Lake Naplás Budapest

Urban waterworld

Iulia from Budapest

About me I was born and raised in Romania and come from a family of mixed Romanian and Hungarian heritage. I am a native speaker of both languages and my parents are teachers, so I was always very interested in learning new things and trying to have a balanced and informed view on whatever topic I was dealing with. I moved to Budapest to study and majored in English and Finnish. After univer...
"Artificial "Lake Naplás" in Budapest is an unexpected delight where few downtowners or tourists ever venture. It's perfect for interesting nature treks..."

Lake Naplás is an unexpected delight in a place few downtowners or tourists ever venture. The easiest way to reach it by public transportation is taking regional train S80 from Keleti station, and then walking straight along Naplás avenue. Alternatively, you can also walk from the opposite direction, the Cinkota HÉV (suburban railway) station, along the Szilas stream. The lake itself is artificial, set up as a reservoir on the Szilas stream in the 1970s. Before the damming, it had been a marshland, and many of its species have thrived in the newly formed lake. As such, it is one of Budapest’s most ecologically diverse areas and a perfect destination for interesting but not very arduous nature treks.

The lake’s most popular inhabitant is the European pond turtle, Hungary’s only endemic turtle species. Fishing is allowed with a permit, but both swimming and skating, in winter, are forbidden due to the lake’s protected status. For those on the lookout for fluffier wildlife, the lush vegetation of the lakeshore provides the opportunity to spot owls, dormice or deer in the warmer months.

Close by the lake you can also visit the Naplás lookout tower, which offers a bird’s eye perspective of the neighbouring Cinkota, Mátyásföld and Rákosliget areas, and, in an exciting twist for plane spotters, also lies under the takeoff path of Liszt Ferenc International Airport.

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Budapest Spotter Iulia

About me I was born and raised in Romania and come from a family of mixed Romanian and Hungarian heritage. I am a native speaker of both languages and my parents are teachers, so I was always very interested in learning new things and trying to have a balanced and informed view on whatever topic I was dealing with. I moved to Budapest to study and majored in English and Finnish. After university I started working in HR, which is what I am still doing today, leading a team of HR advisors working with the entire EMEA region. Besides my day job, I am a keen photographer, with a special inte...

About this spot

Naplás út

HUF

free

Oct 28, 2025

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