# Kékes

Kékes is Hungary's highest mountain, at 1,014 metres (3,327 ft) above sea level in the Mátra mountain range. It is Hungary's third most popular tourist attraction, after Lake Balaton and the Danube, and has a number of skiing pistes. The Kékestető TV Tower stands at the summit. Kékestető is a resort place surrounding the summit, and is part of the town of Gyöngyös in Heves county. It is 18 km away from the town center. As of the 2022 census, it has a population of 14. The resort is reachable by bus from Budapest.

## History

The Hungarian Carpathian Association [de] built a 20 m high wooden watchtower at east of the summit in 1889. With the Treaty of Trianon, Kékes became the highest mountain in the country in 1920. Before that, the Gerlachovský štít was the highest peak of the Kingdom of Hungary. The watchtower was rebuilt and named after József Vass in 1926. The Kékes luxury hotel, the meteorological station and the road to Mátraháza were built in 1934. The watchtower was demolished in 1938. The luxury hotel was converted into a sanatorium in 1951 and the trade union resort was built. The skiers' houses were built in 1953. A 65-meter TV tower, made of andesite, was handed over in 1960. A new 178-meter-high TV tower was built in 1980, and the older one was converted into a hotel. The new TV tower also functions as a lookout point. Two ski pistes were built beside of the TV tower. Since 1990, the former trade union resort was demolished, and a parking lot was created in its place. The hotel operating in the old TV tower is also closed.

## Climate

Kékes Peak is the highest altitude region in Hungary, so it has the highest altitude weather station in the country. Although the mountain is still classified as a temperate humid continental climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification, it is very close to a subarctic climate (Dfc). Unlike cities in the plains such as Miskolc, which is also classified as a humid continental climate (Dfb), it is closer to an oceanic climate (Cfb) and may even be subtropical humid (Cfa). The annual average temperature of Kékes is 6.4 °C (43.5 °F), which is about 5 °C (9.0 °F) lower than that of Budapest or Miskolc. August is the warmest month with an average temperature of 16.4 °C (61.5 °F); January is the coldest month with −3.4 °C (25.9 °F). Temperature extremes ranged from −22.6 °C (−8.7 °F) in 1987 to 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) on July 20, 2007.
Climate data for Kékestető (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1973−present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.9 (57.0) | 21.0 (69.8) | 22.4 (72.3) | 25.6 (78.1) | 29.7 (85.5) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.4 (86.7) | 25.8 (78.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 17.4 (63.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 31.4 (88.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | 3.4 (38.1) | 10.1 (50.2) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.0 (68.0) | 19.9 (67.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.0 (39.2) | −0.7 (30.7) | 9.3 (48.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.4 (25.9) | −2.7 (27.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 6.3 (43.3) | 10.9 (51.6) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 16.4 (61.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 6.6 (43.9) | 1.9 (35.4) | −2.5 (27.5) | 6.4 (43.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.3 (22.5) | −4.7 (23.5) | −1.8 (28.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 8.0 (46.4) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 4.6 (40.3) | 0.1 (32.2) | −4.3 (24.3) | 4.0 (39.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.6 (−8.7) | −19.8 (−3.6) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −9.7 (14.5) | −4.0 (24.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | 4.5 (40.1) | 1.0 (33.8) | −3.0 (26.6) | −8.0 (17.6) | −13.0 (8.6) | −18.7 (−1.7) | −22.6 (−8.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 41.5 (1.63) | 50.0 (1.97) | 47.9 (1.89) | 58.9 (2.32) | 94.3 (3.71) | 82.2 (3.24) | 105.7 (4.16) | 80.5 (3.17) | 67.6 (2.66) | 66.2 (2.61) | 67.2 (2.65) | 52.0 (2.05) | 814.0 (32.05) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.9 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 97.8 |
| Average snowy days | 10.8 | 10.8 | 8.6 | 5.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 6.9 | 10.8 | 55.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 84.1 | 82.0 | 77.0 | 68.1 | 73.0 | 74.3 | 72.2 | 70.3 | 75.9 | 81.6 | 84.7 | 82.7 | 77.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 89.8 | 100.1 | 144.2 | 174.7 | 221.0 | 238.9 | 268.0 | 237.9 | 189.4 | 166.7 | 97.4 | 77.4 | 2,005.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 33 | 36 | 40 | 43 | 48 | 51 | 56 | 55 | 51 | 51 | 36 | 30 | 46 |
| Source: NOAA (snow days and sunshine 1967-1994) ||||||||||||||

## Road cycling

For road bicycle racing enthusiasts, the mountain can be climbed by two main routes.
* South from Gyöngyös: 839 m over 17.8 km. This is the most famous and difficult ascent.
* North from Parád: 775 m over 16.9 km. About equal in difficulty as the Bédoin ascent, but better sheltered against the climb.

### Tour de Hongrie stage finishes

| Year | Stage | Start of stage | Distance (km) | Category | Stage winner | General leadership |
| 2001 | 3 | Tiszaújváros | 174 | 1 | Mikoš Rnjaković | Mikoš Rnjaković |
| 2003 | 4 | Miskolc | 127.3 | 1 | Matija Kvasina | Zoltán Remák |
| 2003 | 5 | Mátraháza | 3.4 | ITT | Tamás Lengyel | Zoltán Remák |
| 2004 | 5 | Mezőkövesd | 148 | 1 | Anatoliy Varvaruk | Zoltán Remák |
| 2005 | 5 | Mezőkövesd | 93 | 1 | Glen Chadwick | Tamás Lengyel |
| 2005 | 6 | Mátraháza | 3.4 | ITT | Tamás Lengyel | Tamás Lengyel |
| 2015 | 4 | Karcag | 146 | 1 | Andi Bajc | Tom Thill |
| 2016 | 4 | Karcag | 144 | 1 | Chris Butler | Mihkel Räim |
| 2019 | 4 | Karcag | 138.1 | 1 | Krists Neilands | Krists Neilands |
| 2020 | 4 | Miskolc | 187.8 | 1 | Attila Valter | Attila Valter |
| 2021 | 4 | Balassagyarmat | 202.2 | 1 | Damien Howson | Damien Howson |
| 2022 | 5 | Miskolc | 183.7 | 1 | Antonio Tiberi | Edward Dunbar |
| 2024 | 3 | Kazincbarcika | 182.7 | 1 | Thibau Nys | Thibau Nys |