Vadlán-lik is one of Hungary's most remarkable basalt caves - tucked into the rocky maze of Kovácsi-hegy, it ranks among the largest basalt caves in the country. Inside, you'll find an unusual rock furnishing: a stone table, a stone bed and something resembling a stone hearth, which has given rise to a romantic legend about a heartbroken girl who once lived here in hiding.

The cave formed when the edge of the mountain's basalt layer lost its support and slid, creating the crevice system known as Bazaltutca (Basalt Street). Inside, it's dry and surprisingly comfortable-feeling, with rectangular-cross-section passages leading to chambers nicknamed the Kitchen (Konyha) and the Room (Szoba). Above ground, the area is dominated by striking basalt columns and old linden trees lining the rocky street, giving the place a wild, atmospheric character in every season.

How to get there

• Nagygörbő - a dust-free service road runs about 2 km south to a quarry, then continue on foot to Bazaltutca; moderate route
• The Buruczky Tanösvény nature trail passes near the cave; a blue-marked cave trail used to branch off from the Országos Kéktúra (National Blue Trail)

Practical information

• Basic caving equipment and a headlamp are needed to explore it
• The entrance shaft has an irregular quadrangular opening about 1.5×1 m in size
• Bats (including common pipistrelle or possibly a nose-eared species) and cave spiders live inside - please keep noise to a minimum and avoid disturbing them

The name Vadlán-lik ('Wild Girl's Hole') comes from a folk legend about a girl driven mad after her outlaw lover was betrayed and captured, who then fled into hiding and lived out her days inside this very cave.