Tar-kő (949 m a.s.l.) is the eighth highest peak in the Bükk Hills and the 12th highest mountain in all of Hungary. What draws hikers here is not just the altitude but the dramatic limestone cliffs and a sweeping southward panorama stretching all the way across the Great Hungarian Plain.

Perched on the southern rim of the Bükk Plateau, Tar-kő marks the natural edge of the upland. The pale grey Triassic limestone that forms its cliffs was once a reef slope and coastal lagoon — the steeply dipping, thick-bedded layers now create a striking staircase of rock faces that stretches from Őr-kő all the way to Három-kő. In spring the rocky ledges burst with rare flora including the 'pongyola' bellflower and Jávórka's scale fern. Summer brings the song of rock thrushes and the shadow of ravens and peregrine falcons overhead, while autumn cloaks the surrounding beech forests in deep gold.

The cliffs and scree also shelter the small Apollo butterfly, the rare saker falcon, and several grasshopper species found almost nowhere else in Hungary. The biodiversity here is considered exceptionally high for a central European upland.

• From Eger or Szilvásvárad — marked hiking trails cross the Bükk Plateau toward the southern escarpment; the exact time depends on your starting point, difficulty: moderate.
• From the Szalajka Valley — an alternative approach through beech woodland, difficulty: moderate.

• Tar-kő lies within Bükk National Park — nature protection rules apply and climbing the cliff faces off marked trails is not permitted.
• A small rock shelter cave, Tar-kői-kőfülke, is located near the summit.

The limestone beneath your boots is over 200 million years old, formed on the slopes of a Triassic tropical reef — making a hike on Tar-kő quite literally a walk across an ancient seabed.