Hegyestu

Hegyestu is a small hill north of Balaton whose basalt was quarried in the twentieth century until half the cone had been taken away, and the accident of that is a clean vertical face several tens of metres high showing the interior of a volcanic vent: columns fanning and standing in ranks like organ pipes, exposed in cross-section in a way that would take a mine to reproduce. Quarrying stopped and the site was made a geological open-air museum, with a rock garden of samples from around the Balaton uplands, an exhibition and a path to the summit at 337 metres, from which the basin, the basalt witness hills and the lake are laid out below.

What you'll find

• A quarried cross-section of a vent - columns exposed in a vertical wall.
• Fanning basalt columns - the pattern the cooling lava left.
• The rock garden - samples from across the Balaton uplands.
• The summit view - witness hills and the lake from 337 metres.

When to go

April to October. One to two hours. Morning or late afternoon light shows the column face best. The summit path is short but steep.

What to expect

It is a small site and an hour covers it. The exposed face is a quarry wall, which some find less impressive than natural formations. Opening is seasonal. There is little shade on the summit path.

Nearby

The Kali basin is south-west; Balatonfured lies east.

Key facts