Everyone already knows the vast Hortobágy for its beautiful landscapes, animals and culture. But nowadays there is a greater focus on other equally beautiful rural areas, such as Lake Balaton. Now let’s put Hortobágy back in the spotlight for a while to see how its values still shine as brightly as before.

A distant mirage and the Nine Hole Bridge – if you want to see the real Hungarian wilderness, the Hortobágy, a World Heritage Site, is the place to be.

This unique lowland landscape has a millennia-old tradition of pastoral farming. The symbol of Hortobágy, the Nine Hole Bridge, was built in the 19th century for the gulyas. The 167-metre-long structure is Hungary’s longest stone road bridge – it is the one around which most of the attractions are located.

Start your trip at the Hortobágy Visitor Centre at the foot of the bridge. There is a multimedia exhibition showing the rich wildlife of the area, the crafts associated with pastoralism, as well as a virtual birdwatching and a late 19th century pastoral horse-drawn carriage ride.

In the Pusztai Animal Park you can get up close to the traditional domestic animals living in farmyards and pastures, the old Hungarian sheep, the Parlagian donkey, the Hutsul horse, the domestic buffalo, the grey cattle, the Parlagian goat or the domestic fowl.

For a taste of the wilderness, visit the Hortobágy Wildlife Park, where you can see jackals, wolves and vultures, while safari programmes bring you close to wild horses and wild mules. Few people know, but the protected national park section of the Hortobágy River is the hidden kingdom of the reintroduced Eurasian beaver, and the large rodents can be seen on a boat trip at dusk. One of the largest fishpond systems in Central Europe and the rich birdlife in the area can be explored on a walking trail, while the Hortobágy Bird Park’s Visitor Hospital is a place to see injured, recovering birds.

The traditional shepherd’s pie, slambuc, was first cooked in the Hortobágy. It is made from roasted bacon, lebbenc noodles and potatoes. According to tradition, it must be turned thirty-two times, and is only ready when it has formed a ball and the walls of the hot pot have given it a characteristic toasted flavor.

Don’t rush home even if it’s getting dark: let the observatories of the Hortobágy Observatory Park enchant you with the view of a sky free of light pollution!

Source: Turizmus.com/ Szántó Zoltán