Forrest Mallard - April 28, 2021
National Blue Trail Stats
National Blue Trail
Start: Irrott-kö Mountain
End: Hollöháza
Total length: 701 miles (1,128 km)
Time to Complete: 10-12 weeks
Surface: Forest / Mountain Paths
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Number of sections: 27
Stamping places: 152
Total elevation: 31,550 m
Total descend: 32,130 m
Number of people who have completed: 6739 (as of Aug 2020)
Official Website (Hungarian)
Fan Website (English and thorough!)
Created in 1938, The National Blue Trail claims to be Europe’s oldest long-distance path in a country known for its large, flat plains and with a history of rural peasantry that meant walking was often the only way to travel. Hungary is proud of its rural traditions, so it should come as no surprise that this tiny country has more than 13,000 miles (21,000 km) of walking trails, of which this trail is justifiably its most famous.
If you want to begin the National Blue Trail at the official starting point, you first have to climb (or drive to) a mountain – Irrott-kö (2,900 feet/884 m) on the Hungarian-Austrian border. From there you descend to the 700-year-old town of Köszeg before crossing the Little Hungarian Plain, a 3,088-square-mile (8,000 sqkm) tectonic basin and part of the giant Pannonian plain, which encompasses most of the country and makes for easy, flat walking. There are ascents on this trail, mostly through the Northern Hungarian Mountains (Börzsöny, Mátra, Bukk), but this is not the Alps. Hollókö is a village nestled in a valley in the Cserhát Mountains, whose ethnographic history is so intact, it has World Heritage status. You also pass the stalactite caverns at Aggtelek, another World Heritage Site. The trail ends in Hollóháza in northeastern Hungary, the last of its hundred-plus villages and rural hamlets.
Number of Through-Hikes per Year
Includes three Walking Tours of Budapest
Comments
Hi! I'm Forrest Mallard
In 2005, I moved to Quito, Ecuador with $35 in my pocket and a small handful of online clients. Fifteen years and five continents later, there were moments of absolute glamour, as well as a number of brutal rough patches. But I always felt that a horrible day of travel is infinitely more preferable than a great day at the office. Oh the stories I could tell, and I will try to do that here in Tramposaurus Treks. You'll have access to the good times, the horrifying times, and a few well-deserved moments of travel glamour.
TRAVEL PLANNING
