Solar Eclipse Hike to Újlaki-hegy

Solar Eclipse Hike to Újlaki-hegy

Exciting news: a partial solar eclipse will be visible from Budapest during sunset on Aug 12th. See this article. In the last few minutes before the sun goes down, the moon will occlude it approximately 60%, resulting in a "waning crescent sun" and unusual lighting conditions.

Let's go to Újlaki-hegy to see it happen. It's one of the few lookout spots near Budapest I know of, that has a clear view towards northwest.

📅 Meeting Time and Place
2026-08-12, Wednesday, 18:13, at Nagybányai út bus stop.

🗺️ The Hike
Full track here. 8 km, 260 m elevation, 440 m descent. Easy difficulty. It should take around 4 hours, including time spent viewing the eclipse. We need to reach Újlaki-hegy by 19:22 to see the eclipse begin. Instead of going on the shortest path back and forth from Újlaki-hegy, we're taking the scenic route, checking out Árpád-kilátó, Kecske-hegyi kőfejtő, Guckler-kilátó, Kőtaraj along the way, with some excellent views over Budapest, during both daytime and nighttime.

🚍 Transport
This is not a loop hike. We'll meet when bus 11 reaches Nagybányai út stop, and walk until Bécsi út / Vörösvári út, reaching there at around 10 PM.

🎒 Bring

• Drinking water. At least 1 L recommended. It can still be quite warm in the early evening hours.
• A jacket or sweater. The air cools down fast, as night sets.
• Snacks you'd like to enjoy as we watch the sunset.
• Appropriate shoes for a walk in nature.
• Eclipse viewing goggles, if you have them. Never look directly at the sun without those. I ordered a pair myself. Hopefully the shop can deliver it in time, despite high demand.
• A light for walking in the woods at night. I have several that I can lend out. Don't drain your phone's battery by using its flash.

Let me know if you're joining. Please also let me know if you need to cancel.

See you in nature ∇