Hungary used to have a much higher highest point

This is the detail that makes Kékes interesting, and it's the thing you can see from the top on a clear day.

Before 1920, Hungary's borders extended much further north, and the country's highest point was Gerlachovský štít, 2,655 m, in the High Tatras. The Treaty of Trianon redrew the borders after the First World War and the Tatras ended up in Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia.

So Hungary's highest point fell from 2,655 m to 1,014 m by treaty rather than by geology.

On a clear day from the tower you can see the Tatras to the north, which means you can stand on the highest point in Hungary and look at what used to be the highest point in Hungary. Gerlachovský štít is now Slovakia's high point.

There's a nice historical echo here too: in 1888 the Mátra branch of the Hungarian Carpathian Society built a wooden observation tower on Kékes, at a time when Hungarians still had far bigger mountains inside their own borders. It stood until 1938, when it was demolished as unsafe.

The summit has no view. The tower does.

Worth being clear about, because it's the thing that will disappoint you.

The top of Kékes is wooded. At the highest point there's a monument topped with a stone painted in the Hungarian colours, plus a cross, souvenir stalls, a snack bar and a playground.

The view comes from the TV tower, built in 1981, 176 m tall, with an observation deck at 42 m. From there you get a 360 degree panorama over the whole Mátra range, Sástó (the highest pond in Hungary), and in clear weather the Buda Hills, the Tisza winding across the Great Hungarian Plain, and the Tatras.

Entry is ticketed and opening hours are limited, particularly out of season. The snack bar up there also has a collection of eight thousand miniature bottles, which is either a reason to go or a reason not to.

Getting there from Budapest

This is straightforward and genuinely one of the easiest country high points in Europe to reach without a car.

Direct bus, route 1045, from Népliget bus station in Budapest. Around 98 km and roughly 1 hour 55 minutes, running about three times a day. Get off at Kékestető, Mátrai gyógyintézet (the Mátra medical institute), sometimes signed as Szanatórium. Timetables shift, so check current departures, and pay attention to which services run at weekends.

Via Gyöngyös. Gyöngyös is the nearest town, about 80 km from Budapest on the M3, then roughly 25 km up to the summit. Far more frequent buses run Gyöngyös to Kékestető than direct from Budapest, so if the direct service doesn't fit your day, go in two legs.

By car: the road goes all the way to the top. It was built in the 1930s to serve the sanatorium.

From the bus stop to the summit is only a few hundred metres. Walk west following the P and Z markers, which turn left into the forest in front of the sanatorium building, then right at the National Blue Trail K marker. About 400 m in total.

If you'd rather make an actual walk of it, park at Veronika rét at the foot of the ski slope and walk up the piste to the summit. Gentle, and it turns a car park visit into something that feels like a hike.

What's up there

• The TV tower, with the observation deck and snack bar

• A sanatorium. Hungary's first climatic sanatorium was built here in 1932, and Kékes was officially designated a climatic health resort in 1963.

• A ski centre, with gentle even slopes that make it a good beginner hill

• Souvenir stalls and a snack bar, both of which may well be shut in low season, as they were when I went

I arrived in snow, early, with everything closed and no coffee anywhere, and followed arrows through the woods to a monument. That's the honest version of the highest point in Hungary.

You can't judge a mountain by its height

Something this project keeps teaching me, and Kékes is a good illustration.

Kékes is just over 1,000 m and takes minutes from a bus stop. Carrauntoohil in Ireland is roughly the same height and involves a loose, eroded gully where people get rescued. Halti in Finland is lower again and takes a multi-day approach to reach.

Short doesn't mean easy and tall doesn't mean hard. What makes a peak difficult is access, terrain, weather and remoteness, and height is only loosely related to any of them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the highest point in Hungary?

Kékes, at 1,014 m, in the Mátra mountains in Heves County, about 100 km northeast of Budapest.

Can you drive to the top of Kékes?

Yes. A road built in the 1930s runs all the way to the summit, and there's a bus stop at the top.

How do you get to Kékes from Budapest without a car?

Direct bus 1045 from Népliget, roughly two hours, about three times a day. Alternatively take a bus to Gyöngyös and change there, where services to Kékestető are much more frequent.

Is there a view from the top of Kékes?

Not from the ground. The summit is forested. The view is from the TV tower's observation deck at 42 m, which is ticketed and has limited opening hours.

Can you see the Tatras from Kékes?

On a clear day, yes, from the tower. You can also see the Buda Hills and the Tisza river across the Great Hungarian Plain.

Was Hungary's highest point always Kékes?

No. Before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, Hungary's highest point was Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 m in the High Tatras, now in Slovakia.

How hard is it to climb Kékes?

It isn't. From the bus stop it's about 400 m on a marked path. If you want a walk, start at Veronika rét and go up the ski slope.

Do you need a permit?

No. Access is free; only the tower charges.

What does Kékes mean?

"Bluish", from the Hungarian kék, blue, after the mountain's colour from a distance.

Is there skiing on Kékes?

Yes, a small ski centre with gentle slopes suited to beginners.

Is Kékes worth visiting?

As a summit, it's modest. As a day trip from Budapest with a genuinely good panorama from the tower and a strange bit of border history attached, it's worth the two-hour bus.