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 55,000 hectare, alkaline, grassy lowland still preserving its one-time romantic likeness is but one face of the Hungarian Puszta's thousands.

The River Tisza, fair-coloured from billions of sand grains, enters Hungarian territory at the town of Tiszabecs, heads northwest for a while, makes a tight bend at Záhony and sets out for the Puszta. Flanked all the way by flood plain gallery forests and willow thickets, its cut off bende are the birthplaces of ox-bow lakes with rich flora and fauna. The almost pristine beauty of nature van be encountered along the rivers Szamos, Túr or Kraszna all flowing into the Tisza. The sluggish, rolling waters of the River Hortobágy are lined by emerald reed beds, whose stillness is broken by the calls of water-birds and the croaking of frogs. The Puszta is a true wetland paradise harbouring more than nine hundred lakes of different types: alkaline lakes, artificial fish ponds and natural ox-bows. The 90 km² Lake Tisza, often called the Balaton of the Puszta, is a recent creation of man, thus transformin the landscape. The protected area of the Bátorliget bog harbours botanical and zoological rarities surviving from postglacial times. The area is enveloped in mist every moming, even in the summertime. It took thousands of years for the wind to deposit the elong-ated sand-hills so characteristic of the northeastern part of the Great Plain, the Nyírség, though the multitude of the region's apple orchards gives credit to the handiwork of today's man.

The Tisza, once meandered slowly across the almost level plain. But the tributaries carrying abundant water from the mountains, and the sudden rains often caused the river to overflow its banks, inundating vast areas. During the 19^th century the river was regulated; long loops were cut out to give a straighter course that was 450 kilometres shorter.

Large protected arterial areas were created behind the extensive system of dikes. There are few such romantic areas in Europe, untouched by the hazards of civilisation but which can be explored without any danger. Landscape protection areas conserve the flora and fauna that has survived here, as well as around the alkaline lakes and in the forests growing on sandy areas.

The most visited reservations in the South of the Great Plain are the Kiskunság National Park, the Szarvas Arboretum, and the Landscape Protection areas of Pusztaszer, Mártély, Cserebókény and Pitvarosi Puszták.

The Kiskunság National Park, created in 1975 and declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO covers around 35,000 hectares. Its interesting feature is that it is not a single area, but comprises seven different units, scattered like pieces of a mosaic. One of these is the Kiskunság Puszta where annual events are held reviving the old pastoral life and cattlebreeding customs. Another is the Kolon Lake near Izsák, known for its marsh tortoises, herons, expanses of untouched reeds and nine species of orchids which grow in the vicinity. An interesting natural phenomenon is the sand dunes in the vicinity of Fülöpháza; under favourable wind conditions they seem to move.

The puszta at Bugac is a real attraction. Several horse shows are held here each day and there are also regalar horse-driving competitions. A herd of the famous long-horned grey cattle, a highly resistant breed developed on the plain, can be seen at Bugac. Long-horned racka sheep native to Hungary are kept here too. The pastoral museum has a display on the life of shepherds in the past. The area of juniper scrub in the vicinity is a remnant of the original natural environment. The Szarvas Arboretum covers an area of 45 hectares beside a backwater of the Kőrös River and has 1500 varieties of trees and shrubs. Many of the giant trees in the garden are over a hundred years old. Even people who do not have a special interest in botany will find a visit very rewarding since visitors are allowed to stroll and play badminton on the lawns or to picnic in the shade of the trees. Boats depart from its jetty for trips on the Holt-Kőrös.

The alkaline lakes of the Kiskunság are found near Fülöpszállás and Szabadszállás. Their unique flora and bird-life are of special value. Besides the avocets, geese and black-winged stilts that nest here, the lakes provide a temporary homefor tens of thousands of migratory birds. This ornithologists' paradise is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Szelidi Lake near Kalocsa, the Vadkerti Lake at Soltvadkert, Kunfehér Lake and Sós Lake at Kiskunhalas are ideal spots for bathing and camping. The alkaline Fehér Lake at Szeged is known as a "world of wild waters". The great flocks of birds that can be seen during the autumn migration season at Fehér Lake near Kardoskút offer a sight unmatched in Europe. The lake is used as a resting place and nesting site by tens of thousands of plovers, cranes and wild ducks. A reserve at Dévaványa is a refuge for the great bustard, the ostrich of the Hungarian puszta.

The big round nests of storks can be seen on dead trees, village chimneys and electricity poles. When autumn comes they leave to spend the winter in warmer countries but always return to their homes in the spring. The distinctive, long-beaked stork has become a part offolk art, is mentioned in numerous songs, and in Hungarian childrens tales it is the stork who brings babies.