National Day Hike to the Danube Bend

2023.03.02.

15 March is a national holiday in Hungary, which commemorates the Revolution of 1848 and symbolises national independence and democracy. As one of the first spring days of the year, it is often spent in nature by many locals. Let us also don our hiking boots and visit the Danube Bend. Highlights of the trip include the Hermit cave (Remete barlang), the Julianus lookout tower (Julianus kilátó), and the Chestnut tree nature trail (Gesztenyés tanösvény). The hike will be rounded off at the highly popular and justifiably famous café and cake shop “Édeske Cukrász Műhely” in Nagymaros. And all this at just 40 minutes by train from Nyugati Pályudvar (Western Railway Station) in Budapest.

Length and difficulty level:

13km, elevation difference: 600m, difficult sections along the route.

Terms and conditions:

Registration for ELTE GTK students and their guests is required. Follow the link to register. Data processing is subject to the data protection rules of Eötvös Loránd University and the Faculty of Economics.

Dear Students!
Rain is expected in the Nagymaros area on 15 March.
The event will not be cancelled due to the large number of participants, but will be held on Friday 17 March.
If you would like to participate on Friday, please contact gtk.turaklub@gtk.elte.hu with your name, Neptun code, phone number and e-mail address.
Best regards:
ELTE GTK Hiking Club

Meeting point, and departure:

Nyugati pályaudvar in Budapest, 8:40-9:00 a.m. on 15 March 2023. You can reach the railway station by metro (Line 3/Blue line or, more likely, its replacement bus), trams 4 and 6, etc.
Our train “MÁV Z70” leaves for Szob at 9:08. Check the platform on the display screens.
The train arrives at the Nagymaros–Visegrád railway station at 9:47. If you wish, you can join us there, too.

Start of hike:

Hikers leave the Nagymaros–Visegrád railway station at 10:00.

Return:

We need about 4-4.5 hours to complete the hike. Depending on the number and length of the stops we make, we expect to be back in Nagymaros between 14:30 and 15:00. Trains for Budapest leave at half-hour intervals. We plan to be back at Budapest’s Nyugati Pályaudvar at around 16:00.

Route map

Food and drinks, and practicalities:

Purchase a one-way ticket to Nagymaros-Visegrád only because we do not know which train we will take to return to Budapest.
Bring along some sandwiches or snacks, as well as a soft drink/a bottle of water as there are no shops or stands in the woods. Remember, 15 March is a holiday, so most shops will also be closed. Purchase your snacks and drinks on Tuesday.
Bring along a plastic bag for any waste you may have to save the environment (and your rucksack).
Toilets are found at the railway stations.
Good sturdy shoes are highly recommended. March is a spring month, but the wind may get chilly, so bring along a sweater or a jacket and a raincoat if the weather forecast suggest rain.
You can check the weather forecast here.

Look at some inviting photos (and a report in Hungarian) from an earlier hike to the same place here.

Summaries of previous hikes organised by ELTE GTK’s Hiking Club are available here.

For more information, call 30-241-7723. If you need information in English, write to your group’s email address: degreeprogramme@gtk.elte.hu, sh@gtk.elte.hu, or incoming@gtk.elte.hu.