Esztergom - Pilis Mountains

(Local Name: Pilis-hegység) An excursion into the Pilis Mountains (Pilis-hegység), which lie between Esztergom and Budapest in the loop formed by the Danube Bend, is recommended. This chain of mountains, an official nature reserve, covers an area of some 23,000ha (90sq.mi.), with the coffin-shaped Pilis teto being its highest point (757m (2485ft). There is little in the way of lakes or other waterways, but there are large numbers of caves with fossils and other signs of life from the geological past. Mountain slopes covered mainly in forests of beech and oak mingle with steep and picturesque chalk cliffs. Because so many wild animals roamed the region and it was close to the royal residences at Esztergom,