Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill and Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
485 km
Riding-time estimate
8 h 42
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.
From Rudabánya it runs 485 km to Rudabánya; allow about 8 h 42 of riding. It goes by way of Component of Plešivec plateau, Component of Esztramos Hill, Component of Koniar plateau and Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš. It crosses from Hungary into Slovakia - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
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 Plešivec plateau.
2. Component of Plešivec plateau
The Slovak Karst is a world of limestone plateaus and deep gorges in southern Slovakia, along the Hungarian border, and the Plešivec plateau is one of its great tablelands, a high, flat-topped block of rock rising steeply above the valleys of the Slaná and the Štítnik rivers. Its surface is a rolling steppe of grass and scrub, pitted with sinkholes, and beneath it lies a maze of caves and abysses, part of the UNESCO site of the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component of Plešivec plateau comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Component of Esztramos Hill.
3. 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
about 96 km into the recorded legs you reach Component of Esztramos Hill. 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 Koniar plateau, about halfway. Next is Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš.
5. Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
Master Paul of Levoča carved the tallest Gothic wooden altar in the world, and you can stand in front of it in the church of St James in the centre of this walled town in eastern Slovakia. Completed in the early sixteenth century, the altar rises almost nineteen metres, with life-size figures of the Virgin and saints in limewood, painted and gilded, under a forest of pinnacles. It is the masterpiece of a sculptor about whom little is known beyond his work, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of Levoča, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 485 km.
Leg by leg
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill to Component of Plešivec plateau
Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill → Component of Plešivec plateau is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Plešivec plateau to Component of Esztramos Hill
Component of Plešivec plateau → Component of Esztramos Hill is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Esztramos Hill to Component of Koniar plateau
Component of Esztramos Hill → Component of Koniar plateau is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Koniar plateau to Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
Component of Koniar plateau → Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš to back through Component of Koniar plateau
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš → back through Component of Koniar plateau is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component of Koniar plateau to back through Component of Esztramos Hill
back through Component of Koniar plateau → back through Component of Esztramos Hill is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component of Esztramos Hill to back through Component of Plešivec plateau
back through Component of Esztramos Hill → back through Component of Plešivec plateau is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component of Plešivec plateau to Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill
back through Component of Plešivec plateau → Component of Szendrő-Rudabánya Hill is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.