Dobogókő - Visegrád (OKT-16)

Itinerary

During the route, we must follow the K marking all along.

• From Dobogókő, we start downwards on the K marking towards the Sikárosi meadow, where we stamp at the Sikárosi forester's lodge standing under the trees.
• From Sikárosi, we arrive at Pilisszentlászló via the valley of the Bükkös stream and then through the Öreg-nyílás valley.
• From Pilisszentlászló, we climb up to the Pap meadow.
• From the Pap meadow, we reach the Vízverés saddle on the slope of Urak asztala mountain.
• From the Vízverés saddle, we hike via Barát-halom to the mowing fields of Tabán above Visegrád.
• From Tabán, we descend next to the Fellegvár of Visegrád down to the Visegrád ferry.

Detailed description of the route

Dobogókő - Sikárosi forester's lodge

From the rock terrace of Dobogókő, there is an unparalleled panorama of the calm Carpathian volcanic landscape in this region. Börzsöny and the Visegrád Mountains were formed as a result of the movement of tectonic fragments building the Carpathian Basin base. The Szent Mihály hill belonging to the Visegrád Mountains was separated from its surroundings by the Danube. The fantastic hilly Danube Bend's picturesque panorama includes elements of volcanic past such as the Vadálló stones' rock line and the face of the Rám rock.

Passing through the Dobogókő resort area, we also leave the ski slope behind, from which we get a view of the imposing mass of Prédikálószék. Entering the forest, the hillside slopes down to the valley of the Bükkös stream, the longest stream in the mountain range, which reaches the Danube at Szentendre. At the barely noticeable summit of Öreg-vágás hill, a small stone column preserves an exciting story. Apparently, at the end of the 1848-49 revolution, an old soldier rested here, whose head was cut off by a man sneaking behind him—the killer later got drunk in the nearby village pub and told the story.

We descend into the steep valley of the Bükkös stream and follow the usually abundant stream to the widely spreading mowing field of Sikárosi meadow. Once there was a manor surrounded by mountains on this meadow with a beautiful panorama. Today only the forester's lodge remains in its eastern corner, where we look for the stamp on its fence.

Sikárosi forester's lodge - Pilisszentlászló

We ford the Bükkös stream and continue walking in the narrowing valley bottom. In the streambed lie huge andesite rocks, rounded slowly by floods. In wider parts of the valley, the stream meanders, making short bends—its slowing water deposits fine gravel, formations of which we must circumvent. On the flat surface of these gravel tongues, there are sometimes resting places. We walk in a cool, shady forest but before the wildest, roaring section of the valley, we turn left to reach the Öreg-nyílás valley crossing a forestry road. The scenery is not less interesting; we cross the stream in its small gorge and climb back up to the asphalt road. Leaving it behind, we cross a small wooden bridge and shortly after, at the valley head, we see the outskirts of Pilisszentlászló.

We find the first stamp next to the entrance of Kisrigó restaurant, but can also get the imprint at the village center on the fence of the Waldorf school.

Pilisszentlászló - Vízverés saddle

Pilisszentlászló is the only settlement in the inner part of the mountain range; from here until Visegrád, there are no inhabited areas. We leave the village with a significant Slovak population via the main square. Out of the houses, we climb steeply upwards to the Szarvas-szérű mowing field. From here, we take the forestry exploratory road towards the Pap meadow; at one point, the trail ascends the hillside to shortcut a bend. The neat stone building is a forester's lodge where the stamp is on the gate fence.

From Pap meadow, we set out on the most unique section of our Visegrád mountain route, occasionally reminiscent of Carpathian regions. Initially, we head east accompanied by pleasant, wind-swept clearings. At a fork, the K marking turns north to cross the dense, old beech forest on the slope of Urak asztala. At the hill summit, ruins of an abandoned air defense missile base's concrete buildings stand. The beech forest on the slope is quite torn, making it look a bit more natural: the 2014 December freezing rain caused ice damage breaking the forests here (we could notice signs near Dobogókő as well). From a vantage point, we can see the Danube and the towering Naszály, the Szentendre Island, and in clear weather, even the ridges of the Mátra.

The long walk, mixed with occasional obstacles, is made enjoyable by the trail's isolated and distant atmosphere. Here, no noise from settlements or roads reaches us, but mountain silhouettes are visible all around behind the canopy. Soon, we arrive at the beautifully scenic clearing of Vízverés saddle, where just a few solitary trees provide shade on the fresh green grass surrounded by dense forest forming a natural fence. It is hard to leave this forest clearing, but the section of the Blue Trail leading north offers more lasting experiences.

Vízverés saddle - Visegrád

We climb over a game protection fence and after a short forest walk, we reach the Moli resting place beside the meadow edge of Barát-halom. We can also sit on the small stone bench here. From the wild, rocky slope, there is a fantastic panorama of the Danube Bend: we see the dense forests of the Visegrád Mountains descending towards the river. Opposite us, the mass of Prédikálószék and the rocky, rugged side of Szent Mihály hill dominate the view. The hillside called Bölényes below preserves the failed attempt at bison reintroduction from the early 20th century.

Continuing on an increasingly wild trail, we start a steep descent. At the bottom of an oppressively dark slope to the left, we see light and rock: the Borjú-fő andesite formation offers another memorable view of the mountains enclosing the Danube. One rock block has an inscription in memory of Wass Albert.

Though still feeling far from civilization, we are getting closer. Our path passes the marshy, lush green clearing of Sóstó-rét, then crosses a dense forest on a hillside forestry road reaching the Tabán plateau. Behind the beautiful mowing field rise the highest points of Börzsöny, and the Csóványos lookout is clearly visible to the naked eye. (Turning left leaving the K marking, we can find another view of the Danube from a meadow behind a row of trees.) To the right, above the bobsleigh track on Nagy-Villám, we can walk up to the Zsitvay lookout, from where we can enjoy the landscape all the way to Mátra. The mandatory stamp awaits us on a column at the stairs of the Nagy-Villám restaurant.

Crossing the asphalt on a beautiful beech forest trail, sometimes steep downhill, we pass below the historically rich Fellegvár (which is worth spending 1-2 hours visiting) and walk down to Visegrád. The Baroque Calvary Chapel on our path is built in a quite interesting way onto the andesite breccia wall. Arriving in Visegrád, the Blue Trail guides us towards the ferry to cross the water to Northern Hungary.

At the Visegrád-Nagymaros ferry station building, look for the stamp on the barrier by the office entrance next to the ticket office!