Tönkölös Hill circular hike

Itinerary

• From the bus stop, we follow the K marking out of the village to the edge of the village.
• At the forest junction, turn right onto the K+ marked hiking trail, which we follow to the bottom of the hillside stairs.
• At Gerencepuszta, at the bottom of the stairs, leave the marking and cross the stream and the road No. 8301.
• On the other side of the asphalt, continue on the KL marked hiking trail, which leads to the top of Vár-hegy.
• From Vár-hegy, walk down on the K▲ marked hiking trail to the Likas-kő cave.
• From the cave, continue down on the KΩ marked hiking trail to the edge-of-village forestry road.
• Turn left onto the K marked road along the forestry road, which we leave before a small bridge on a right bend.
• Before the stream bridge, turn right onto the unmarked path and go up to the Erzsébet lookout.
• On the unmarked path, walk back to the forestry road.
• At the junction, turn left onto the K marked road, which leads back to the starting point.

Detailed description of the hike

Along the Gerence stream

Our hike starts near the edge of the village from the bus stop at Bakonybél, at the entry road to the resort. This is the turn-around point and terminus of Volán buses running between Zirc and Bakonybél every 1-1.5 hours. At this bus turnaround, a pump providing fresh water is available, so it is advisable to fill your bottles here as no further water sources will be available. We start with a few hundred meters on the National Blue Trail K marking, passing the grassy Tökgurító meadow which features a playground. At the edge of Bakonybél, the K+ marked tourist trail branches off to the right; this is where we continue our hike.

Over the next kilometer we cross several meadows along the Gerence stream which flows into a narrowing valley; our route becomes increasingly wild – although the road runs parallel and sometimes very close, so the feeling of "deep lost forest" cannot fully develop here yet. After the Torna stream, the Gerence is the second largest catchment area stream in the Bakony, carrying waters that spring in the central and northwestern part of the mountain range. Despite its irregular water flow, several marsh meadows have formed along the Gerence, providing a home to diverse wildlife which we can observe.

Winding along the stream, we arrive beside the Határréti rain shelter, where we can rest at a built resting place and children can be entertained by some toys. We continue for another good kilometer on the K+ marked path at stream level, then ascend a small slope to the hillside to bypass the Gerencepuszta guesthouse. After that the path steeply descends back to the stream, aided by stairs to help hikers cross. At this point, we need to cross the Gerence, which is easy in low water but requires careful stone selection in high water. There is no hiking trail on the other side, but if you find a path straight from the bottom of the stairs to the asphalt, cross there and continue on the KL marking beginning in the trees!

Heading to the castle!

The landscape of the Bakony changes significantly here: the natural forested stream valley is taken over by intensively managed forest. The KL marked hiking trail 'assaults' the slope of Tönkölös Mountain on a path worn by loggers, where dry weather means ankle-deep dust and rainy periods mean mud. Our goal is the 432 m high peak of Vár-hegy, where once stood Bakonyújvár, more romantically called the Robber Knight Castle. Today only a few hardly recognizable ruins remind us of the former fortress. The short-lived castle was built in the 16th century by the notorious Podmaniczky brothers, a pair of robbers, on the site of an earlier, much smaller and abandoned fortress. The brothers regularly plundered the area, mainly targeting the Gerence Valley trade route and the Bakonybél Abbey. In the 1540s, the castle was captured and demolished by royal troops. Today, a vivid imagination is needed to picture the building inside the forest based on the remains of the inner and outer castle walls, bastions, and trenches.

The gentler ascent continues with an additional 80 m elevation to the inconspicuous peak of Tönkölös Mountain at 515 meters above sea level. Along the way, nice views open to the northwest towards the Little Hungarian Plain and the expanse of the Bakony forest can also be admired. We turn back and at the junction head towards Bakonybél on the K▲ marking. We now follow the hiking trail through denser, pristine beech-oak forest.

Likas-kő, the ancient refuge

At a junction, the marking takes a sharp right, then on the steeper slope on dolomitic surfaces, we literally stumble upon one of the mountain's most important natural features: Likas-kő, also known as the Tönkölös Mountain cave. Like every cave, it is exciting for children and adults, though not impressive in size: it is barely 6 m long and it's not risk-free to straighten up inside. At the same time, it is an extremely important archaeological site: remains of fauna from the end of the last Ice Age were found in its floor, as well as tools of Neolithic humans (Aurignacian culture), arrowheads, bone fragments, and medieval pottery shards.

The cave’s formation was aided by water flowing through the mountain’s body. Layers originally deposited horizontally on the ancient seabed were tilted and uplifted by rock movements, then the water moving in the 'stomach' of the mountain widened and hollowed the depression into the rock body. Close inspection reveals dissolution marks and smaller depressions all over the cave walls.

The Bakony is rich in karst phenomena, caves, and springs: there are 15 strictly protected caves in the area, and besides these, many cavities open in the karst of the mountain range often serving as hibernation or living places for bats – so always visit them carefully!

A view of the village from the Erzsébet Lookout

In closed, wild forest, we descend from Tönkölös Mountain on the KΩ marking. At the edge of the village, we briefly join the K marking of the Blue Trail, heading straight to include the small building erected on the side of Köves Hill above Bakonybél, the Erzsébet Lookout. To reach it, we must turn off this forestry road on a right bend. The lookout can be accessed on an unmarked path branching right.

We walk about 500 meters to the lookout, which is actually a wooden platform, but no more is needed as the perfect panorama of the village and the surrounding mountains opens here. Legend says it is worth whispering a wish here, it might come true. (Continuing on the path, we shortly reach Bakonybél, so we can take a small detour to see the village on the return journey.) We return the same way, from the path back to the Kőris Hill road, then after turning left and walking 500 m, we arrive back at the bus stop on the K marking.