Cserepvaralja Beehive Stones

Across the southern foothills of the Bukk stand cones and pillars of soft volcanic tuff, and several hundred of them carry shallow rectangular niches cut into their faces, usually about half a metre high, often in rows, with grooves around the edges that suggest something was once fixed over them. They are called kaptarkovek, beehive stones, on the theory that they held woven hives, but the dating is uncertain and other explanations have been argued for centuries, from burial niches to offerings; no consensus exists. Cserepvaralja has one of the better concentrations, reached on short marked trails from the village, together with a ruined castle site and tuff formations shaped by weathering into cones locally called the hats.

What you actually see

• Carved niches in tuff cones - rows of shallow openings with fixing grooves.
• Several hundred stones in the region - a concentration found nowhere else.
• An unresolved purpose - hives, burials or offerings, still argued.
• Weathered tuff pillars - the cone shapes the erosion leaves.

When to go

April to October. Two hours on the marked trails. Spring and autumn give the clearest views before and after leaf cover. Wear proper shoes; the paths are rough.

Honest expectations

The stones are small and easy to walk past; without the explanation they underwhelm. Trails are marked but rough and can be muddy. There are no facilities. The village has little else.

Nearby

Noszvaj cave dwellings are west; Eger lies beyond them.