dossier

Hills of Hungary Walk

Day 1 - Arrival
A private taxi transfer (30 mins) to Budapest Keleti Station from where you catch a train (2.5hrs) to Eger. The hotelier meets you and takes you (5 mins) to your hotel where you have time for a swim before dinner. 

Day 2 - Eger Circular Walk 18km/11mi/5hr
Eger is one of Hungary’s loveliest Baroque towns, filled with dreamy church spires, castle walls and even a minaret that survives from the Ottoman occupation. It is easy to spend all day here, but for those wanting to be more energetic we have also provided a circular walk through ranks of emerald vineyards to a local hilltop, returning past cherry and apple orchards. As there are so many restaurants on your doorstep, we’ve left dinner up to you.

Day 3 - Felsotarkany to Szilvasvarad 18km/11mi/5hr
After a 20 minute transfer to Felsotarkany, a forest trail leads you into the Bukk National Park. Close encounters with deer and hare are likely as you ascend gently to emerge on a craggy limestone scar with panoramic views of the smoky Matra hills. Your route down passes two lonely German war graves – soldiers who were billeted with local families and were cut off, hunted down and killed by advancing Russian troops in 1944.

Day 4 - Szilvasvarad Circular Walk 17km/10.5mi/5hr
A steady climb past a tumbling cascade leads to a giant prehistoric cave in the beautiful Szalajka Valley – great for echoes! Look out for truffle hunters being pulled along by their dogs (and even pigs) in season, before emerging into open country for a picnic lunch amid Balkan blue grass and lady’s slipper orchid. Your sun dappled descent leads to a forest museum, with fascinating displays of ancient blast furnaces, charcoal pits and lime kilns – vital to the local forest economy in olden days.

Day 5 - Bankutto Lillafured 15km/9mi/4hr
A 30 minute transfer brings you to Bankut and a high plateau forest trail through pine and maple. Keep an eye out for mouflon – big sheep with curly horns – and local woodsmen using horses to drag timber, the way they have done here for centuries. After a picnic in a clearing full of satin flower and yellow wood violet, a winding descent leads you down to Lillafured – a hamlet at the junction of two steep valleys, set on a pretty lakeshore. You’ll spend the next three nights in our fairytale château hotel here.

Day 6 - Free Day
Relax in the hotel pool, roam in the rose gardens, take a guided tour of local caves, and see the tallest waterfall in Hungary next to the hotel! A taxi to the amazing cave spa in Miskolc, a post industrial steel town struggling to adapt in the modern Hungarian economy, is a fascinating and sobering journey – on arrival you can enjoy swimming in a cavern of natural hot water!

Day 7 - Lillafured Linear Walk 16km/10mi/4.5hr
Rattle and clatter on the narrow gauge railway to Garadna this morning, then walk up to the eerie C14 ruined church on a ridge – the Szenteleki Palos Cloister. This ridge leads gradually down past fire lily and Alpine rose, taking in three wonderful viewpoints along the way: you can picnic with views over Slovakia into Poland to the north, or overlooking the Lillafured valley from high limestone cliffs to the south. Back at the hotel, enjoy a palinka(local plum, cherry or apricot liqueur) on the lakeside terrace to celebrate a perfect end to the week.

Day 8 - Depart
Train back to Budapest to catch your flight home. Alternatively we can arrange for you to spend some extra nights exploring the beautiful city.