|
Dear Nature-friend,
We are pleased to welcome you in the populous family
of the CBT hikers. You are not alone on your walks, because this booklet
is your faithful helpmate (from which this webpage was translated)
with all the data and the maps within it. The blue trail markers on tree
trunks, columns and buildings and the booklet will faithfully accompany
you (or lead you) on your way from the peak of Írott-kő to the village of
Hollóháza, along this 1100 km long trail.
When you reach your next stamping-place along your
journey, please stop for a moment and think about the group of voluntary
activists who made and who take care of the trail, the trail markers and
the stampers.
This movement helps us to discover the nature, the
manmade creations, the history and to meet the people of Hungary within the frames of hiking.
Everyone can walk along the Blue for her/his own
pleasure. However the Badge of the Countrywide Blue Tour is a sign of a
notable and remarkable achievement in sports, and it is officially granted
and registered. In order to have one, the following official rules and
regulations shall be kept precisely. In this way, you will be able to apply
for the Badge when the whole route is accomplished.
We wish you a lot of everlasting memories, pleasant
experiences, sunny weather, power and health for your successful
accomplishment in the forthcoming years.
Hungarian Nature-Friends' Association
I Cannot Know...
How others
see this region, I cannot understand:
to me, this little country is menaced motherland
with flames around, the world of my childhood swaying far,
and I am grown from this land as tender branches are
from trees. And may my body sink into the soil in the end...
(Miklós Radnóti) |
The Hiker Section of the Lokomotív Sport Club of Budapest announced the walk
crossing the country on the "Blue" hiking path (or simply the "Blue") in 1952.
The Committee of the Hiker Section of the Railway
Employee's Trade Union developed the movement on national level and
published the first booklet with some details and sketches about the whole
route within.
Later the organization and the control of the
Countrywide Blue Tour was taken over by the Hungarian Nature-Friends'
Association (because the huge number of hikers) in 1961, so the
accomplishment become available through all the local Nature-Friends'
Associations and individually also.
With the decision of the EWV (European Ramblers'
Association) the Countrywide Blue Tour was integrated into the long
distance trail network of the continent. So first the a Kőszeg-Budapest,
than (since 1995) the Kőszeg-Sátoraljaújhely section of the Countrywide
Blue Tour is part of the E4 long distance trail.
This booklet is a modernized and revised reprint of
the previous edition of the "Itinerary and Confirmation Booklet of the
Countrywide Blue Tour". The distance and elevation data is included with
the permission of "turistautak.hu".
Acknowledgements: András Kolesár and Zoltán Tamás Petró!
Field-work: András Bozó, László Kammel and Vencel
Pálmai
Editorial works: Vencel Pálmai
Publisher:
Magyar Természetbarát Szövetség (Hungarian
Nature-Friends' Ass.)
1065 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 31. II.3.,
Hungary
Mail: H-1396 Budapest, Pf. 483, Hungary
Tel.: (+36-1) 311-2467, (+36-1) 311-9289
Fax.: (+36-1) 353-1930
Internet:
http://www.termeszetjaro.hu/
E-mail:
mtszhir@enternet.hu
ANNOUNCEMENT OF
THE COUNTRYWIDE BLUE TOUR -
The aim of the Countrywide
Blue Tour (CBT):
to give a chance to the hikers to do sports regularly as they
walk on the route, and help them to get acquainted with the life and
everyday work in different parts of our country and the advance of
Hungary. To help and inspire the hikers to discover the natural beauties,
the history, the geography, the hydrogeology and the various creations
of different centuries. -
The coordinator of the Tour:
the Hungarian Nature-Friends' Association (HNFA). In Hungarian: "Magyar Természetbarát Szövetség"
(MTSZ) -
The route of the Tour:
the 1128 km long "Countrywide Blue" (marked with a blue stripe between
two white ones) running through the points mentioned in the
Official Booklet, from the peak of Írott-kő in the County of Vas to the
village of Hollóháza in the County of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. -
Checkpoints:
marked with an icon of a stamper in the Booklet. Generally they are in
settlements (in small shops, bars, offices, etc.), or at train or bus
stops, but anyway the name of the exact place is always named in the
Booklet in the framed boxes, within the stampings are have to be done
for verification. -
Accomplishment of the Tour:
you can accomplish the Tour on your own or in a group, from the age of
6, regardless of your nationality, in any direction, divided into any
number of sections in any order, on foot or by ski (or combined). The
duration and the date is not limited nor fixed. -
The validation of the
accomplishment: the participant hiker must prove (without rebuke) the
accomplishment of the route of the CBT and the crossing of all the
checkpoints. Usually it is done with the stamping, and
the dating of the proof at every checkpoint using the personal Booklet.
The hiker must stamp at every checkpoint. If it is not possible, than
any other local stamps with the name of the (closest) settlement
displayed on it are going to be accepted. The hiker must stamp at the
end and at the beginning of a hike. So if an official section is not
accomplished in one day or on successive days without any interruptions,
then the hiker should stamp twice (at the end of day one, and at the
beginning of day two) into the framed box of the checkpoint where the
section was interrupted, except if
the checkpoint is at the end or at the beginning of an official section -
because then there are two boxes, one for the end of the first, and one
for the beginning of the second official section. If it is not possible
to stamp at all, than photographs will also be accepted, as long as the hiker
and the checkpoint are both recognizable on it. After the accomplishment
of the whole route, the personal Booklet has to be handed over to the
competent committee of the Nature-Friends' Association of Budapest, or
the County where the hiker is registered at. Then the accomplishment
will be checked and validated, and if it is everything OK, then the
Badge will be handed over. -
The Badge of the Blue Tour:
anyone who accomplishes the Blue Tour obtains the Blue Tour Badge of HNFA,
which is free of charge for the members of the HNFA. Without the
certificate of membership, the hiker has to pay the actual production
cost of the badge. The Badge (that you can see on the cover of the
Personal Booklet) is an irregular quadrangle with a trail (with a Blue
trail marker on a post) going to the direction of the mountains, and in
a red stripe below there is a subtitle saying "Országos Kék-túra MTSZ" (Countrywide
Blue Tour HNFA). The Badge is handed over by the centre of the HNFA on a
small ceremony - if it is possible. The HNFA keeps a record of the
people who accomplished the CBT. -
You can accomplish the Blue Tour several times. In
that case, the badges after the first have to be bought by the hiker. -
The Hungarian Nature-Friends' Association announced the
Children's Blue Tour (ChBT or Gyermek Kéktúra - GYKT in Hungarian) with
a reduced distance of 300 km for the children between 6 and 14. The
ChBT has nine regions.
Regions of the Children's Blue Tour (Hungarian
names in brackets):
-
Kőszeg - Kemeneshát -
The Highland of Balaton (Balaton-felvidék) -
Bakony -
Vértes - Gerecse -
The Mountains of Pilis and Buda (Pilis
- Budai-hegység) -
Börzsöny - Cserhát -
Mátra -
The Mountains of Bükk and Aggtelek (Bükk - Aggteleki-hegység) -
The Mountains of Cserehát and Zemplén (Cserehát
- Zempléni-hegység)
A Regional Badge of the Children's Blue Tour can be
obtained with the accomplishment of at least 50 km in a region. The
Badge of the ChBT can be obtained, with the accomplishment of at least
300 km. In case there is a leader who organizes and leads the a group
of at least 6 children, he or she can also obtain the badge (payment as
described in point 7).
Only one Badge can be obtained within a region.
The distance accomplished within the ChBT can be
included in the accomplishment of the CBT as well.
The validation process is the same as it is in the
case of the CBT. -
Other remarks: the route of the CBT can not be
changed by the members or committees of the County's or Local
Nature-Friends' Associations, or by any other hiker organizations! The
suggestions (if there are any) on alternative routes should be forwarded
to the HNFA.
USEFUL ADVICES
If there is a change in the route of the CBT during
the accomplishment (and it is published in a new edition of the Personal
Booklet), the hiker does not need to repeat the previously completed and
validated sections on the new route, and stamp at the new checkpoints
according to the new Booklet, because the earlier route was valid at the
time of her/his walk. However it is not advised to start your next section
on the old route, because it may cross private and prohibited areas,
therefore there will not be any stamps at the old checkpoints.
You have to stamp only at particular places (village,
railroad station, tourist hostel or forester's house, etc.), where the
name of the checkpoint is prescribed in the corresponding box of your
Personal Booklet. You do not need to stamp at those railroad stations or
train stops, which are shown within brackets, only if they are the
starting or ending points of your hike, because the distances between the
route of the CBT and these buildings are bigger than 0.5 km. (However,
much of the hikers use to stamp on those places, because there is a box
for those in the Booklet - and so they have a "full" booklet at the and of
their completion.)
If it is possible, you always have to use the
official stamp of the HNFA or the circle stamp with a dater from the
Hungarian State Railways Ltd (you can ask for it at the stations). If the
stampers are lost or damaged, than any local stamp (from a company, an
office, a shop, school, church, etc.) with the name of the settlement on
it will be accepted. It is possible to ask for a dated stamp (cancellation
stamp) at the Post Offices, but then the officer may ask you to buy one
stamp into your Booklet.
There is a written agreement between the HNFA and the
Hungarian State Railways Ltd and the pubs where official stempers are held,
but please never ask for the stampers with a pretentious tone.
It is useful (and advised) to carry an ink pad with
you along your hikes, because the inking of the official stampers can not
be guaranteed.
There could be several cases, when buildings marked as tourist hostels
("turistaház" or "th." in Hungarian) in the Booklet are not hostels any
more in reality, but they are restaurants, pensions or buildings under
reconstruction. The reason for it is that these kinds of changes are very
common, and there is no possibility to correct the Booklet immediately or
permanently.
If unavoidable events (such as mining,
forest works, a closed road, erosion by sudden rainfall, etc.) make
impossible the accomplishment of the officially marked route, please immediately
inform the Walking Committee of the Hungarian Nature-Friends' Association
(by telling the exact place of it).
We also kindly ask you to tell us all your other
problems in connection with the Tour. Feel free to write an e-mail to the
Walking
Committee of the HNFA about the possible shortcomings along the trail
and your experiences about the route.
The elevation values are valid in the direction from
Írott-kő to Hollóháza, with "+" numbers meaning the elevation gain in this
direction, and the "-" numbers meaning the elevation loss. The time
estimates were calculated assuming a normal walking speed of 4 km/h, and that every
10 m of elevation gain lengthens the time needed with 1 minute. But please
keep in mind, that bad weather conditions (snow, ice, mist, fog, mud, wind, twilight,
etc.), hard, steep terrain, heavy equipment and pack (food for several
days, tent, etc.), children or beginners (or injured participants) can significantly lengthen your
hiking time.
Below the Table of distances, elevation gains and
estimated times, a separate table contains the same kind of data
of the so called "by-pass roads" between the route of the CBT and some
particular checkpoints and railway stations at the end or at the beginning of
sections (if the distance is bigger than 0.2 km from the CBT).
1 km equals to 0.6214 mile and 1 m equals to 3.28
feet (for the "non SI people").
Everyone who has accomplished the CBT can buy a
special "CBT Buttonhole-Badge" at the centre of HNFA, but only once!
TABLE OF DISTANCES, ELEVATION GAINS
AND ESTIMATED TIMES:
|
|
distance (km)
|
elev. gain (m)
|
loss (m) |
time (h:m) |
|
1. section: |
Írott-kő - Sárvár
|
69.5 |
541 |
1265 |
18:11 |
|
2. section:
| Sárvár - Sümeg
|
72.3 |
553 |
518 |
18:58 |
|
3. section: | Sümeg - Keszthely
|
43.8 |
792 |
835 |
12:11 |
|
4. section: |
Keszthely
- Tapolca | 27.0 |
510 |
509 | 7:35 |
|
5. section: |
Tapolca -
Badacsonytördemic | 16.7 |
477 |
394 | 4:57 |
|
6. section: |
Badacsonytördemic
- Nagyvázsony | 45.4 |
1646 |
1340 | 14:02 |
|
7. section: |
Nagyvázsony
- Városlőd-Kislőd railyay station | 24.1 |
603 |
557 | 7:00 |
|
8. section: |
Városlőd - Zirc | 41.0 |
1128 |
1045 | 12:03 |
|
9. section: |
Zirc - Bodajk,
Csókakő railway station | 58.9 |
1338 |
1578 | 16:53 |
|
10. section: |
Bodajk,
Csókakő railway station - Szárliget | 49.7 |
1322 |
1235 | 14:34 |
|
11. section: |
Szárliget
- Dorog | 65.1 |
2000 |
2098 | 19:32 |
|
12. section: |
Dorog -
Piliscsaba railway station. | 18.6 |
504 |
402 | 5:27 |
|
13. section: |
Piliscsaba
- Hűvösvölgy | 20.9 |
541 |
529 | 6:07 |
|
14. section: |
Hűvösvölgy
- Rozália Brickyard (Bécsi road) | 14.2 |
496 |
602 | 3:45 |
|
15. section:
| Rozália Brickyard (Bécsi
road) - Dobogókő
| 22.2 |
1058 |
486 | 7:17 |
|
16. section: |
Dobogókő - Visegrád, ferry | 24.2 |
611 |
1200 | 7:02 |
|
17. section: | Nagymaros - Nógrád
| 38.7 |
1571 |
1465 | 12:15 |
|
18. section: | Nógrád - Becske
| 60.2 |
1806 |
1839 | 18:02 |
|
19. section:
| Becske - Mátraverebély
| 69.6 |
2047 |
2087 | 20:43 |
|
20. section: | Mátraverebély - Mátraháza
| 27.6 |
1303 |
774 | 9:05 |
|
21. section: | Mátraháza - Sirok
| 21.6 |
854 |
1424 | 6:48 |
|
22. section: | Sirok - Szarvaskő
| 19.9 |
582 |
512 | 5:55 |
|
23. section: | Szarvaskő - Putnok
| 57.3 |
2085 |
2164 | 17:44 |
| 24/a. section:
|
Putnok - Aggtelek
|
31.1 |
672 |
460 |
8:52 |
| 24/b. section:
|
Aggtelek - Bódvaszilas
| 31.4 |
943 |
1138 | 9:20 | | 25. section:
|
Bódvaszilas - Boldogkőváralja
| 62.7 |
1190 |
1192 | 17:35 | | 26. section:
|
Boldogkőváralja - Bányi Saddle
| 51.6 |
1580 |
1557 |
15:39 |
|
27. section: |
Bányi Saddle - Hollóháza
| 42.9 |
1460 |
1345 | 13:08 |
|
Sum.:
| 1128.2
|
30213 |
30550 |
332:24 |
Detailed table of the tour sections
TABLE OF BY-PASS
ROADS ALONG THE CBT: | |
distance (km) |
elev. gain (m) |
time (min) | |
at the 1. section:
| Kőszeg railway station -
CBT
| 1.7 | 10 |
26 | |
Ölbő-Alsószeleste railway
station - CBT |
0.8 |
10 | 13 | |
at the 2. section:
|
Ötvös
railway station - CBT | 1.1 | - |
16 | |
at the 3. section:
|
Keszthely
railway station - CBT | 1.2 | - |
18 | |
at the 4. section:
|
Tapolca railway station
- CBT | 0.8 | - |
12 | |
at the 8. section:
|
CBT - Németbánya |
0.3 | - |
5 | |
at the 9. section:
| CBT -
Bakonynána | 0.5 |
- | 8 | |
CBT - Jásd |
0.4 | 20 |
8 | |
at the 10. section:
| CBT - Mindszentpuszta |
0.2 | - |
3 | |
CBT - Castle of Gesztes | 0.5 |
30 | 10 |
|
at the 14-15. section:
|
Bécsi road, bus n. 18. - Rozália
Brickyard, CBT |
0.5 | - |
8 | |
at the 18. section:
| CBT - Magyarkút,
Irma-spring | 0.3 | - |
5 | |
CBT - Becske-alsó railway
station | 1.2 |
- | 18 | |
at the 21. section:
|
CBT - Kékestető, Sanatorium | 0.3 |
- | 5 | |
at the 23. section:
|
CBT - Telekessy Shelter |
0.2 |
20 | 5 | |
at the 24/b. section:
| |
CBT - Bódvaszilas
railway station | 0.5 | - |
7 | |
at the 27. section:
|
Sátoraljaújhely
railway station - Bányi Saddle | 5.4 |
277 | 108 | |
Sum.: |
15.9
| 367 |
275 |
TABLE OF
AVAILABLE HIKER MAPS COVERING THE CBT:
|
Hungarian title |
English title |
Scale |
Publisher |
|
Kőszegi-hegység |
Mountains of Kőszeg |
1:25000 |
Kőszeg
Tourist | | Kőszegi-hegység és
környéke | Mts. of
Kőszeg and its environment |
1:40000 | 13 |
|
Kemeneshát - Marcal-medence
| Kemeneshát and the
Basin of Marcal |
1:50000 |
MTSZ
| | Zalai-dombság (Kelet)
| The Hills of Zala (Eastern part) | 1:50000 | MTSZ
| | Keszthelyi-hegység
| Mountains of
Keszthely |
1:40000 | 34 |
|
Balaton |
Lake Balaton |
1:40000 |
41 | |
Bakony északi rész
|
Mountains of Bakony - Northern part |
1:40000 |
2 | |
Bakony déli rész
| Mountains of Bakony -
Southern part |
1:40000 |
3
| | Keleti-Bakony
|
The Eastern Bakony |
1:40000 |
TÁJOLÓ 98 Bt. | |
Vértes |
Vértes Mountains |
1:40000 |
20 | |
Gerecse
| Gerecse Mountains |
1:40000 |
1 | |
Pilis és a Visegrádi-hegység
|
Pilis Mts. and the Mts. of Visegrád |
1:40000 |
16 | |
Budai-hegység és a Pilis
|
Mountains of Buda and the Pilis Mts. |
1:30000 |
Térkép-Center | |
Budai-hegység
| Mountains of Buda |
1:40000 |
6 | |
Börzsöny
|
Börzsöny Mountains |
1:40000 |
5 | |
Börzsöny |
Börzsöny Mountains |
1:30000 |
Térkép-Center | |
Gödöllői-dombság
| The Hills of Gödöllő |
1:50000 |
MTSZ
| | Cserhát
|
Cserhát Mountains |
1:60000 |
8 | |
Mátra |
Mátra Mountains |
1:40000 |
14 | |
A Mátra és a Mátraalja
|
Mátra Mountains and the Mátraalja |
1:30000 |
Térkép-Faragó Bt. | |
Bükk északi rész
|
Bükk Mountains (Northern part) |
1:40000 |
29 | |
Bükk déli rész
| Bükk Mountains (Southern
part) |
1:40000 |
30 | |
Bükk szabadidő és turistatérképe |
The Freetime activity map of Bükk |
|
Z-Press | |
Aggteleki karszt és környéke
|
The Karst of Aggtelek and its env. |
1:40000 |
1 | |
Cserehát
| The Hills of Cserehát |
1:50000 |
Csereháti Településszöv.
| | Zempléni-hegység
északi rész
| Mountains of Zemplén (Northern
part) | 1:40000 |
22 |
Nowadays the whole route of the
Countrywide Blue Tour is well covered with maps. There is also a very
useful and informative CBT Atlas (in two volumes, with all the maps
included), with detailed description of the route, the geography, the
flora and fauna and also with the history of the regions. It is
available only in Hungarian, but it is a "must have" if you would like to
accomplish the route without buying more than twenty folded maps... So it
is very practical. The Hungarian titles and the ISBN numbers are the
following: Volume I. - Az Országos Kéktúra Írott-kőtől
Budapest-Hűvösvölgyig (ISBN 963 352 535 7 CM) | Volume 2. - Az Országos
Kéktúra Budapest-Hűvösvölgytől Hollóházáig (ISBN 963 352 536 5 CM).
You can buy these maps in map-shops and in all the
larger bookstores. The table was updated in May, 2007. The maps with a
number in the Publisher column are published by Cartographia Kft.
There is also a free and daily updated, very detailed
map of Hungary (with hiking trails and elevation contours) for GPS devices,
which you can download from
turistautak.hu.
BADGES FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PARTS OF THE CBT:
Beside the Blue Tour Badge of HNFA, there are three
other badges that you can apply for after the accomplishment of specified
sections of the Countrywide Blue Tour. These so called "Hikers' Movements
for Badges" are organized by the Nature-Friends' Association of the County
of Csongrád, the NFA of the County of Heves and by the NFA of the County
of Veszprém. You can find their official regulations and some practical
information in the paragraphs below (the Hungarian names are also shown in
the titles).
 Hikers'
Movement for a Badge - The CBT from Dorog to Nográd - "A
Dorogtól Nógrádig jelvényszerző túramozgalom": Terms
and conditions: to be able to apply for the Badge of the Movement, the
Hiker have to be a member of the HNFA and the Hiker have to accomplish the
Countrywide Blue Tour's sections between Dorog and Nógrád (so she/he has
to collect all the stamps at the checkpoints of these sections).
Application procedure: the Hiker have to send a copy of the relevant pages
(page 7 - personal information, and pages from 38 to 48 - the stamps from
the checkpoints) from her/his Personal Booklet to the mail address of the
County's NFA (Csongrád Megyei Természetbarát
Szövetség - Tábor u. 7/b., Szeged, 6722, Hungary). They
will send the Badge within 2 or 3 weeks, and ask the Hiker to pay the
actual production cost and the postage of the Badge using a so called "pink
cheque". For more information, please make a phone call to the NFA of
the County of Nógrád. Please call them within office hours
(4:30 PM - 6:30 PM on Wednesday) and use +36-62-548096.
Hikers' Movement for a Badge - The CBT Across the
Mátra and the Bükk Mountains - "A Mátra-Bükk útjain jelvényszerző túramozgalom":
Terms and conditions: to be able to apply for the Badge of the Movement,
the Hiker have to accomplish the Countrywide Blue Tour's sections
between Mátraverebély and Putnok (so she/he has to collect all the stamps
at the checkpoints of these sections). The application procedure: the
Hiker have to present personally the relevant pages (page 7 - personal
information, and pages from 56 to 63 - the stamps from the checkpoints) of
her/his Personal Booklet at the NFA of the County of Heves (Heves
Megyei Természetbarát Szövetségnél - Dobó tér 6/a, Eger, 3300, Hungary).
You can find the street number 6/a on the Eszperantó promenade between
Dobó square and Lajos Kossuth street. There is a multi-storey building
with an "APEH" inscription at the entrance. The NFA is on the 3rd floor,
please ask for István Franczia. For more information, please call
+36-36-312888 (within office hours - between 2 PM and 5 PM on Thursday).
They will ask you to pay the production cost also.
[Source of information: the editors of okt.rulz.hu]
 Hikers'
Movement for a Badge - The CBT in the County of Veszprém - "A
Veszprém Megyei Kéktúra jelvényszerző túramozgalom": Terms
and conditions: to be able to apply for the Badge of the Movement, the
Hiker have to be a member of the HNFA and the Hiker have to accomplish the
Countrywide Blue Tour's sections between Sümeg and Bodajk (so she/he has
to collect all the stamps at the checkpoints of these sections). The
application procedure: the Hiker have to send a copy of the relevant pages
(page 7 - personal information, and pages from 18 to 31 - the stamps from
the checkpoints) from her/his Personal Booklet to the mail address of the
County's NFA (Veszprém Megyei Természetbarát Szövetség -
Wartha Vince
u. 3., Veszprém, 8201, Hungary). The NFA will send the Badge
within 2 or 3 weeks, and ask the Hiker to pay the actual production cost
and the postage of the Badge (they will send the "bill" also with the
Badge). For more information, please phone Éva Mag (leader of the NFA of
the County of Veszprém). There are two phone numbers: within office hours
(after 2:30 PM on Tuesday) use +36-70-2525697, otherwise please call their
central number: +36-88-426211.
This page is based on
The Official Personal Booklet (edition 2007)
and personal experiences.
Attention! This page is NOT an official translation (and there is no
official translation at all)! |
