Hungary's Topography, Nature & Climate

Hungary lies in the centre of Europe, north of the large Balkan peninsula. Which means, that it's far away from the Sea. A large part of the country is located in the Carpathian Basin. From north to south, the long Duna (Danube) river crosses the country. Other major rivers include the Tisza, Rába and Dráva - all of them are tributaries of the Danube. The Danube divides the country into a western part and the larger eastern part. The latter is dominated by the famous Nagyalföld (Puszta) - a vast plain. The western part features hilly areas. This region is called Dunántúl (Transdanubia). Mountains are rare in Hungary. The one and only mountainous area is called Matra mountains some dozen kilometres north-east of →Budapest. There, the 1014 m high Kékes marks the highest peak of the country.

There might be a lack of mountains, but not of lakes. The biggest lake is the Balaton-tó (tó = lake), which is quite famous and extremely shallow. Furthermore, Hungary offers countless thermal springs, well-known for their therapeutical effects.