1/26/2014

Quality Wines & Great Hiking: Badacsony

The storm is coming... panorama from Badacsony
Most of the tourists, who visit Hungary in summer, spend some days at Balaton in order to experience the incomparable atmosphere provided by Hungary’s biggest lake. Those who chilled enough on the shore and swam in the smooth water have lots of opportunities to try other forms of leisure. First of all, wine culture of Balaton Uplands is really rich, so the area is a genuine paradise for hedonistic wine lovers.  The most popular and important region where the best nectar is produced in huge vineyards is called Badacsony. (Note that the name Badacsony refers to a small village and to the hill [438m] as well).  The best way to get acquainted with local wines is to visit one of the inviting pubs or cellars where local wine-growers sell their goods. Secondly, one can visit exhibitions dealing with folk art and the history of the region. These are usually cheap but worth to visit! 


Shore, wine, culture, and art… this is what tourist can get if they decide to explore Badacsony. In addition, the hill is a unique place for hikers! Since the blog deals with must see hiking destinations, let us concentrate on the basic information hikers need to know about the area. The hill is laced with several safe hiking trails. Thestarts from Badacsony railway station, and leads up to the vineyards. If you choose this trail, stop for a glass of muscatel at Kisfaludy-House by all means. Then continue your trip on one of the roads: Kuruc-körút, marked withcircumvents the hill; theconducts you to Bujdosók lépcsője [Stairway of the Exiles] which is a long sequence of stairs made of basalt. Badacsony used to be an active volcano and the signs of volcanic activity are still visible on the surface. Some of these are the basalt-columns that remind the observers to surrealistic creatures made of grey rocks, guarding the top of the hill. An explanatory notice near the road says the following about this phenomenon, “as the basalt from the lava solidifies, it contracts, and because of this a series of column shaped cracks occur within it”.


There is a look-out tower at the top of the hill [438m] called Kisfaludy kilátó (those who only want to visit the tower take thefrom Rózsa-kő!), but before getting there one will go by Ranolder-kereszt which is a huge cross getting built by a bishop called János Ranolder. One can find these easily if they follow the blue sign. According to the local wine-growers, the cross protects the vineyards from decay. 


It does not take too much to discover this region, but one does not simply forget Badacsony if they visited it once! Taste quality wines, learn more about Hungarian culture, climb up to the majestic Badacsony, and take delight in the beautiful panorama that you can see from the lightsome look-out tower.  


Most important sights:


Bujdosók lépcsője 

Kisfaludy-kilátó

Ranolder-kereszt