Bulhary – between basalt landscapes, trails and culture

Bulhary combines a distinctive landscape with clearly differentiated destinations for those interested in nature and culture. The village lies in the northern part of the Cerová vrchovina, in the source area of a left-bank tributary of the Suchá stream. This makes it a destination shaped by more than a single highlight: around Bulhary, geological formations, wooded slopes, hiking and cycling trails, and smaller historical sights come together.

Landscape between forest, basalt and protected areas

The Bulhary area consists of sandstone and claystone, from which remnants of basaltic lava flows emerge. Beech, oak and black locust forests shape the wooded areas. Nearby lies the Kerčík Nature Reserve between Bulhary and Šávoľ, on an isolated basalt spur. The reserve protects an abundant occurrence of the Bohemian pasque flower (Pulsatilla pratensis ssp. bohemica Skalický) in steppe-like, thermophilous plant communities of the Cerová vrchovina. This combination makes the surroundings particularly interesting if you want to experience the landscape not only as a backdrop, but also in its geological and botanical distinctiveness.

Trails to Veľký Bučeň

Veľký Bučeň is one of the table mountains of the Cerová vrchovina. At 514 m, it is the highest slope in the northern part of the mountain range. Two differently described routes are available for exploring it. A 9 km paved road to Veľký Bučeň is also a red-marked cycling route that begins at Fiľakovo's main railway station. Another option is an approximately 9.5 km yellow-marked hiking trail along the Fiľakovské skaly. It provides another approach to Veľký Bučeň and leads through hills formed by Neogene basaltic volcanism. At the summit there are a hunting stand and an information board. This allows you to distinguish between a cycling route on a paved surface and a hiking trail through volcanically shaped hills, without reducing both routes to a single unified experience.

Chapel and the memory of the Kráľ stromov

Bulhary is home to the Kaplnka Všetkých svätých, a Classicalist chapel built in 1849. It was restored in 1893; inside is a folk-crafted late Baroque altar dating from around 1800. The chapel complements the natural experiences with a specific cultural and historical destination. Another memorial leads to Fiľakovo: the former “Kráľ stromov” in Bulhary was an 800-year-old oak. A cross-section of this tree is located in the Fiľakovo Town Museum, making the history of this exceptional tree visible beyond its original location.

An active quarry as a geological point of reference

The Kameňolom Bulhary lies west of Bulhary, at the northwestern edge of the Cerová vrchovina. The active quarry, established in 1870, is a site for the extraction of basalt and crushed stone. Green olivine, aragonite, opal and zeolites occur in cavities within the basalt. This reveals another side of the region: its volcanic past is evident not only in the forms of the landscape, but also in the rocks and minerals described here.

Other destinations in the surrounding area

Other destinations in the same travel area include Halič, Kalonda, Lovinobaňa, Ruzina, Trebeľovce, Točnica, Lizenz and Tuhár.

For the higher-level travel overview: Lučenec District.