Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill and Component of Koniar plateau
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
180 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 23
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
180 km from Rudabánya to Rudabánya, about 3 h 23 of riding. It goes by way of Component of Esztramos Hill, Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, Component of Koniar plateau and back through Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst. It crosses from Hungary into Slovakia - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill
The Szendrő-Rudabánya hills are a modest ridge of low wooded hills in northeastern Hungary, between the Bódva and Sajó valleys, and they are not on any tourist itinerary. That is a large part of their charm. This is the quiet borderland near Slovakia, with small villages, orchards, vineyards and forests of oak and hornbeam, where the roads are empty and the pace slows to that of a cart.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill is where the day begins. Next is Component of Esztramos Hill.
2. Component of Esztramos Hill
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component of Esztramos Hill comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst.
3. Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
Under the hills on the border of Hungary and Slovakia lies one of the largest cave systems in Europe. The Baradla cave, entered from Aggtelek on the Hungarian side and from Domica on the Slovak side, runs for some twenty-five kilometres through limestone, a gallery of stalactites, stalagmites and underground rivers, and parts of it are open to visitors. It is the heart of the Aggtelek and Slovak Karst, a cross-border UNESCO site of more than seven hundred caves, listed in 1995 and extended in 2000. Concerts are held in the largest chamber, where the acoustics are excellent, and the temperature underground stays at a constant cool level, a relief in summer.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst. Next is Component of Koniar plateau.
4. Component of Koniar plateau
The Koniar plateau is a slab of limestone lifted above the surrounding valleys in southern Slovakia, one of the high karst tablelands that together make up the Slovak Karst. From the road it looks like nothing much: open grassland, scattered trees, a few pastures, steep wooded edges falling to the valleys of the Slaná and its tributaries. The interest is underneath. Rain soaks straight through the limestone, carving caves, shafts and swallow holes, and the whole cave system of the Slovak Karst and Hungary's Aggtelek, just over the border, is protected as a single World Heritage site. Nearby you will find the Ochtinská aragonite cave, filled with white needle-like crystals, the Gombasecká cave with its thin straw stalactites and, further north, the Dobšinská ice cave.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill closes the day.
Leg by leg
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill to Component of Esztramos Hill
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill → Component of Esztramos Hill is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Esztramos Hill to Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
Component of Esztramos Hill → Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst to Component of Koniar plateau
Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst → Component of Koniar plateau is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Koniar plateau to back through Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
Component of Koniar plateau → back through Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst to back through Component of Esztramos Hill
back through Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst → back through Component of Esztramos Hill is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component of Esztramos Hill to Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill
back through Component of Esztramos Hill → Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.