Signs, Rules, Advices

Last weekend I was hiking in Buda-hills. It was the first organized performance trip I took part in and I’ll post about it next week. Not now, because I feel that I need to share some essential information you definitely need to know before you go to a Hungarian hike. The hiking signs, fire lighting regulations, and rules governing camping in the forest are different in various countries. If you don’t know how to interpret the signs, you can easily get lost; moreover, anyone who violates the rules may be punished. For these reasons, I strongly recommend that you read the following concise post. 

Hiking signs in Hungary are quite easy to remember and understand. These are painted on a 100 X 120 mm white background, using four colors (blue, red, yellow and green). In maps, trails are not indicated with these colors, but you can find capital letters next to them: K, P, S, Z; these are the initials of Hungarian words referring to the color of the particular route. The main and most important trails are indicated with horizontal line or cross . A triangle  is used to show a trail leading to a peak, hilltop, or lookout turret. If you would like to reach a populated area or a shelter house, you need to follow the square . Care for some fresh spring water? Look for the circle,  it leads to a place where you can find potable water! You can also find some special signs indicating caves and ruins . 

Light a fire only if it is permitted in the area you are hiking in. Check this website for information: Click here! (Red means forbidden). If it is allowed, find a built forest “fireplace” or simply form a circle with rocks and light a fire there. Make sure that you extinguished the fire properly before you continue your trip. Pour some water on the ember and cover it with sufficient amount of soil. Remember that even one little spark can cause a huge disaster. 

Finally some words about camping in the wild. Lots of people think that in Hungary it is completely forbidden to set up a tent in the woods and spend a night there. Actually it is not. Obviously, highly protected national parks are exceptions. If you contact a member of a local forestry and want to spend only one night in a particular area, than you may do so. Try to cause minimum harm to nature: Do not litter, do not break branches unnecessarily, and do not throw away your cigarette stub. 

Leave your camping place as if you had not been there. An example of a special hiking sign in Sopron-parkforest. It indicates the "cyclamen-trail". I shot the photo above this morning. 

Here We Go!

Most of the people from abroad and even Hungarians may think that Hungary is not an ideal place for hiking. There are no dizzyingly high mountains, (the highest point is called Kékestető, “only” 1,014 meters above sea level) deep canyons, and dangerous volcanos. Although, we do not have these features, Hungary has several spectacular places for everyone who loves being outdoors. The monadnocks of Balaton Highlands, (Hun: Balaton-felvidék) the Danube Bend (Hun: Dunakanyar), and the Hortobágy, which is the largest natural grassland in Europe, are only some of the wonders of this small but beautiful country.

I have been hiking for years now and I also participated in canoe and cycling trips in Hungary and on abroad as well. Originally, I was required to create a blog as an academic task. I reckon it is really hard to find a good blog topic which is not hackneyed; it is even harder to write engaging posts about it weekly. I realized that outdoor activities are parts of my life, so I decided to create this blog and share my hiking experiences with everyone who would like to hike here and feel the unique atmosphere of Hungarian landscape.  

For the first time, I was hiking near my hometown at Sopron-mountains, (Hun: Soproni-hegység, Ger: Ödenburger-Gebirge) close to the "Foot of the Alps" and I became attached to this activity and nature there. Some of my posts will focus on the hiking opportunities in that particular area. Now I am studying in Budapest; therefore, I can easily go for a trip to Buda-hills (Hun: Budai-hegység) or Pilis Mountains (Hun: Pilis hegység). I am a rather spontaneous person, so I do not do thorough planning before hiking; I just find a destination, take a relevant map, put on my boots and start off. Of course, in this blog I will provide the readers with every piece of necessary information about the hike and the essential gear which must be used.  

And finally, I would like to recommend a useful book: (If you happen to be a Hungarian reader you are lucky). Balázs Nagy, Trekkingtúrázás Magyarországi túraútvonalak. Budapest: CSER, 2011. I find this book really advantageous. It contains not only illustrated descriptions of Hungarian hiking trails, but it serves with some general advices about hiking. Fortunately, the structure of the book is so clear that you can easily deduce the most important pieces of information, (destination, length, elevation) even if you are a non-Hungarian person.  

Thank you for reading this, next week it is going to be more exciting! See you!