Hortobágy National Park: Cranes, the Puszta and How to Visit
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The Cranes Are Here: Over 100,000 Birds on the Puszta This October
Every evening this month, tens of thousands of common cranes come in low over the Hortobágy puszta to roost in the shallow ponds, calling the whole way. The national park’s rangers counted 166,745 cranes on 8 October 2026 and still 147,600 on 15 October. The park says 95% of the cranes crossing Hungary pass through the Hortobágy, and many stay for months.
The park’s guided crane tours run until 1 November 2026, and the herders’ autumn drive and crane festival takes over the village on Saturday 24 October. Outside crane season, Hortobágy is still the classic Hungarian puszta: the Nine-Hole Bridge, Przewalski horses, grey cattle and racka sheep, horseherds standing on galloping horses at Máta. This guide covers both: how to see the cranes now, and what works the rest of the year.
Photo: Aneta p, CC BY 4.0, resized. Cranes leaving their roost at dawn, Hortobágy, October.
📋 At a Glance
| 📍 Where | Hortobágy village and national park, on Route 33 between Tiszafüred and Debrecen, in eastern Hungary (Google Maps) |
| 🚆 Getting there | From Budapest-Keleti via Füzesabony, about 2 hours 45, 3,410 Ft; from Debrecen, direct, 37 to 48 minutes, 840 Ft |
| 🐦 Cranes | Late September to early November, peak in October; park dusk tours 3,500 Ft, until 1 November 2026, own car needed |
| 🎟️ Tickets | No entrance gate; Wild Animal Park 2,500 Ft, Visitor Centre 1,800 Ft, trail park card 2,500 Ft a day; Nine-Hole Bridge free |
| 📅 Best time | October for the cranes; May to October for the Máta carriage ride; June and August for the big horse and fair events |
| 🚫 Skip if | It is a Monday (most attractions are shut), or 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 |
The Crane Migration
Cranes start arriving in September, when the weather turns cold further north. During the day they feed on stubble fields across the puszta; around sunset they fly in to roost in shallow water and fishponds, and at dawn they leave again. The sunset fly-in is the main event: wave after wave of birds dropping onto the water as the light goes.
The 2026 count so far. Park rangers count the cranes at the roosts every week. These are their figures, with last year’s for comparison:
| Week | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Early September | 3,015 (3 Sep) | 4,405 (4 Sep) |
| Mid-September | 18,400 (17 Sep) | 13,289 (18 Sep) |
| Late September | 51,810 (24 Sep) | 39,842 (25 Sep) |
| 1 to 2 October | 130,140 | 102,060 |
| 8 to 9 October | 166,745 | 139,265 |
| 15 to 16 October | 147,600 | 153,165 |
| 23 October | 133,510 | |
| 30 October | 129,600 | |
| 6 November | 45,180 |
The pattern is clear: big numbers from the start of October, a peak in the first half of the month, more than 100,000 birds to the end of October, then a sharp drop in early November. One caveat for this year from the park itself: the 2026 drought has left less food on the puszta, so the cranes may move on earlier than usual. If you are planning a crane trip, go in October rather than waiting for November.
Crane counts from the Hortobágy National Park Directorate’s weekly synchronized count (Daruszinkron), read 21 October 2026.
Photo: Frank Paul Silye, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized. Cranes feeding on the Hortobágy puszta in early October.
The park’s guided crane tours (until 1 November 2026)
Dusk tour by car (“Négy keréken a darvak nyomában”). You meet at the car park of the HNP Visitor Centre (Petőfi tér 9, Hortobágy), pay at the ground-floor desk, watch a short crane film upstairs, then follow the ranger’s vehicle in your own car to the viewing site of the day, which can be 20 to 30 km from the village. An ordinary car is fine. The tour ends at sunset and you drive back on your own.
- Price: 3,500 Ft adult (about $10.80), 2,600 Ft child aged 3 to 18, 11,000 Ft family (two adults and three children).
- Start time: 14:00 from Sunday 25 October, after the clocks go back. The exact time is emailed the day before, so check your spam folder.
- Dates left in 2026: Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October and Sunday 1 November. Friday 23 to Monday 26 October and Saturday 31 October are fully booked. The season ends on 1 November.
- Booking: advance registration only, through the form on the park’s tour page (linked under Sources). Tours need at least 10 people, run in bad weather, and do not allow dogs or flash photography.
- Bring: binoculars, warm layers, and mosquito repellent, even in October. Wear muted colors.
Dawn tour (“Hajnali autós darules”). This one watches the cranes leave the roost. It meets at the LIDL car park in Balmazújváros, with a 10 to 15 minute drive on paved road and a 5 to 10 minute walk. It costs 2,500 Ft per person, in cash, exact money, paid to the guide, the minimum age is 10, and the last 2026 dates are Saturday 24 October at 05:45 and Sunday 25 October at 04:45.
For questions, the HNP Visitor Centre answers on +36 52 589 000 (not on Mondays, 9:00 to 15:45).
Without a car: the Madárpark’s 4x4 trips. The Madárpark (bird park and bird hospital) at Petőfi tér 6 in the village runs its own crane trips by 4x4, leaving at 13:30 and returning at dark. A vehicle costs 42,000 Ft for up to four adults, so 10,500 Ft each for a group of four or 21,000 Ft each for two. Book by phone on weekday mornings between 9:00 and 12:00 on +36 30 68 68 635. On 21 October 2026 places were still free on 22 and 26 to 30 October and 1 to 8 November.
Tour dates, prices and rules from hnp.hu and madarpark.hu, read 21 October 2026.
Watching on your own
The park lists the places where you can watch cranes without a guide:
- The Balmazújváros to Tiszacsege road, at the 3 km stone. Park on the roadside and stay there: walking out onto the puszta is forbidden. The fly-in is visible around sunset.
- The southern edge of Balmazújváros, toward Hajdúszoboszló, before the bridge over the Keleti-főcsatorna canal: there is a built hide on the left, good in the early afternoon and around sunset.
- Route 33 between Szálkahalom and the Látókép fishing lake, and between the Nagyhegyes roundabout and the Keleti-főcsatorna, plus the Nagyhegyes-Elep to Nádudvar road: good for cranes feeding on the stubble during the day.
- The Hortobágy fishpond trail, at Kondás-tó (Pond V). A boardwalk and a lakeside tower about 5 km from the trail start at the Halászbárka car park, best at dawn and dusk. You need a park entry card (2,500 Ft for the day), binoculars help, and waterproof boots are worth it after rain. You can get there by train to the Hortobágyi Halastó stop.
No lights after dark. The park bans flash and any artificial light, even a flashlight for walking, as well as tents and mobile hides; photos are allowed only from the dikes and the official hides. In practice, if you watch the fly-in from Kondás-tó, you are walking about 5 km back to the car park in the dark without a torch. Go with someone, know the route in daylight, or watch from one of the roadside spots instead.
Viewing spots and rules from the HNP crane page, read 21 October 2026.
What to See
The Nine-Hole Bridge (Kilenclyukú híd). The symbol of Hortobágy carries Route 33 over the Hortobágy river in the middle of the village: 167.3 m of stone and nine arches, built between 1827 and 1833 to a design by Ferenc Povolny, and still Hungary’s longest road stone bridge. It is free and always open. Look for the tiny Kolodko statue on one of the piers, placed in 2023, showing the painter Csontváry as a graffiti artist.
The Wild Animal Park (Hortobágyi Vadaspark). This is where you see the puszta’s wild and ancient animals, including Przewalski horses and back-bred aurochs. You cannot drive or walk in: access is only on the park’s own bus, which leaves hourly from the car park beside the Hortobágy Infó building, and the last bus leaves two hours before closing.
- Hours 2026: June to August 10:00 to 18:00; October to December 10:00 to 16:00, so buses from 10:00 to 14:00. Closed on Mondays, on 1 November 2026, and from 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027.
- Tickets: adult 2,500 Ft (about $7.70); child 3 to 6, student or pensioner 2,000 Ft; family (two adults and three children) 7,300 Ft. Buy them at the HNP Visitor Centre, at Hortobágy Infó or online; cash, card and SZÉP card are accepted.
- The extra safari takes you close to the Przewalski horses and aurochs for 2,700 Ft per adult, 1,700 Ft for ages 6 to 18, free under 6. It is booked and paid only at the park buffet and depends on weather and ground conditions. It has been running again since 17 September 2026, with one break: no safari all day on Tuesday 3 November 2026, while wild horses are moved to Pentezug; it is expected back on 4 November.
- From 22 to 25 October 2026, during the festival weekend, the bus leaves from the Visitor Centre yard at Petőfi tér 9 instead, hourly from 10:00 to 14:00, with tickets sold only at the Visitor Centre. From 27 October it is back at the Hortobágy Infó car park.
- Dogs and other pets are not allowed at all.
The Máta carriage ride (Mátai Ménes). At the Máta stud, about 250 horses and the gene bank of the nonius breed, wagons drawn by nonius horses take you out onto the Máta puszta and to a racka sheep barn, and the ride ends with a show by the csikós, the horseherds. To get there from Debrecen, drive through the village, cross the Nine-Hole Bridge and take the first right; the ticket desk is at the Nyerges presszó, about 2.5 km in.
- Until 31 October 2026: a shorter 40 to 45 minute programme at 10:00 and 13:00, 3,300 Ft adult (about $10.20), 2,000 Ft child aged 3 to 18, 9,000 Ft family (two adults and two children).
- In the main season (1 May to 18 October in 2026), the full 70 to 80 minute ride ran at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:30 for 4,800 Ft adult, 3,000 Ft child, 13,000 Ft family.
- Closed from 1 November 2026 until spring 2027. The stables themselves stay open to walk around for free, 9:00 to 16:00 in winter, and the Nyerges presszó has a glass wall looking straight into the stable.
- Book by phone on +36 70 492 7655 (without a booking your seat is not guaranteed) and arrive 20 minutes early. Payment in forint or euro cash, by card or SZÉP card. No dogs, not recommended in pregnancy, weather dependent.
Photo: Veronika.szappanos, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized. A puszta horse show: the “puszta five”, one horseherd standing on the two rear horses and driving five in all.
The Herders’ Museum (Pásztormúzeum). In the old wagon shed at Petőfi tér 13, opposite the Csárda, an interactive exhibition on the life of the puszta’s shepherds, cowherds and horseherds. Tickets are 3,100 Ft adult, 1,700 Ft reduced, 8,200 Ft family. It is free for everyone on 23 October, which in 2026 is a Friday. Closed on Mondays (except in summer), on 1 November 2026 and from 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027.
The HNP Visitor Centre (Látogatóközpont). At Petőfi tér 9, beside the Hortobágyi Csárda on Route 33, with three exhibitions on the nature of the Hortobágy, the world of cranes and the puszta’s treasures. Tickets are 1,800 Ft adult, 1,300 Ft reduced, 5,200 Ft family, or 4,100 Ft combined with the Herders’ Museum; allow an hour and a half to two hours for both. In October it opens weekdays 8:00 to 16:00 and weekends 10:00 to 16:00, in November and December 10:00 to 16:00, closed on Mondays. There is also a 15-minute VR wagon ride (3,000 Ft, over 140 cm only, at 11:30, 13:30 and 14:30) and a 15-minute 3D film.
The Hortobágyi Csárda. The village’s famous roadside inn was built in 1699 by the city of Debrecen on the old Salt Road, and it is the oldest building in Hortobágy. The restaurant is open daily 11:00 to 20:00 (+36 52 589 338), and its small exhibition is free: ask the staff to show you. For something quicker, the Stanley Bisztró opens daily 10:00 to 19:00 and Kaja-Tanya serves home-style Hungarian food Tuesday to Sunday, 8:00 to 18:00.
The Madárpark (bird hospital). Hungary’s oldest bird hospital, next to the Vásártér, treats 200 to 300 injured birds a year and is open to visitors: 2,000 Ft adult, 1,500 Ft child or pensioner, 9:00 to 18:00 until 31 October and 9:00 to 16:00 from 1 November.
The fishpond trail and its railway. The narrow-gauge railway on the Hortobágy fishponds has been out of service since 5 April 2023 because of track subsidence and is not running in 2026; the Halászbárka reception center is closed with it. The trail is open every day: 3.6 km, 5.4 km (to the pygmy cormorant tower) or 10 km, flat and with no toilets along the way. By car, leave Route 33 near the 67 km stone and follow the road 2 km to the Halászbárka car park; by train, get off at Hortobágyi Halastó. You need a park entry card: 2,500 Ft for a day (about $7.70) or 7,500 Ft for a week, sold at the Visitor Centre, at Hortobágy Infó, online, and at a 24-hour kiosk beside the Hortobágy Infó building. In summer, take plenty of water: the park warns of temperatures up to 40 °C out on the trail.
Hours and prices from hnp.hu, visithortobagy.com and madarpark.hu, read 21 October 2026.
Events
Darufesztivál and the autumn drive, Saturday 24 October 2026. The crane festival shares the day with the Szent Dömötör-napi Behajtás, when the herds are driven in to their winter quarters: racka sheep, nonius horses, water buffalo and grey cattle teams. It all happens at the Vásártér in Hortobágy from 10:00 to 19:00, with a craft fair from 10:00 to 17:00, a children’s stage, the drive itself from 14:00 to 16:00, a herders’ dance contest on the water stage from 16:00 to 18:00, and a shepherds’ fire at 18:00. On that Saturday a direct train leaves Keleti at 08:10 and arrives at 11:32, with a direct return at 17:17 reaching Keleti at 21:00, both for 3,410 Ft.
Summer events. The Hortobágyi Lovasnapok (Hortobágy Horse Days) is the village’s big equestrian event in early June, and the Hídivásár (Bridge Fair) is a three-day fair in August, around 20 August.
Event details from hnp.hu and visithortobagy.com, read 21 October 2026.
Getting There
By train from Budapest. Hortobágy is on the line from Füzesabony to Debrecen, so almost every journey has one change. The quickest and cheapest is from Budapest-Keleti, changing at Füzesabony: trains leave Keleti every two hours from 06:00 to 18:00 and reach Hortobágy about 2 hours 45 minutes later (08:00 arrives 10:44, 10:00 arrives 12:44). A second-class ticket is 3,410 Ft (about $10.50), with no seat reservation needed. Trains from Nyugati go the long way via Szolnok and Debrecen, take 3 hours 45 minutes or more, and cost 4,430 Ft.
Coming back, trains leave Hortobágy at 12:10, 14:10, 16:10 and 18:10 and reach Keleti just under three hours later, at 15:05, 17:05, 19:05 and 21:05. The last sensible train back leaves at 19:15 and arrives at Keleti at 22:05. Anything later gets you to Budapest the next morning.
From Debrecen. Direct trains take 37 to 48 minutes and cost 840 Ft (about $2.60), with 11 to 13 trains a day in each direction, every one to two hours. The last train back to Debrecen leaves Hortobágy at 20:46 and arrives at 21:23. For the fishpond trail, ride one stop further west to Hortobágyi Halastó (930 Ft from Debrecen).
Train times and fares from the MÁV journey planner, checked 21 October 2026 for 24 October, 27 October and 7 November.
By car. Hortobágy is about 185 km from central Budapest; the usual road is the M3 motorway, then Route 33 east via Tiszafüred. From Debrecen it is about 38 km on Route 33. The Visitor Centre is at the roundabout in the village center, next to the Csárda. A car makes a big difference here: the crane tours, the dawn and dusk viewing spots and Máta are all much easier with one.
Day Trip or Overnight?
For the daytime sights, a day trip works. On the 08:00 train from Keleti you are in Hortobágy before 11:00 with time for the bridge, the Wild Animal Park, the Visitor Centre and the Herders’ Museum, and a train back at 16:10 or 18:10. Just remember that from October the last Wild Animal Park bus leaves at 14:00, and nearly everything is closed on Mondays.
For the cranes, stay the night. The fly-in happens at sunset and the departure at dawn, the park’s tours need a car, and the trains to Budapest do not fit around either. Debrecen is the easy base without a car, with trains every one to two hours and the last one back from Hortobágy at 20:46, plus a full day of its own: the Great Church, the Munkácsy trilogy, the Great Forest and its baths. With a car, sleeping in Hortobágy village puts you right by the tour meeting point and the viewing spots; the Madárpark rents three double rooms with free bird-park entry. Balmazújváros, where the dawn tour meets, and Tiszafüred on Lake Tisza, on the same railway to the west, are the other options.
Winter Closures
| Attraction | Winter 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Máta carriage ride | Closed from 1 November 2026 until spring 2027 |
| Máta stud stables | Open 9:00 to 16:00 from 1 November |
| Wild Animal Park, Visitor Centre, Herders’ Museum | Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00 in November and December; closed 1 November and 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 |
| Hortobágy Infó | Closed 1 November and 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 |
| Madárpark | 9:00 to 16:00 from 1 November, short hours over Christmas |
| Park crane tours | Season ends 1 November 2026 |
| Fishpond railway | Not running |
| Trails (park entry card) | Open every day |
Opening dates from hnp.hu, visithortobagy.com and madarpark.hu, read 21 October 2026.
The Verdict
Go to Hortobágy in October if you can: the crane fly-in over the puszta at sunset is one of the best free shows in Hungary, and with a car and a booked park tour (until 1 November 2026) you will be right underneath it. Without a car, base yourself in Debrecen and walk the fishpond trail, or book the Madárpark’s 4x4. The rest of the year, it makes a good day out from Budapest or an easy half day from Debrecen: the Nine-Hole Bridge, the Przewalski horses, the Herders’ Museum and, from spring to October, the wagon ride and horse show at Máta. Just do not come on a Monday.
Sources: Hortobágy National Park Directorate: crane count, guided crane tours 2026, 2026 prices, Visitor Centre, Wild Animal Park, extra safari restart, safari break on 3 November, bus stop change, Herders’ Museum, Nine-Hole Bridge, fishpond railway, fishpond trail, autumn drive and crane festival and 2026 events; Visit Hortobágy: Máta carriage ride, Máta stud and Hortobágyi Csárda; Madárpark: crane tours and tickets and hours, all read 21 October 2026; train times from the MÁV journey planner, checked 21 October 2026.
Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the counter. Converted at 1 USD = 324 HUF, the ECB rate on 15 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the converted figures as indicative.
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Good to know
When is the best time to see cranes at Hortobágy?
October. The park's weekly count builds through late September, peaks in the first half of October and stays above 100,000 birds to the end of the month: 166,745 cranes on 8 October 2026, and in 2025 the peak was 153,165 on 16 October. Numbers drop hard in early November (45,180 on 6 November 2025). The park warns that the 2026 drought means less food on the puszta, so the birds may leave earlier than usual. The big moment of the day is the fly-in to the roosts around sunset.
Can I visit Hortobágy as a day trip from Budapest?
Yes, for the daytime sights. Leave Keleti at 08:00, change at Füzesabony, and you are in Hortobágy at 10:44 for 3,410 Ft. That gives you the Nine-Hole Bridge, the Visitor Centre, the Herders' Museum and the Wild Animal Park (last bus 14:00 from October), with trains back at 14:10, 16:10, 18:10 and a last one at 19:15. The crane fly-in at sunset is the hard part without a car: for that, stay the night in Hortobágy or Debrecen.
How do I get to Hortobágy by train?
From Budapest-Keleti, take the train to Füzesabony and change there for Hortobágy: about 2 hours 45 minutes, 3,410 Ft in second class, with departures every two hours from 06:00 to 18:00. Trains from Nyugati go the long way via Debrecen and cost 4,430 Ft. From Debrecen, direct trains take 37 to 48 minutes and cost 840 Ft, with 11 to 13 a day each way; the last one back to Debrecen leaves at 20:46.
Is there an entrance fee for Hortobágy National Park?
There is no gate or general ticket. The Nine-Hole Bridge, the open puszta along the roads and the exhibition in the Hortobágyi Csárda are free. You pay per attraction: the Wild Animal Park 2,500 Ft, the Visitor Centre 1,800 Ft, the Herders' Museum 3,100 Ft (or 4,100 Ft combined with the Visitor Centre), and a park entry card of 2,500 Ft a day for the walking trails such as the fishpond trail.
Is the Hortobágy fishpond railway running?
No. The narrow-gauge railway on the Hortobágy fishponds stopped on 5 April 2023 because of track subsidence, and it is not running in 2026; the Halászbárka reception center is closed too. The fishpond trail itself is open every day with a park entry card, in 3.6 km, 5.4 km and 10 km versions, and you can reach it on the train to the Hortobágyi Halastó stop.
Do I need a car for the crane tours?
For the national park's dusk tours, yes. You meet at the Visitor Centre in Hortobágy and then follow the ranger's vehicle in your own car to a viewing site 20 to 30 km away, and drive back yourself after sunset. The dawn tour meets in Balmazújváros, also by car. Without a car, the Madárpark in the village runs 4x4 crane trips, or you can walk the fishpond trail to the Kondás-tó tower.
What else is there to see at Hortobágy outside crane season?
Plenty. The Nine-Hole Bridge, Hungary's longest road stone bridge, the Wild Animal Park with its Przewalski horses, the Visitor Centre and the Herders' Museum are open most of the year (closed Mondays). From spring to the end of October, the Máta stud runs horse-drawn wagon rides onto the puszta with a horseherd show. In summer, the Hortobágyi Lovasnapok horse days in June and the Bridge Fair in August are the big events.