Badacsonytördemic – Nagyvázsony (OKT-06)

At the largest-named major railway stop in our country, the Badacsonytördemic-Szigliget railway station, we find the stamp in the waiting room. We reach the National Blue Trail route on the access road leading to the stop, where we turn left. Soon, we join the route of the Balaton bike circuit, so especially in the summer period, we can expect significant cyclist traffic, then at the end of the street, we turn right, then immediately left.

We ascend among vineyards, orchards, cellars, and holiday homes, and look out over Szent György Hill before entering the forest. The deep road is framed by 8-10 m high loess walls; later, we step onto a staircase, and after the last step, we go around a thatched house – the former Rodostó tourist house building. The building was erected in 1935 in the Rákóczi memorial year on the 200th anniversary of the prince's death; during the Rákosi era, it served as a resort for prominent members of the Worker’s Militia, but after the regime change, it permanently closed. Not far from here, we find the Kisrodostó hostel, whose name probably included a role of the venerable "big brother".

Also prepared for the Rákóczi memorial year was the next section of our route, the 464-step Bujdosók stairs. Not only the name of the stairs recalls the Kuruc era: we can also stop at resting places established on the terraces – these are named after outstanding figures of 17th-18th century Hungarian history (Ilona Zrínyi, Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, Krisztina Csáky, Kelemen Mikes). On the railing-secured staircase, we pass between the crumbled scree slopes of the basalt organ pipes of Badacsony, then leave the columns themselves behind us.

The basalt organ pipes themselves formed through the cooling of slowly solidifying volcanic rock material and the volume shrinkage resulting from this. At the Kelemen Mikes rest, a small trail goes to the right, leading to the edge that offers a beautiful view of the steep slopes of the basalt organ pipes. At the top of the Bujdosók stairs stands the Czinka Panna rest. Czinka Panna, who lived in the 18th century, was a famous Hungarian Romani musician, a virtuoso violinist; legend has it that the Rákóczi march is her composition – probably why the rest bears her name – but it actually originated long after her death. From the rest stop equipped with a rain shelter, benches, and tables, by following the left K▲ sign, we can make a short, comfortable detour to the Tördemic lookout, from where we can see Szent György Hill and the Keszthely Mountains.

The K signs continue on a comfortably rollercoaster-like, well-trodden path along the rim of Badacsony. Several places open up attractive views of Lake Balaton – these spots are also offered with resting places. We pass the memorial plaque of Mária Henrietta, Queen of Belgium, who grew up in Hungary as the daughter of Archduke Joseph and visited this place in 1871.

After another lookout and resting place, we arrive at the Ranolder Cross erected in 1857. The 12 m high monument's stone blocks were hauled up the hilltop by buffaloes. From the ledge created in front of the cross, we can enjoy a panorama overlooking Balaton, just like at our next stop, the József Egry lookout. The bottom of this bastion-like building also serves as a rain shelter suitable for bivouacking.

We leave the rim of Badacsony and turn into the forest, then at a bench, the K sign turns right and leads on a steep staircase to the Hertelendy Memorial Stone. From the stone erected in memory of Ferenc Hertelendy, former Lord Lieutenant of Zala County, at the so-called Lodge rock terrace, we look eastward towards Balaton, which stretches all the way to the Tihany Peninsula tip.

We continue on the stairway back to the top of the hill. As the incline smooths out, the steps disappear, and we reach the rain shelter used also as a bivouac hut, then shortly after, the Blue Trail stamp station of Badacsony. Just a few steps' detour from here is the Kisfaludy lookout, from where we have a panoramic view of the Keszthely Mountains, Tapolca Basin, its raised witness hills, Lake Balaton, and behind it the hills of Somogy.

Badacsony – Káptalantóti

From the lookout, we start descending on a wide trampled forest path. On the left-branching S▲ trail, we can make a quick detour to the rim of an old basalt quarry; it is worth it, because the panorama stretches from the Keszthely Mountains to Hegyes. Returning to the K trail, we begin a sharp descent: on our left is a scree slope whose 'flow' onto our path is artificially hindered by a parapet. Although the dense vegetation hides it from view, now we leave the characteristic basalt columns of the northern face of Badacsony through the narrow "gap" between them, the Kőkapu (Stone Gate).

We arrive at the houses via a staircase, followed by holiday homes and wine cellars, and are soon heading towards the asymmetric cone of the next witness hill, Gulács. We leave the houses of Köbölkút Hill, cross the main road, and then ascend the hillside of the mountain. In the forest, fallen trees and bent bushes show that Gulács is much less visited than Badacsony. After a short ascent, we circle to the right side of the cone, then the gradually increasing K▲ trail named after our famous geologist Lóczy cuts into the steep witness hill: on it, we can make a detour to the Gulács summit, visit the mountain's spectacular rock flow, basalt columns, and viewpoints overlooking Badacsony.

Gulács, in contrast to Badacsony, is the remains of a volcanic plug. During volcanic processes 3.7 million years ago, basalt lava deposited on the vent material reaching the surface, then the hill emerged as its surroundings eroded. Today, on top of Gulács, we find solidified and columnar fractured lava under which hides the underground volcanic vent material that never reached the surface.

The K trail descends a crumbly slope from the side of Gulács and flows into a cart road on the northern side of the cone, where it turns right. Descending comfortably, we reach the Sér-kút spring, restored by the inhabitants of Nemesgulács in 2020, and its resting place. From here, we approach Káptalantóti along rural roads and arable fields. The views of the surrounding witness hills mitigate the monotony of the seemingly endless roads: the Tóti Hill appears behind Gulács, and the flat peak of Csobánc is also "approaching" opposite. In Káptalantóti, the stamp can be found attached to the grating window of the grocery store.

Káptalantóti – Csobánc

Csobánc, the fairly regular cone-shaped hill seen from the street, is named after the nearby settlement of Tóti at its base – whose name derives from a smaller South Slavic ethnic group. In the 13th century, the settlement came into the property of the Győr chapter, which explains its still used prefix.

We turn onto the road leading north from the village and head for the "jolly joker" of the witness hills, Csobánc. Slightly lower than its bigger brothers Badacsony and Szent György Hill, it is easier to climb than Gulács and, unlike Tóti Hill which rivals it in views, it boasts a castle ruin. We approach the flat mountain block on a straight road, briefly walk along a car road before starting the ascent.

We walk among grazing horses, wine cellars, and vineyards at the base of the hill, occasionally seeing the surrounding mountains. Soon we reach the forest, passing the Vár-kút (Castle Well) with a tiled roof and solar panel (not operational in fall 2025). From here, steeper and crumbly sections are to be expected until we reach the southern edge of the small plateau of Csobánc. Even from our first lookout point, a spectacular panorama opens towards Lake Balaton; moreover, we look down on the area we came from – framed by Tóti Hill, Gulács, and Badacsony.

As we cross to the northern side, the disused mined hill, Haláp, also appears from the narrower lookout points; behind it, Somló and the two Bakony basalt volcanoes (Agár-tető and Kab-hegy) are clearly visible. From the edge of the plateau, we can see the entire Tapolca Basin with its settlements, rows of trees, forest patches, and agricultural areas forming a colorful mosaic, with witness hills towering like bastions over the landscape; also visible is the flat, elongated Keszthely Mountains.

The well-suited mountaintop has been utilized since prehistoric times by the settlers here, as the environment could be widely monitored. Perhaps thanks to this, the castle built in the 13th century was never conquered by the Turks nor the imperial troops in the Rákóczi War of Independence. The stamping can be done at the flagpole near the castle ruins.

Csobánc – Szentbékkálla

Descending on the northern side of the hill, the panorama lasts a long time. Entering the forest, a short detour allows us to see the Rossztemplom (Bad Church) on the left, the ruins of the 13th-century church of the former vineyard-cultivating village Csobáncszög. The village was depopulated during the Turkish period and was not resettled later due to lack of water.

Soon we reach the road leading to Diszel, then continue deep in a valley along a path crossing Hajagos Hill. Gradually ascending, we arrive at a junction where traces of former cableways are still visible: they transported extracted stones from a nearby quarry to Tapolca. Pleasant forest views and beautiful meadows surround the gently undulating road, but before Szentbékkálla, pastures take over. We arrive at the Stone Sea of Szentbékkálla.

The scattered massive blocks form a "sea" in the airy grove. The former shoreline of the Pannon Lake's shallow water was gradually cemented by ascending silica solutions, hardening into hard rock. Wind, precipitation, and temperature changes eroded the softer layers surrounding the hard blocks, causing the formerly continuous ridge to break into rocks of various shapes along cracks. The most famous rock also has a name: Kelemen Stone, or the "balancing rock," whose upper block touches the lower with such a small area that even a person’s weight can move it.

Before the village, the Blue Trail path makes a small curve to the Velét palatial ruins. After the conquest, Szentbékkálla was the settlement area of the Kál clan (giving the Káli Basin its name), later inhabited by royal court servants. However, in the 14th century, the king exchanged several villages including Szentbékkálla to the Veszprém bishop in exchange for the castle of Tátika. This court could have been his secular palace.

After circling the ruins, we enter the village, and on its tidy main street, opposite the store building, on the information board, we find the stamp.

Szentbékkálla – Balatonhenye

On the nationally protected residential buildings, it is worth observing the architectural features that give unity to the settlement image: mortarless fences, triangular attic windows, and cat stairs. Leaving Szentbékkálla, on the KL routes, we can detour to the remains of the former Töttöskál village church ruins. Approaching the ruins, we can see not only the Káli Basin but also the rows of witness hills along its rim.

The K trails ascend between vineyards, with the black-hegy Eötvös Károly lookout visible above. Szentbékkálla is still a famous (mainly white) wine-producing village; basalt-walled terraces were created on vineyard-covered slopes to prevent soil erosion. We pass the concrete enclosure of the Öreg-hegyi well, originally protected by vineyard owners with a basalt casing and a small niche. Soon, (passing a resting place) we enter the initially oak forest of Fekete-hegy, from where a tiring but short climb leads to the Eötvös Károly lookout.

From the tower built of red pine, named after the active politician and writer at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, we enjoy the most beautiful panorama of the Káli Basin. On the left, there is the mined summit of Hegyes-tű, on the right the witness hills of the Tapolca Basin frame the view, and between them, the plain extends to the water surface of Lake Balaton.

Leaving the lookout, we head toward the plateau that is geologically and ecologically special. This is the largest basalt volcano of the Bakony–Balaton Upland volcanic area, covering 15 km². The middle-aged sedimentary rocks were first covered by a blast rock debris, later by lava, which solidified to protect Fekete-hegy from erosion – as with other flat witness hills.

It feels like walking on savanna: the area once used as pastures is broken by old heritage trees, and the Mediterranean climatic effect evokes a more southern scenery. Pine forests here were planted for reforestation of overgrazed, thinning soils. The peat bogs of Fekete-hegy are also notable, formed from rainwater accumulating in depressions among former lava flows, now composed of six known lakes, only the Monostori Lake still hosting peat bog species with relict significance.

The Vaskapu-ditch summit has vegetation separated from its surroundings, marking the site of a former lake. The mainly runoff-free "basalt bowl" was deepened and continuously "rising," partly drained by the Vaskapu valley cutting in – causing the lake's demise.

After crossing forest belts and wide meadows, we reach Monostori Lake, the largest of the black mountain lakes, whose place is only marked by dense vegetation. On the north slope of the hill, we begin descending into the Monoszló Basin in cooler, darker forest. Between trees, we spot the houses of Balatonhenye. Crossing pastures and rocky grasslands, we arrive at a shady resting place at the village edge, then reach the bus stop and Blue Trail stamp station on the main street.

Balatonhenye – Csicsói Shelter

Leaving the village as we arrived: through nice, bushy, woody pastures. Our path is bordered by Mediterranean karst shrub forest before entering the forest corner of an arable field. We are on the plateau of the Nagyvázsony–Veszprém Basin series, with no significant elevation differences ahead. We reach the Pirkanc saddle by pine forest on the macadam road leading to Csicsói shelter, winding through the pleasant forest to the former Csicsói shelter, today's Balaton Upland Forestry Forest School, a resting and stamp place.

Csicsói Shelter – Nagyvázsony

After 1 km, we turn left and continue on a one-and-a-half-kilometer straight section. The monotonous march ends at the Vigántpetend–Nagyvázsony main road, on the other side of which we continue through the gorge of the Viszont valley plateau. In the cool microclimate of the valley, beech trees appear, and soon we reach the ruins of the Tálod monastery, beside which we find the concrete basin of the Kinizsi spring and benches with tables.

The medieval village of Tálod used to stretch over the present Tálod meadow, where the Paulines founded their monastery dedicated to Saint Elizabeth. The Kinizsi spring was a reliable water source used by the monks. Both the village and the monastery were destroyed roughly in the 1550s during the Turkish plunder.

The Blue Trail leads out onto the Tálod meadow, where we find another large rest and campfire site. We descend towards the Vázsonyi stream on the flattening valley lower section, with unobstructed views of the characteristic buildings of South Bakony, the Kab-hegy transmitter tower, and the Molnár Gábor lookout on Lugostető.

Our path continues along the stream, locally called "séd" in Bakony; the noise of the parallel main road 77 fills the valley. A wooden sign marks the short detour leading to the ruins of the former Saint Helena chapel of Tálod village, then we steadily climb up to the old heritage tree field of the Saint Michael hill. After twisting through the forest, we arrive at the Saint Michael monastery ruins located on the east side of the hill.

The monastery ruins of Balaton Upland are among the most spectacular and largest of the region: the relatively well-preserved walls of the single-nave church's sanctuary reach up to 17 m, and surrounding them are the uncovered foundations of the former complex. The monastery founded by Pál Kinizsi buried the legendary commander, but his grave was later robbed and his remains buried without a marker in Nagyvázsony. The monastery was short-lived: around its 70th year of foundation, in 1552, Turkish troops captured Veszprém, and the regional devastation affected both Tálod and Vázsony.

From the monastery, we walk another 400 meters to the outskirts of Nagyvázsony. On the left, on Cemetery Street, we reach Kinizsi Castle, but before getting there, the K trail turns north towards Kab-hegy and soon leaves the village. We find the Blue Trail stamp across from the castle, next to the entrance stairs of the Mátyás Udvar Bistro or in the town's main square, in the garden of Kinizsi Beer House.