Keszthely Hills basic tour extended by the Tátika region (green A + C)

1. Route details
This 55 km long tour leads through the lines of Keszthely Hills, north and east of Keszthely.
Due to the terrain (level differences) and the length of the tour it is a performance tour. Although it requires more serious preparation, it can be completed in normal physical condition.
The route contains two strong uphill: before Zalaszántó and Büdöskút (see point 2).
The route mostly leads through built-up area and on low-traffic roads as well as on signed bike and agricultural roads. Most of these are asphalt roads while some parts are gravel roads.
The tour is signed in two directions: to complete it follow bike sign green A and green C between Zalaszántó and Várvölgy. Within the town of Keszthely, route EV14 connects the starting point of the tour on the shore of Lake Balaton with the starting point of green A signs is connected with the signs of the EV14 route.
The recommended route to complete the tour follows Keszthely, Cserszegtomaj, Rezi, Zalaszántó, Tátika, Várvölgy, Vállus, Balatongyörök, Balaton Bike Route and Keszthely. Accordingly, the starting point of the tour is the shore of Lake Balaton in Keszthely. From here follow the EV14 (Hungarian 1) sign to the crossroads of Georgikon street and the Keszthely West bypass road. From here follow green A sign. The section after Zalaszántó, between Tátikahidegkút and Várvölgy is connected with the green C sign. From Várvölgy again follow the green A sign.
Road numbers on the tour: EV14 (Keszthely), 135 (Keszthely – Zalaszántó), 23 (Zalaszántó – Vállus junction), 133 (Büdöskút – Balaton Bike Route), 10 (Balaton Bike Route).
Along the route there are several bike shelters and rest places (Tátikahidegkút, Szebike-völgy, Zsidi, Jágerházak, Hármaselágazó, Büdöskút, Kígyós-völgy, Bélap, Böngyéres, Szent Mihály-domb, Vonyarc Marina, Diási, Libás) and other places to stop and rest (Stupa, shore of Lake Balaton in Balatongyörök, Kárpáti promenade).
As most of the route leads through inhabited area, there are several dining, food and other shopping facilities.

2. Difficulty factors in the tour
The route runs through the rolling hills of Keszthely Hills thus it contains smaller and larger slopes.
Due to the fact that the route goes on high-traffic road from the crossroads of the main road Nr. 7327 and the access road of Rezi to the village boundary of Zalaszántó (ca. 3.5 km) it is recommended to ride more carefully. The last section of this part – before Zalaszántó (ca. 1.2 km) – goes on heavier slopes.
In the section between Zalaszántó and Tátikahidegkút (ca. 2 km) there may be more car traffic.
There are some sections on the roads between Tátikahidegkút and the resting area of Szebike-völgy that are difficult to cross in rainy weather as well as between the Képesfa and the northern village boundary of Várvölgy.
From Büdöskút toward Balatongyörök we reach the foot of the hill and the banks of Lake Balaton on a heavy downhill road.
The asphalt-gravel forest section (Büdöskúti road) there may be smaller and larger potholes.

3. Highlights of the tour
On this tour we can ride on the lines of Keszthely Hills, north and east of Keszthely. In the first part of the tour we head towards the Kovácsi Hill in the North-western part of Keszthely Hills which is the only basalt region here, differing from the other parts of the Hills, for it was created by volcanic activities. In the second part of the route we can learn the inner part of Keszthely Hills built up of dolomite and partly of limestone. The various building stones created a diverse landscape just as its flora and fauna with numerous rare and special species. The area is under protection of the national park and it’s full of woods, rolling hills, rural landscape, sacred places and castle ruins with the memories of centuries of history and the atmosphere of rural life. The varied karst phenomena of the hills rising above Lake Balaton at certain points are separated by wild gorge valleys creating several beautiful forest roads with uphill and downhill sections. They all present beautiful sights to visitors.
During the tour you can reach the ruins of Rezi and Tátika castles and the Stupa of Zalaszántó, as well as some lookout towers with beautiful views by a small detour (Padkű, Batsányi, Bél Mátyás). It is definitely worth visiting these places so that you could return home with new experiences.