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Kiskunság National Park (Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park) is in Southern Great Plain of Hungary.
Understand
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The park covers an area of 570 km² and stretches across the Little Cumania (Kiskunság) region of the Great Hungarian Plain. Declared a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO.
It is not a single territory, but comprises seven disjoint units, scattered throughout the area.
One of these is the Kiskunság's Puszta where annual events are held reviving the old pastoral life and cattle breeding customs.
Another is Lake Kolon near the town of Izsák. It is famous for its marsh tortoises, herons, expanses of untouched reeds and nine species of orchids which grow in the vicinity. An interesting natural phenomenon is the sand dunes in the vicinity of Fülöpháza. They are said to move under favourable wind conditions.
Main areas of the park:
- 1 Upper Kiskunság alkaline Steppes. After the Hortobágy region, this is the second largest saline steppe of the Great Hungarian Plain; its most famous part is Apaj. The area is located in the former low-lying floodplain of the Danube River
- 2 Peszéradacs Meadows.
- 3 Upper Kiskunság Alkaline Lakes (Felső-kiskunsági-tavak).
- 4 Fülöpháza sand-drifts (fülöpházi homokbuckák).
- 5 Orgovány Meadows (Ágasegyháza - orgoványi rétek).
- 6 Bugac puszta.
- 7 Mikla puszta.
- 8 Lake Kolon (Kolon-tó). birdparadise at village Izsák
- 9 Szikra and the Alpár Meadow (Szikra és az Alpári-ret).
- 10 Pusztaszer Landscape Protection Area (Pusztaszeri Tájvédelmi Körzet).
- 11 Mártély Landscape Protection Area (Mártélyi Tájvédelmi Körzet).
- 12 Körös-ér Landscape Protection Area (Körös-éri Tájvédelmi Körzet).
Nature Reserves managed by the Kiskunság National Park Directorate:
- The Habitat of the Grecian Foxglove near Bácsalmás
- The Mole-rat Reserve of Baja
- Csongrádi Kónya-szék
- Red Swamp of Császártöltés
- Geological Site of Csólyospálos
- Seven Valleys of Érsekhalma
- Sand Steppes of Hajós
- Hay Meadows and Loess Banks of Hajós
- Kalmár Forest
- Kéleshalom Sand Dunes
- Kiskőrös Swamp
- Fejetéki Swamp of Kiskunhalas
- Rattlesnake Fern Forest of Kunfehértó
- Szalag Forest of Kunpeszér
- Madarasi Marhajárás
- Lake Péteri
- Pusztaszeri Fülöp-szék
- Monument of the Seven Chieftains in Pusztaszer
- Pirtó Sand Dunes
- Lake Szelidi
Visitor information
[edit | edit source]- Park website: Kiskunság National Park english website
- Visitor centers
- 13 Kiskunság National Park Directorate (Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság), Kecskemét, Liszt Ferenc utca 19., ☏ +36 76 482 611, [email protected]. Mo-Fr 08:00-16:00.
History
[edit | edit source]Landscape
[edit | edit source]The alkali lakes of the Little Cumania are found near Fülöpszállás and Szabadszállás. Their unique flora and fauna are of special value. Avocets, geese, and black-winged stilts nest in the area. The lakes provide a temporary home for tens of thousands of migratory birds. This ornithologist destination is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Lake Szelid near Kalocsa, Lake Vadkert by Soltvadkert, Lake fehér, and Lake Sós at Kiskunhalas are spots for bathing and camping. There are many tourist trails, study trails, and lookouts within the national park. The main visitor center of the Kiskunság National Park, called the 'House of Nature', is situated in Kecskemét
Landscape protection areas
- Pusztaszer Landscape Protection Area
- Mártély Landscape Protection Area
- Körös-ér Landscape Protection Area
Get in
[edit | edit source]By plane
[edit | edit source]By train
[edit | edit source]By bus
[edit | edit source]By car
[edit | edit source]- M5 (E75) Motorway from Budapest to Szeged goes on the east side of the park areas.
- M5 (E73) Motorway from Budapest to Szekszárd goes on the west side of the park.
- Road 52 (E66) goes (W-E) Dunaföldvár to Kecskemét croses near the central areas of the park.
Fees and permits
[edit | edit source]Park rules
[edit | edit source]- Protected areas are the museums of nature.
- Bike and train are the preferred means of transportation for reaching the protected areas.
- Park your car at the designated parking areas.
- Do not stray off the trails!
- Be silent and observant!
- Do not leave a thing behind!
- Careful with fire!
- Everything for the eye, nothing for the hand!.Do not pick flowers during your walk.
- Keep dogs on a lead!
Get around
[edit | edit source]Parking
[edit | edit source]- 1 Parking Felsö-Kiskunsagi pustza, 5205, Kunbábony, Kunszentmiklós,.
See
[edit | edit source]- 1 House of Nature, Liszt Ferenc Street 19, Kecskemét. Mo-Fr 08:00-16:00. The building hosts a permanent exhibition with the characteristic habitats of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve and traditional professions. 500 HUF, student or retired 400HUF.
- 2 Shepherd Museum, Bugac (Follow the dirt road after the Karikás Restaurant for 1.5 km). from 15th April to 31st October, 10:00-17:00. The Shepherd Museum can be entered with a walking ticket purchased at the Karikás Restaurant. 950HUF, students 550HUF..
- 3 Reconstructed village from the Árpád Era (Árpád-kori falurekonstrukció), Szent István Street 1, Tiszaalpár. illustrates how settlements looked like at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin
- 4 Csólyospálos Geological Site. This geological formation of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve is the only stone of the plains.The Site, where a mixture of dolomite, limestone and dolomite mud was mined, was declared protected in 1978. The geological site is a strictly protected natural area; please do not leave the boardwalk when visiting.
Do
[edit | edit source]Hiking
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- Apaj, Duck Trail
- Ágasegyháza, Grey Willow Study Trail
- Ásotthalom, Magic Meadow Study Trail
- Bodoglár, Long lasting pink study trail
- Bugac, Trail of Birds and Trees
- Császártöltés, Red Swamp Study Trail
- Csólyospálos, Toadstone Study Trail
- Dunapataj, Blue-green Alga Study Trail
- Dunatetétlen, Csárda Kurgan
- Dunatetétlen, Kentish Plover Study Trail
- Érsekhalma, Earthen Fortification of Érsekhalma
- Fülöpháza Sand Dunes, Dyer’s Alkanet Study Trail
- Fülöpháza Sand Dunes, Dune Study Trail
- Fülöpszállás, Avocet Study Trail
- Izsák, Aqua Colun Study Trail
- Izsák, Bikatorok Study Trail
- Kecel, Natura Study Trail
- Kiskunhalas, Fejeték Study Trail
- Kunadacs, Orchid Study Trail
- Lakitelek, Cuckoo-pint Study Trail
- Mórahalom, Bittern Study Trail
- Mórahalom, Csipak Study Trail
- Páhi, Orchid Study Trail
- Pálmonostora, Grebe Study Trail
- Pusztaszer, Monument of the Seven Chieftains
- Szatymaz, Gull Study Trail
- Tiszaalpár, Earthen Fortification Study Trail
- Vaskút, Vaskút Kurgans Study Trail
Birdwatching
[edit | edit source]Events
[edit | edit source]Buy
[edit | edit source]Eat
[edit | edit source]- 1 Karikás Csárda, : 6114 Bugac, Nagybugac 135, ☏ +36 30 416 6439, [email protected]. W,Th,Su 10:00-16:00; F,Sa 10:00-20:00.
Drink
[edit | edit source]Sleep
[edit | edit source]Lodging
[edit | edit source]- 1 Kiskunsági Betyár Kuria, 0215/25 5211-es út, ☏ +36 76 352 427, [email protected]. Hikers and equestrian programs.