I have been in Salgótarján since Tuesday and I use the good time for hiking. I walked 16 kilometers yesterday and 20 kilometers today. Not only because of the beautiful sight, but also because I want to improve my stamina. Maybe next year I will go through the Blue Tour, which is 1200 kilometers and leads from North-Eastern Hungary to Austria.
After 16 kilometers yesterday, I was so tired that I didn’t even feel like sitting at the computer. After today’s tour - albeit a little longer - I’m not that tired, just my legs hurt.
My first destination yesterday was the Pécskő rock, which is the remains of a volcanic cone. I couldn’t take good pictures of the rock itself in poor lighting conditions, but I climbed to the top and the view from there was amazing.
Due to the terrain, the town of Salgótarján is pushed into parallel valleys. There is a great distance between the different parts of the city, and it is often only possible to get from one place to another by large detours.
The Bear Plateau is beautifully visible from the cliff. Bear means bear
The largest mountain is Karancs, which rises above the city and is also called Palóc Olympos, not by chance. I'm going to climb it soon.
Kékestető is Hungary's highest mountain with its 1015 meters.
The Mátra mountains
The distant white rock already belongs to the Bükk Mountains. Its name is Bélkő, it used to be a limestone quarry.
Closer view of Bélkő:
The Medves Plateau is beautifully visible from the cliff. The Hungarian medve means bear. And it’s no coincidence either, because bears have been roaming that place for several years. Bear, wolf, lynx returned to this area. Do you see that weird cone at the bottom left?
Let's see that cone closer. What is that? Looks like a volcano, but it's artifical! Decades ago, slag from a nearby steel mill was laid here and shaped by erosion. It was called Ash Mountain by local children. It used to stink and smoke like a real volcano, but now it is slowly being recaptured by nature.
A nearby small village, Zagyvaróna
The castle of Salgó. Salgó means shining.
Tomorrow I will rest at home and continue my travelogue.
Preliminary: The Slag Mountain closeup, the source region of the river Zagyva, road to Salgóbánya.
