Hortobágy, National park and administrative area in Eastern Hungary
Hortobágy is a national park and administrative region in eastern Hungary covering vast grasslands and wetlands. The landscape features open steppes, shallow marshes, and scattered woodlands that form part of the Hungarian Great Plain.
The landscape formed roughly 10,000 years ago when the Tisza River shifted its course and created alkaline steppes. Over millennia, grazing animals shaped the terrain into the grasslands we see today.
Local herders keep ancestral farming methods alive through their daily work with cattle and horses. The way people care for animals here reflects traditions that have shaped the grasslands for centuries.
The area offers hiking trails and bird-watching spots spread across the landscape with observation points. Visitors should bring weather-appropriate clothing since the open grasslands provide little shelter.
The region protects its night sky from artificial light, allowing visitors to observe stars and the Milky Way without light pollution. This dark sky zone makes it an unexpected spot for stargazing across a European plain.
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