Bükk National Park

The Bükk Hills rise directly north of Eger, and the Bükk National Park is one of the most rewarding natural areas in Hungary. The plateau landscape — forested limestone hills, clear streams, hidden gorges, and extensive cave systems — offers excellent hiking within an hour of the city centre.

The most popular trails start from the village of Szarvaskő, which is reachable by bus from Eger, or from various points along the road north through the hills. The Bükk is known for its beech forests (bükk means beech), which are particularly beautiful in autumn. Marked trails cover a range of difficulties; the tourist office in Eger sells good hiking maps. The park also contains some interesting rock formations and the Lillafüred resort town near Miskolc, which makes a good day trip combining natural scenery and a 1930s lakeside hotel.

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The Bükk Plateau is a karst landscape riddled with caves — over a thousand are known, more than in any comparable area in Hungary. The Szeleta Cave at the edge of Miskolc contains some of the earliest evidence of human habitation in central Europe, including leaf-shaped flint points from around 35,000 years ago. The plateau's unusual geology also produces the cold springs that feed Eger's famous water supply, a fact that was understood and valued long before modern hydrogeology explained why.

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