Esztramos is a lumpy limestone hill rising from the valley of the Bódva in north-eastern Hungary, a stone's throw from the Slovak border. For much of the twentieth century it was quarried for limestone and iron ore, and in the process the miners broke into caves hidden inside it, full of crystal formations. The Rákóczi Cave, the best known of them, has delicate aragonite crystals and pools, and the hill now forms part of the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, a World Heritage site shared between the two countries. Visits to the cave are limited and usually need to be booked, so check before you count on getting inside.
The karst region around here is riddled with caves, more than a thousand of them on both sides of the border. The most famous is the Baradla Cave at Aggtelek, a short ride west, a vast underground system with huge chambers and an underground passage that continues into Slovakia, where it becomes the Domica cave. Concerts are sometimes held in one of the halls because the acoustics are so good.
The region has a long industrial history too. Rudabánya, a few kilometres south, was a mining town for centuries, and in the 1960s fossils of an ancient ape were found in its old open-cast mine, giving the name Rudapithecus to a species that lived here millions of years ago. Szendrő, the nearest small town, has the remains of a castle and a quiet main street.
For riding, the Bódva valley and the surrounding hills offer gentle, unhurried roads through farming villages, woods and meadows. This is one of the poorest and least visited parts of Hungary, so traffic is light, but road surfaces can be rough, with potholes, broken edges and patched tarmac. Horse carts and slow farm vehicles share the roads, and dogs often run out from village yards. Across the border in Slovakia, the Slovak Karst plateau has more dramatic scenery, with gorges and cliffs.
Fuel is sparse in the small villages. The nearest larger town listed is Moldava nad Bodvou in Slovakia, about twenty-one kilometres away, while Edelény and Szendrő on the Hungarian side are closer for basics. Village shops sell bread, sausages and soft drinks, and a bowl of goulash or a plate of lángos in a local inn makes a satisfying stop.