ITINERARY

Our program in the morning is to walk around the Saint George Mountain that is an important venue of the Balaton Uplands as far as nature and culture are concerned. We set off at 8am from Hegymagas. After a 30-minutes walk we reach the baroque Lengyel Chapel located at the southern foothill of the mountain, which was built in 1760. At the same time, we visit the Tarányi Wine Press House in the chapel’s neighbourhood. The view over the Gulács, the Badacsony and the castle hill of Szigliget will be fabulous.

From here we walk along cultivated vineyards and old wine press houses until the Greek Orthodox Chapel and Hermitage that has been being built by a lonely monk for more than 15 years. In theory the chapel is not open to visitors but if we find the monk there, he will be pleased to let the Hunventure group in. It is worth going inside because fantastic murals cover the ceiling.

The iconic basalt organs of the Saint George Mountain can be reached after a 20-minutes walk from here. We can see them at close range and the more courageous ones may even stand on one of these formation. Then we walk 15 minutes up to the top of the mountain from where we have the opportunity again to enjoy the magnificent view over the buttes, Lake Balaton and the Mountains of Keszthely.

Our descent takes about half an hour and then we get back to Hegymagas from where we take the bus and visit Szigliget, where it is worth going up to the castle. We take a walk in the village too, because nicely renovated old thatched cottages line the streets of the ancient village. It is also a great experience to walk around the Külső Mountain as several superb lookout points have been established on it. We also visit the Szentháromság (Holy Trinity) Chapel and the Óvári lookout tower before we return to the centre of the village.

DISTANCE: 14 kms/9 miles
TIME: 5 hours
DIFFICULTY: easy