The best hiking routes in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén offers a stark choice between the dense, forested highlands in the west and the flat, open plains in the south. In Bükki Nemzeti Park, you will walk on limestone paths through steep beech forests and across high grassy meadows, where the karst geology is visible in sinkholes and white rock outcrops. Just north of this, Aggteleki Nemzeti Park presents a more rugged, scrubby karst landscape underfoot, famous for its extensive cave systems and dry, rocky surface trails.

For a different experience, the southern edge of the region transitions into the northern reaches of Hortobágyi Nemzeti Park. Here, the paths are flat, dusty dirt tracks through alkaline grasslands and wetlands, where the focus is on traditional pastoral landscapes rather than elevation. There are no high peaks or deep valleys in this southern section, only a wide, horizontal landscape shaped by historic river flooding and grazing.

Walkers should expect quiet, rural trails that are often stony and steep in the northern hills, requiring sturdy footwear, while the southern plains demand preparation for sun exposure on unshaded dirt tracks. Well-known viewpoints near the cave entrances in Aggteleki Nemzeti Park can be busy with visitors in July, but the deeper forest trails of the upland parks remain quiet and demanding.