Tour Horizont regions: Őrség

First region of the 2026 Tour Horizont. Section 27 of the Horizont route. 
🚴 Distance: 68,2 km I 🚵 Elevation gain: 633 m I 💪 Difficulty: 3/10

The 2026 Tour Horizont starts from Szentgotthárd, on the western border, and thus first takes on the Őrség region—which is ideal as a warm-up. The route has neither a long climb nor any technical sections for a good while, so it is no exaggeration to say that the Őrség was specifically designed for "joy-biking" and eating dödölle (a local dish).

One of the country's most beautiful ethnographic regions got its name from the fact that the Hungarian conquerors settled watchmen (őrállók) here to defend the western gate of the country. Perhaps they thought, "We can see as far as we need from here, and let the one with the bigger horse (gear ratio) climb the mountain."

Wide gravel roads winding through the forests connect open-air museum-like settlements one after another. The population density here is quite low—there are even villages where there is no pub—so those who rely on chance and local resources for refreshments had better seize every opportunity and restock their supplies whenever possible. For example, in the center of Szalafő, you'll find the Őrség Szíve Boltja (Heart of the Őrség Store), which is plain on the outside but genuinely full of heart on the inside.

It's not a hallucination if you see bison and wild horses after this, as their reserve is located next to the Pityerszer Open-Air Museum, where they peacefully lounge and graze while guarding the Horizont stamp. Although the gravel roads here are compacted to such an excellent quality that the designers of gravel bikes probably only dreamed of them, a more exciting route than the Őrség forests is still conceivable: long straight sections and right-angle turns alternate. Never mind, before the ride becomes monotonous, another village appears with some new attraction—be it an alpaca or a bell tower—followed by various refreshment options on the shore of Lake Vadása, including a chance to splash (although not for free).

It cannot be stressed enough how great it is to be a bikepacker here. The scenery is beautiful, and the road is beautiful, too, and the peat bog of Szőce and the village of Ivánc are so well-kept that they look like they were folded out of a catalog. If it's very hot, it's easy to find a shady hiding spot here for a nap or a picnic. With this, the Őrség adventure pretty much ends, but first, you still have to cross the Rába river back and forth to reach the Vízi Vándor Nature Conservation Visitor Center and the stamp located there.