My visit to Hortobagy coincided with a fair in the village, to which people from all over Hungary had come. So besides seeing the heart of the National Park, there was also entertainment and traditional handicrafts and food.

However I had come to see the Puzta, so I was directed to Mata, the horse stables to the north of the village. Here I joined a fleet of horse-drawn carts for an inpection tour of the horses, sheep, oxen, water buffalo and grey cattle, all spread out across the grassy plains.

Trains from Eger to Debrecen call at Hortobagy station, situated midway between the village and Mata.