Where the heart salutes the water – Autumn tips from Lake Tisza

Lake Tisza is a four-season fishing lake, with a variety of water types, providing a comfortable habitat for most native Hungarian fish. The lake is home to over fifty species of fish, ranging from giant catfish to swift carp, which means that Lake Tisza offers fishing opportunities well above the national average. There are a variety of places and methods available for licensed anglers, and along the shore, there are also boats and fishing points specially designed for disabled people.

The 1500-metre-long boardwalk of Lake Tisza winds alongside thickets, reed beds, floodplain forests and seaweed fields, in the previously inaccessible wilderness areas of the lake, giving you an insight into the unique flora and fauna of the region. Exploration is aided by specially designed birdwatching observatories and an observation tower, so you can see cormorants, grey herons and black storks in their natural habitat.

One of the country’s centres of flatland cycling, with nearly 500 unified bicycle parks and a well-developed service network ensures that a trip around Lake Tisza can become an unforgettable experience. The cycle path network takes hikers through eye-catching landscapes with views of lush floodplain forests, islands and, of course, the rippling water. The lake can be crossed by ferry in four places, and there is also the possibility of combined boat and bicycle trips using the boats provided at the ports.

If you really want to experience at first hand all that Lake Tisza and its surroundings have to offer, we recommend the GPS-assisted motorboat tours, which run until the end of October. For the more adventurous, there are 12 different trails of varying lengths, from a short 2.7 km hike to a 24 km loop hike lasting several hours. You can also navigate the routes on your own, without a driver, with the help of digital navigation devices.

Active recreation usually gives you an appetite, but you don’t have to go far to satisfy it. For a truly special breakfast in Poroszló, visit the Füzes Cheese Workshop.Here you can enjoy quality artisanal dairy products: locally made cream cheese, orda cheese pancakes, yoghurt and cream cheese are all on the menu.

The Fűzfa (‘Willow’) Hotel and Recreation Park in Poroszló is a good choice for lunch, as the hotel’s restaurant boasts a number of local specialities: a variety of local fish soups, poultry and fish, as well as delicacies made from deer. A special feature of the Aranyosidombi Udvarház (‘Aranyosidomb Farmhouse’) restaurant is that their suppliers are largely their own family farm, so thanks to their own production, the dishes are always fresh and made from excellent ingredients. For dessert, you don’t have to leave Poroszló either, head to the Poroszló Strudel House, where freshly made strudel is filled with sour cherry, poppy seeds or cottage cheese, but in autumn, you can also expect seasonal specialities: you can try the pumpkin or even the cabbage strudel.

Hungary's waters exude an amazing atmosphere, which can be experienced not only from the shore, but also while floating among the waves. Viewed from the water, the lake world reveals a completely different, secret side of itself, so it is worth getting out on the water and letting the shoreline, the wind, and the water guide us. What’s more, we can enjoy this not only in summer – in fact! We can go on the water in autumn and spring alike – during the quieter months, the scale is different at Lake Tisza, but also at our other bodies of water, be it rivers or the Hungarian sea. As Mariann Solt, Head of the Equipment Vendor Division at Euroleasing, puts it: “When looking at Lake Balaton, for example, many people may feel the desire to discover the magic of the lake with their own boat. With the financing package offered by Euroleasing, the experience of sailing becomes easily accessible, and after paying the affordable monthly fees, ownership of the boat is guaranteed. This makes sailing on Lake Balaton not just an experience, but a way of life.”