Route in the Solar System

Itinerary

During the route, you must follow the blue cycling sign.

• Starting from the observatory, turn sharply right and roll down the gravel dozer road to the main street of Sülysáp, then turn right.
• From the main street, turn right onto Szőlő Street, which leads straight into the forest, where you continue straight on the sandy dirt road until the end, then turn left onto the asphalt road leading to Tápiőszecső.
• After crossing the railway crossing, turn left at the first opportunity, then continue straight to the little square next to the town hall. From there, cycle along Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Road-Kossuth Lajos Street-Tompa Mihály Street-Deák Ferenc Street-Dózsa György Road to reach the local train station. After passing the station building behind you, roll to the other end of the station, cross the rails at the railway crossing, turn immediately right, then left at the first opportunity.
• Following the sandy dirt road, turn left immediately after crossing the Tápiő bridge and follow the road straight to the end, then turn right – here the Z sign also joins. The Z and the K cycling signs run together for a long stretch through Tápiőság (in the settlement you need to cycle almost straight, then turn right at the end of Úri Street), then past the Úri fishing lake.
• After leaving the fishing lake, the road leads onto a hill – before the hilltop, turn right. A longer, faster section follows, at the end of which turn left at the first opportunity. Follow the road leading through the wide valley of the Farkaspuszta Creek to the first major junction, then turn left (and leave the Z sign behind you). At the hilltop, at the end of the road, turn right, then immediately left at the first opportunity, and roll into Gomba. In the center of the settlement, turn left and continue straight through the village, then along the shore of the Gombai fishing lake. Crossing the bridge over Gombai Creek, you reach the asphalt road leading to Bénye, turn right here, and cycle on the asphalt to Bénye center.
• At Bénye, turn left when you reach Pilisi Street, and follow the road climbing higher in the valley, first asphalt, then dirt road, to the hilltop, where turn left. On the road leading through the vineyard, turn left at the junction at the end (a right curve follows immediately after); this road leads to Monorierdő.
• Upon reaching the first houses of Monorierdő, turn right (Harmat Street), then where houses start thinning, turn left again (Bényei Street), and at the end of this street, turn right onto the asphalt road; this road connects Monorierdő to Monor.
• In Monor, continue straight through the settlement up to the roundabout, then turn right (Deák Ferenc Street), turn left at the cemetery, then right at the first opportunity (Acsádi Street). Acsádi Street leads to the Monor cellar village, where signs indicate the correct direction to Kultpince (where one of the information boards is located), from where the lookout can be reached via the Irsai Olivér vineyard-Riesling vineyard route.
• From the lookout, proceed along Zalagyöngye Row, then along the vineyard road one row north, going east, then turn left to Csabagyöngye Row. This road leads out of the cellar village, over the M4 road overpass; after leaving the oil pump, turn left, then right at the end of the road (north-east direction). Follow the wide dirt road, keeping left at both the first and second junctions; the road leads straight to Úri. When you already see the tower and houses of the village, roll into the settlement on the path leading left diagonally.
• From the center of the village, ascend along the main street towards the northeast, then at the hilltop take a sharp left turn and continue straight on a wide, rocky dozer road leading to the observatory.

Detailed description of the route

The route starts from the Sülysáp observatory – few probably know that such an institution exists on the hilltop above the Sülysáp cemetery along the Tápiő. The small building harmonizing with its surroundings – complete with a neat dome as it should – houses the Sülysáp Amateur Astronomers' Association, which was founded in 2005 with the main goal of establishing an observatory. The dream came true in 2012, and since then, the enthusiastic members have been working to awaken interest in astronomy in as many people as possible in an environment relatively free from light pollution. However, they are not only interested in the sky but also present the wider environment of the small observatory in the evenings. Furthermore, along the nearly 70-kilometer bike route, we can get a brief acquaintance with the celestial bodies of the Solar System, sensing the distances and scale ratios within it. (The mini Solar System is built to a scale of 1:350,000,000, where the central celestial body, the Sun, is symbolized by the observatory's 4-meter dome.)

Heading to the Solar System!

Starting from the observatory, according to the above, we soon encounter the first information boards – before even reaching the main street, we have already left behind Mercury, Venus, and Earth. After all, these planets orbit quite close to the star of the Solar System on an astronomical scale. It is worth paying a visit to the village cemetery between Mercury and Venus, from where there is a nice view of the village, the Lower Tápiő valley, and the plain stretching behind it.

Before turning onto the main street, a short detour to the village's Roman Catholic church is worthwhile. The church was built in 1498 in Gothic style on the site where likely another church stood already in the Árpád era. The current building shows traces of later (17th and 20th century) additions, but its massive structure and Gothic windows leave no doubt that it mostly consists of walls more than half a millennium old. Local folklore holds a rumor that a secret tunnel ran from the church all the way to neighboring Úri – this is unlikely, though it is certain there is a sizeable bricked-up cellar beneath the building.

Turning onto the main street, we soon leave Mars behind as well, heading towards the far parts of the Solar System. From Sülysáp, we roll down Szőlő Street, then on a dirt road across forest and meadow towards Tápiőszecső. The first pleasant surprise here for someone expecting a lowland environment is that lizards slither in the grass and large game moves among the trees, traveling on quite varied terrain. Initially, sand is rare, but later it appears more frequently. Near the border of Tápiőszecső, this is so true that sand dunes can be encountered, and the luckier ones with some patience can see ground squirrels popping up on the grass – the Ground Squirrel Nature Trail in Szecső is named after this route, which it crosses later as well.

Instead of the nature trail, we turn towards Tápiőszecső, then after passing the town hall and church, head to the railway station. The nicely renovated station building evokes the heyday of the railway (unfortunately, the speed limit of 40 km/h along the Tápiő applies over longer sections, and trains sway extensively towards Újszász in the wilderness). After crossing the railway tracks at the far end of the station, we find ourselves again on a sandy dirt road, and this situation does not change until Tápiőság, with the exception of a short section on asphalt there. After leaving the railway behind with a sharp left turn, we roll between the Tápiőszecső fishing ponds, although it is unfortunately only rarely possible to see the water surface sparkling among the reeds. The signs of the Ground Squirrel Nature Trail reveal a richly diverse birdlife here, including several species of ducks, the striking red herons nicknamed „fosógém”, as well as woodpigeons and coots.

Turning left at the Lower Tápiő bridge, the route continues through a wooded grove, then suddenly a nice little resting place appears, suitable for sandwiches or at least a muesli bar. Traveling on a road running parallel to the Tápiő, you can admire quite a diverse landscape again: first a wooded meadow, then a swampy area – probably not coincidentally, several high seats stand here. Reaching the Z sign, we turn right and leave the Lower Tápiő behind. The stream itself originates near Pécel, joins with the Upper Tápiő at Tápiőszentmárton, then as Tápiő flows into the tributary of the Zagyva River near Újszász, which separates the Cserhát and Mátra mountain ranges.

Waving landscape along Tápiő

In Tápiőság, the Cifrakert and its unusual tower deserve mention – as well as a really short detour. The tower is the only surviving part of the castle once standing here belonging to the Szirmay family. The 72-room noble residence naturally also had a park, which explains the name Cifrakert. Not far away, on the edge of the village, a Bronze Age earthwork was located several thousand years ago, though today only a shallow ditch on a steep loess wall rising from the Lower Tápiő floodplain and a low rampart next to it remain. The village's location is interesting because its northern part geographically belongs to the Great Hungarian Plain, while its southern part is part of the Northern Hungarian Mountains.

Heading south, one senses that the previously mostly flat route turns hilly; of course, there are no mountains, only gently rolling hills with watercourses and fishing lakes. We travel along agricultural land for a long, swift stretch (summer here likely brings intense heat in the southern hours), interrupted by a few short climbs. It is worth detouring to the fishing lake dam on the Úri creek, spending a few minutes by the water. After leaving the lake, after almost overcoming a hill, turn right, from where a short climb is followed by a swift downhill to the valley of Farkaspuszta Stream, then turn left at the fork. In the valley, the road leads long parallel to the stream, across green meadows – showing a new face of the landscape here. At the first significant junction, turn left and leave the Z sign behind, then climb onto a hill and roll into the village of Gomba.

Gomba surprisingly has a large number of castles and manors per capita, and it would be interesting to know what encouraged the former owners to build their residences here. In any case, three of the four buildings lie on our route, one of which can be seen closer because the municipal office operates in the Scitovszky manor. On the other side of the street, among trees and behind a fence, lies the dilapidated Báczay castle, mostly known for hiding the Holy Crown here overnight in 1849 while fleeing. The castle’s last owner was Mihály Máriássy, a member of parliament until his deportation in 1951; thanks to him, scientifically developed asparagus, fruit, and grape cultivation became established in Gomba. Rolling towards the fishing lake, we also pass the privately-owned Puky-Perczel manor – it appears to be in the best condition among them, judging from the inside of the fence.

Leaving behind the last houses, we reach the shore of the Gomba fishing lake, which is evidently popular among anglers, who must be bypassed on some narrow paths in short sections. After leaving the lake, we soon reach the asphalt road leading to Bénye, where turn right. A pleasant road leads out of the village, ending with a mild ascent; we check off another hill ridge, and the landscape again shows a new face: the road is bordered by vineyards on both sides for a long stretch, and we reach the next station of the Solar System near a vineyard. Only here does it become evident that the original purpose of the tour, the exploration of the Solar System, gradually fades amidst the many small and large curiosities that appear on the way. Nevertheless, reading the information board dutifully, we learn that Pluto lost its status as a major planet in the summer of 2006 and has since orbited the Sun as a dwarf planet almost 6 billion kilometers away – in our mini Solar System, it is located 16.8 kilometers from the observatory.

A thousand cellars – two oil pumps

From Pluto, an asphalt road leads to Monorierdő, then the settlement is left behind under the gardens, leading to Monor – not the most exciting section of the tour, but at least these few kilometers can be done quickly. Arriving at Monor, we cycle long through the center, then at the roundabout turn right and eagerly head toward the cellar village. Strázsa Hill rises northeast towards Monor, practically separated from the town. The names of our streets speak volumes: Leányka row, Kadarka row, Zalagyöngye row, Ezerjó row, Riesling row stand side by side on the map. In the area, which is part of the Kunság wine region, the most common grape varieties include Riesling, Rizlingszilváni, Rhine Riesling, Kékfrankos, and Zweigelt; the wine of the hill is processed in 960 wine cellars, a tenth of which have remained in their original condition. A little detour from the route is worth it to discover small details such as a neat spiral staircase (a characteristic of the cellar village), a small terrace covered with vines in front of a cellar, or century-old cellar doors (aided by the Thousand Cellars viticulture and winemaking nature trail). The wandering among the cellars is crowned by visiting the lookout tower at the top of Strázsa Hill (190 meters), from where, in one direction, it is possible to see from the Ferihegy airport control tower to the Buda hills, while in the other direction, the hilly area of our tour is visible, and southwards the endless plain of the Great Hungarian Plain. Incidentally, this height is one of the southernmost points of the Gödöllő-Monor Hills, the Northern Hungarian Mountains, and even the entire Northwestern Carpathians.

After leaving Strázsa Hill behind, there is an excellent panorama from the M4 road overpass looking towards the Buda hills – and an oil pump, of which there are several in the area. From here, a swift ride leads towards Úri, on a wide, well-used dirt road. After a few kilometers, the village appears, and we roll into it searching for the Jupiter information board. From here, only a few kilometers remain to the observatory, mostly on asphalt with a continuous uphill road, except for the last couple of hundred meters of dozer road. Cycling around the Solar System is a pleasant route with discoveries of less known and various curiosities of the region – it's worth embarking on the almost 70 kilometers.