Tour Horizont regions: Vértes

The sixth region covered by the 2026 Tour Horizont. This is the 19th section of the Horizont bicycle tour route.
🚴 Distance: 63 km I 🚵 Elevation gain: 897 m I 💪 Difficulty: 4/10

The Vértes is a charming mountain range with two faces. It has no truly high peaks, and surprisingly much of the route is paved, so at first it feels pleasantly fast and easy — but somehow, it never really is. The elevation gain quietly adds up, as do the sights along the way, all without passing through any major settlements. Precisely because of this, the continuous forests in the inner parts of the range provide refuge for species that are highly sensitive to disturbance.

These creatures are perhaps easier to imagine than some of the smaller species unique to the area, such as the banded centipede, the processionary moth that sheds poisonous hairs, or the winter moth. They sit on tree trunks and leaves, observing those who pass through, and although they have promised not to bother anyone, it is worth remembering that this is their home — humans are merely visitors here.

Between Mór and Csókakő, a dedicated bike path skirts around Csóka Hill and the castle perched along its edge. While the reconstruction of the castle was careful, it unfortunately lacked a certain subtlety. In the castle parking lot — which also serves as a checkpoint — there is a food truck offering genuinely delicious meals four days a week (nothing like the fictional roadside diner from Üvegtigris).

It quickly becomes obvious that the route passes through wine country, not only because of the endless vineyards and rows of tiny wine cellars, but also because the trail follows the Ezerjó Wine Route toward Csákberény.

Roughly where an old wine press stands, opposite a set of resting benches, you’ll find the Vértes Women’s Pantry. This little pantry is open even when it isn’t, because it operates on an honesty-box system. Whoever arrives first can leave however much cash they feel appropriate beside the fridge in exchange for jam-filled pancakes or homemade sheep cheese.

The climb through Horog Valley begins toward the unnamed quarry lakes. The sky-blue surfaces of these former brown coal mining pits are among the Vértes’s strangest treasures, although recently they have also made headlines. Odd things have been happening around Cicahomok, and not in the name of environmental protection. So despite the inviting cool waters, it is probably wiser not to swim there.

Around 25 kilometers fly by without encountering a village before finally reaching Kőhányáspuszta, a tiny place with only eight houses — one of which is a church. Of the remaining seven, one is a Swabian folk museum run by Feri, the hermit and Vacak, the dog. Feri 's little snack bar are supposedly always open, if he or Vacak hears the bell.

Vérteskozma is equally beautiful and quiet. Carefully restored Swabian farmhouses line the village streets. There are several ideal places to rest here: beside the church or in the panoramic cemetery meadow. From here, only the strictly protected and always cool Fáni Valley remains, followed by the gently descending Terv Road — originally built as a forest railway line — leading all the way to Szárliget.