Plan a trip to Szentbékkálla around two specific themes: the rocky landscape of Kőtenger and local history and seasonal music.
Kőtenger: Rock formations and Kelemen-kő
On the outskirts of Szentbékkálla lies Kőtenger, a lightly wooded area with large boulders and a geological natural monument of the Balaton Uplands. One distinctive formation within the area is Kelemen-kő: its uppermost stone slab, weighing around 10 tonnes, rests on the rock beneath it at just three points. The extensive rocky landscape and one precisely describable geological feature stand side by side.
Route and cycling
Kőtenger lies along the Országos Kék-túra route and is accessible by bicycle. These are different considerations when planning an excursion: its location on a named route and its accessibility by bicycle. Check current conditions before setting out.
Local history museum and summer concerts
The Szentbékkálla local history museum displays fossils from the Pannonian Sea and finds from Roman times. If you are planning a visit, check in advance whether and when visits are possible. Another seasonal cultural highlight is the classical summer concerts by the Grazioso Chamber Orchestra in Szentbékkálla’s late Baroque Catholic church. The programme schedules concerts on Saturdays in July and August; check the current dates for your travel year.
More geological themes in the broader Lake Balaton - North destination
In the broader Lake Balaton - North destination, Tapolcai-tavasbarlang offers a different geological experience. Boat trips are available there, as is the guided exhibition “Csodálatos karszt” (“Wonderful Karst”). The cave is part of a system beneath the town that has so far been explored over a length of 14.6 kilometres. While the above-ground rocky landscape is the focus at Kőtenger, Tapolcai-tavasbarlang is about an underground cave system.
Hegyestű, a 337-metre-high mountain between Zánka and Monoszló, is also in the broader Lake Balaton - North destination. Hegyestű exposes the interior of a basalt volcano that was active around 8 million years ago. At the viewpoint on the western edge of the quarry site, visitors can identify the surrounding hills with the help of a panorama board. Hegyestű also has a rock garden featuring characteristic rock types of Transdanubia, the western half of Hungary. The volcanic landscape, with its viewpoint and rock garden, thus complements Szentbékkálla’s local rocky landscape with a geological theme of its own. Another theme in the broader Lake Balaton - North destination is Badacsony. The volcanic mountain features distinctive geological formations known as basalt organ pipes. Special grape varieties are grown on its slopes and used to make Badacsony wine. In this regional comparison, Badacsony thus brings together geological formations and winegrowing.
Discover more destinations: Gyulakeszi, Balatonrendes, Káptalantóti, Lesencetomaj, Szigliget, Kékkút, Balatonederics, Révfülöp
Go to the main travel overview: Tapolcai.
