose from landslides of slopes weakened and undermined by streams when the volcanic debris-built rock shifted and split open. The rock mass was rearranged not only on the surface by the movement, but the tunnels continue even deeper. Over many places above the voids, debris fallen from above forms a "ceiling." Its name was reportedly given by tourists from the Csepel ironworks who also built floors on the Kő-hegy shelter (as well as the nearby Csepel-forrás), but it is more likely that the reddish cementing elements of the volcanic debris are behind the naming.

Turning our back on the Vasas Gorge, only the last stage of the hike remains. From a young forest, we look out over the mountain edge, and our marking zigzags to join the Z mark. We descend on it toward the Anna Valley (on the left you can see a man-made waterfall of the stream flowing below the waterworks walls), where, stepping onto the Dömörkapu road, our hike ends (the bus stop is located to the left).