Friar & Nun Rocks, Volcanic rock formation in Sirok, Hungary.

Friar & Nun Rocks are two rhyolite-tuff cliff formations on the side of Pap-kő in the Bükk region, about 400 metres northeast of the entrance to Sirok Castle, near the Törökasztal. Volcanic bombs embedded in the loose tuff hardened and protected the softer rock beneath from erosion, leaving the towers standing. A third western tower lost its top after the 1986–1987 earthquake series, including the quake of 9 September 1987.

The rocks are erosion remnants in rhyolite tuff, a loose volcanic material ejected during volcanic activity. Volcanic bombs embedded in the soft tuff hardened and later shielded the softer rock beneath them from erosion, leaving the formations standing. A photo from the mid-1980s still shows the head of the third, western tuff tower, which is missing from 1988 photographs; the damage was probably caused by the 1986–1987 earthquake series, including the quake of 9 September 1987 with its epicentre at Parád.

Folk tradition tells of a friar and a nun who fell fatally in love, agreed to leap from the rocks, and were turned to stone at the moment of jumping. Another local legend, worked up by Kandra Kabos in 1901, recounts the tragedy of Darnó fairy king, his daughter Tarna and the suitor Bodony. The rocks are also called Bálványkövek, Török ember and kőemberek.

You can reach the rocks through marked hiking trails that start from Sirok village and wind through the Bükk mountain landscape. Visit during warmer months when the paths are easiest to walk and the weather is most stable.

The rocks are rhyolite tuff, not dacite: volcanic bombs embedded in the loose ash hardened and shielded the softer rock beneath from erosion. A photo from the mid-1980s still shows the head of the third, western tuff tower, which is missing from 1988 pictures, likely lost in the 1986–87 earthquake series, including the 9 September 1987 quake centred near Parád.