Aggtelek National Park
(20,000 ha)
Aggtelek National Park is the best butterfly area in Central Europe. As an example, it has a very large populations of the endangered Woodland Brown and good numbers of the Poplar Admiral among other rarities.
Among lepidopterists, the village Josvafo is famous for its mud-puddling parties of up to 1000 butterflies. Just along the brook in the middle of the village, many of our guests have been laying on their belly, photographing this intriguing phenomenon.
The directorate of the park tends to manage the meadows extremely well. Most parts are being mowed, but large parts, north of Josvafo are being grazed by a traditional Hungarian horse: the Hucul.
It is also very divers in terms of other insects, especially grasshoppers and moths. Where numbers of insects are high, the vegetation must be rich. Botanists will be amazed by the diversity of plant species.
Moreover, the national park owns most of its fame to one of the biggest cave systems in Europe. When booked in advance it is possible to make a cave tour from the village Aggtelek to the village Josvafo (7 km, all day). Very spectacular! But shorter trips to the most excellent dripstone formations are available too on a dayly base. Bird watchers do not need to go this far North. The Bukk hills have all the interesting species and are easier to work out.