Martian landscape on the edge of Bakony

Itinerary

• The circular route starts and ends at the Halimba Mayor's Office, and follows the red T mark all the way. 
• From the village, we head south on Petőfi Sándor Street towards Malom-ditch.
• At the forest rest area in Malom-ditch, the path climbs up the eastern side of the ditch, then reaches open terrain on the plateau.
• A wide dirt road leads to the abandoned bauxite mine on the northern side, where the signs lead right into dense bushes.
• In the bushes, shortly we glimpse the mine’s spectacular pit with slag heaps. 
• It leads out of the mine on an overgrown path, then we follow a wide dirt road towards Halimba.
• From the wide dirt road heading to the village, the signs split off at an information board and lead into a forested ditch beside the road. 
• After exiting the ditch, a wide, straight road leads back to Halimba.  

Detailed description of the hike

We start from the Halimba Mayor's Office following the PT sign, and exit to the acacia border on Petőfi Sándor Street. For a while we walk on asphalt, but already in the Malom Valley rest park we follow the sign. On the left side, we can see a structure reminiscent of the entrance to a mine, and also a board that tells about the country’s first (1921) underground bauxite mine. Here there is no sign of the glaring red surface yet, only minor remains of the former mining operation can be seen in the vegetation.

The Bakony bauxite

The bauxite mined in the area for a long time required a tropical climate to form. The rock plate fragment forming the base of Transdanubia once lay in a tropical area but was later dragged to its current location. The bauxite deposits of the Transdanubian Mountains generally settled in depressions and basins of karstic rocks where river water transported the material. These lenses filled up over millions of years and only appeared on the surface during mining in recent history.

Forest path to the plateau

Returning to the wide road, we only have a few steps to reach a lovely forest rest area. Here you'll find not only a comfortable shelter, benches, and fire pits in the spacious clearing but swings and a football pitch as well. Although other playground equipment is no longer usable, the quiet picnic spot is perfect for family or friendly relaxation. However, bring water as unfortunately there's no spring nearby.

From the valley rest area, we must climb a few meters along the steep, forested slope behind the house. On the narrow path, we reach the plateau in a few minutes, where a completely new landscape greets us. A clearing stretching wide with oaks and blackthorn thickets spreads as far as the eye can see. Occasionally, fluttering seed hairs and juniper bushes dot the spring-flowered turf, while the thin topsoil broken with red spots reveals the presence of bauxite.

The path leading into the thicket and later forest eventually leads again to open terrain. From the wide dirt road at the edge of this wide meadow, we have a view to the neighboring Kab Hill with its 599 m summit, which looks only like a mound from here, as well as to a striking forest patch to the south, marked on Google Maps as the "Four-corner round forest." Those interested in discovering this small pine grove named after Ervin Lázár's children's novel can reach it via a wide dirt road — the detour is barely more than 2.5 kilometers round trip.

In the abandoned mine

At the junction leading to the “Four-corner round forest,” we are only a few meters from the former mining pit, hidden on our left by dense vegetation. Signs painted on trees and placed on stakes have guided us well this far, but further navigation is easier with a GPS because the overgrown and rugged terrain does not always clearly show the trail’s route. Several times, we have to fight through hanging branches of bushes and trees until the eagerly awaited sight appears before us. The contrast is especially striking in the spring growth when the red color of the soil, the bright green vegetation, and the blue sky create a picturesque view.

The view revealed from the edge of the mine is stunning. Our path descends into the vivid red slag pit’s walls and mounds, which nature is slowly but surely reclaiming. We must be cautious because the terrain is sometimes steep and slippery, and the slag stains everything it touches: do not sit down, do not put down your backpack, and do not touch anything unless you want to be dyed red yourself.

The history of Halimba bauxite

In 1908, retired colonel József Zalatnay Stürmer found a peculiar red-colored rock on his estate in Malom-ditch near Halimba; he thought its shade was due to its high iron content. It was examined but considered insignificant at the time. Shortly afterward, its industrial significance changed: bauxite became the raw material for alumina production, which is indispensable for aluminum production.

Although the domestic discovery of bauxite is linked to Halimba, industrial mining began first in Gánt in 1926, and by the 1930s, the 500,000 tons mined annually there was exceeded worldwide only by one country. Deep drilling began in Halimba during World War II, but extraction started only in 1951, with three mines opened until 1973. After the regime change, the industry declined, and production in Halimba lasted until 2013.

Today, only this special landscape feature recalls the large-scale mining in the area. Thanks to the area's reclamation and complete elimination of the mine, the scenery does not look industrial but rather a geological curiosity, with its vivid colors and distinct terrain resembling a Martian landscape.

Back to Halimba

We meander for nearly 300 meters between steep cliffs and slag heaps until the path leading through the bush rises to the plateau above the mine. On the way back to the village, we soon reach a dirt road where we can comfortably walk to the final stop—but at a point, the trail turns into the forest and descends to the bottom of a valley.

If we stay on the comfortable dirt road, the panorama opening to the north includes the striking cone of Somló. However, if we stay true to the thematic trail and branch into the dense parallel ditch at the information board, prepare for difficulties paired with interesting sights. The atmosphere in the mixed forest is quite different, thanks to the large beeches. We can expect fallen trees, undergrowth, and nettles mostly in the gentler valley exit area.

The straight dirt road leading to the village lined with acacias will feel like monotonous trotting. After a few minutes' walk, we turn onto Petőfi Sándor Street again near the chapel on Akácfa Street, and after a few steps, we return to our starting point.