Hungarian Pamukkale Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(large)
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Egerszalók, this tiny little town in Heves country attracts many
tourists. Why? Because of a natural wonder. This is why we went
there and thought it's worth a cache.
In the perimeter of the town, in a small valley, mineral-rich hot
water blows out from the deep. This created Hungary's unique tufa
terraces.
How these terraces were formed? The sodic water deep below the
surface can dissolve a lot a calcium-carbonate. When the water
comes up to the surface it loses much of its carbonic acid. Because
of this limestone crystals start to get separated. The separated
limestone form dams after a long time, creating beautiful white
terraces which are in connection by little waterfalls.
Different metals can paint the white limestone various colors.
The water comes from an artificial well. The geologists were
looking for natural gas, but found this sodic water which is
18-20000 years old.
In the summer its better to bath at night because of the daytime
heat, but the gurus say winter is the best time for a bath. At that
time the snowy valley seems like it's smoking. The cold moments of
stripping can be forgotten fast in the hot water. When putting the
cold clothes back, they warm up fast from our body-heat.
Before taking a bath, find the cache which is a plastic box. The
GPS will show you the hill with the cache on its top. Find the path
in the trees and bushes, it's the most convenient way. Don't look
at the GPS in the forest it will not see the satellites but you're
going to have 4 meters accuracy on the top where the cache is hid.
Because of the construction work in the valley, the site is not as
nice as it used to be and you cannot approach it from the main
parking. The easiest way to approach the cache is to drive on the
road that starts at N 47° 50,2790'
E 20° 20,1870' to a parking place at
N 47° 50,9160' E 20° 20,5970'. From there walk
to N 47° 51,0310' E 20° 20,3770' where a dirt
road starts. The road leads to the cache and if you walk further
you can find the bath and the teracces.
Have a good bath and a successful geohunting!
Anikó and Miklós
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