Pákozdi-ingókövek természetvédelmi terület, Granite rocking-stone nature reserve in Pákozd, Hungary
Pákozdi-ingókövek is a protected area in the Velence Mountains featuring granite boulders shaped by erosion into smooth, rounded formations across 44 hectares. The site includes multiple cycling paths and a geological nature trail established in 1994 that connects the main rock formations.
The 44-hectare site has been protected since 1951 and is managed by the Danube-Ipoly National Park Directorate. Its granite blocks, exposed by erosion of the Velence Mountains, were shaped as water and wind carried debris and weathered material out of the fissures between them. Before 1991 the area served as a training ground for the Soviet army stationed in Hungary.
The rounded, erosion-smoothed boulders were called gyapjúzsákok, "wool sacks", in local speech. Named formations include the Gomba-kő (Mushroom Stone) and Kis-Cipó (Small Loaf) on the eastern slope of the Sár-hegy (226 m), and the Pogány-kő, Oroszlán-szikla, Kocka-kő and Pandúr-kő around the Pogány-kő summit (241 m). A lone formation outside the reserve near Sukoró is the Gyapjaszsák.
The formations are reached from Pákozd on several tourist paths that can also be cycled, and the Gránit geological nature trail established in 1994 links the main rocks. The terrain lies at 200–250 m above sea level on the slopes of the Sár-hegy and Pogány-kő, so expect uneven, rocky ground.
The Pagan Stone (Pogány-kő, 241 m) is topped by boulders bearing Cyrillic graffiti, left when the area served as a training ground for the Soviet army stationed in Hungary before 1991. The inscriptions are easy to miss among the granite blocks.
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