Hungary Surprises Above Ground And Below

Hungary is famous for its hot springs—there are more than 1000 of them and Budapest is known as the City of Spas, after all—but there’s so much more to this central European country. Here’s a taste of some of the other sites Hungary has to offer visitors, both above and underground.

Hungary’s caves and geothermal phenomena

The geology that gives Hungary its famous hot springs also gives dozens of caves to explore. The country has more than 40, including part of Europe’s largest stalactite cave system.

A spectacular underwater cave in Budapest benefits directly from Hungary’s hot springs. Molnár János Cave has waters ranging from 68 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit and is only accessible to scuba divers. Those with the right scuba certification can swim through the cavern’s clear waters to admire the karst formations and occasional fossils.

The Aggtelek Dripstone Cave is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a massive underground system of 712 caves partially in Hungary and partially in Slovakia. The largest such system in Europe, it has above-ground hiking trails in Aggtelek National Park and underground spaces for visitors to enjoy. Sometimes concerts are even held within the largest rooms of the cave.

One of Hungary’s, and indeed the world’s, rarest caves is Anna Cave. It’s a limestone tuff cave and visitors can explore over 1200 feet of it to see its unusual limestone formations and fossilized plants. Or, explore Tapolca Cavern by boat. Floating through the cave’s waters, you can see paleogeographic art depicting ancient plants and animals.

Csodabogyós Cave has a special treat growing outside that you might enjoy for dessert in one of Hungary’s restaurants. Csodabogyós is also known as Wonderberry Cave, named for the wonderberry bushes growing near its entrance. Look for wonderberries on Hungarian menus—the fruit is similar to huckleberries. You can explore almost four miles within Wonderberry Cave.

Hungary’s geothermal phenomena result in other unusual sites too. One example is the salt hill of Egerszalók, about 90 minutes from Budapest. The strange stone pools resemble the “cotton castle” white travertine terraced pools of Pamukkale in Türkiye. Also like Pamukkale, Egerszalók also has hot springs nearby that are known for their medicinal benefits. Another result of Hungary’s geothermal springs is geysers—lucky hikers have a good chance of seeing the Bükk geysers that appear for a few weeks in the spring and autumn.

Hungary’s castles

Above ground, Hungary is well known for its castles. There are more than a thousand of them, once inhabited by Hungary’s royal family and other elites and built as fortresses to defend the country.

Buda Castle, for example, is a Neo-Baroque palace in Budapest with views over the Danube. Originally built in the 14th century, it was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1987. Buda Castle’s grounds have tunnels and caves too, some of which can be explored by visitors. One way to get to the castle is via funicular—it’s the world’s second oldest funicular (after the Reisszug at Hohensalzburg Castle in Austria, which has been operating since the early 1500s).

Hungary’s castles have both beautiful architecture and beautiful gardens. The Festetics Palace in Dég, for example, has the country’s largest English garden, which is about the same size as New York’s Central Park. The Neo-classical palace was built in the early 1800s and it and its grounds are a popular spot for movie filming.

Another top castle to visit is Esterházy Palace in Fertőd, near Hungary’s Austrian border. Often called the Versailles of Hungary, the baroque palace is known for its music concerts and its expansive gardens.

Whether you prefer to visit above-ground castles or castle-like formations underground, Hungary has plenty of options to keep visitors busy. Just be sure to plan time to visit the country’s thermal spas—it’s essential for any vacation in Hungary to have time carved out for relaxing too.