The vast Great Plain has the most extreme weather of any area in Hungary. It has the hottest summers, the most hours of sunshine a year and the lowest temperatures in winter.

The Hortobágy National Park preserves some of the most unique curiosities and treasures in the middle of Europe. Mirages of trees, shadoof-wells, church spires, even entire villages may be seen in the shimmering hot air of the Puszta. Tens of thousands of migrating cranes, wild geese, mallards, spoon-bills, rarely seen black storks and white storks arriving by the flock all find refuge here and so do a host of ancient Hungarian domestic animals on the brink of extinction: the Hungarian grey longhorn, flocks of spiral-horned Racka sheep and Nonius horses. Herdsmen, shepherds and horse-herds are indispensable accessories of the landscape just as their helpers, the hard-working Puli and Komondor sheep-dogs are. This alkaline, grassy lowland still preserving its one-time romantic likeness is but one face of the Hungarian Puszta's thousands.

One of Europe's largest expanses (over 1,400 km2) of protected prairie, where Hungarian grey cattle, stud horses, Racka sheep with spiralshaped horns and buffalo herds graze on open pastures. A World Heritage site since 1999, the Hortobágy National Park stretches over an area of 82,000 hectares.

The Kilenclyukú híd (Nine-Arch Bridge) is Hungary's longest (167.3 m) stone bridge open to road traffic. It spans the river Hortobágy near the village of Hortobágy. The nearly 300-year-old Hortobágyi csárda ('inn'), a characteristic Puszta restaurant, offers a selection of herdsmen's dishes. The Pásztormúzeum ('Herdsmen's Museum') provides an insight into the life of Hortobágy herdsmen and shepherds. The Hortobágyi Körszín displays the unique flora and fauna, folklore and crafts of the region, where visitors can also see grey cattle, buffaloes, goats and Mangalitsa pigs in open-air pens and sties. Máta, 2 km away from the village of Hortobágy, is the habitat of the Hortobágy stud. The Nonius breed has been reared here for 300 years.

The fishpond keeper's lodge at the Hortobágy National Park opens a wide view of an extraordinarily rich water world. The lookout tower at the keeper's lodge at Szálkahalom provides an excellent view of birdlife in the surrounding woods and salt lakes.