Cuha circuit from Csesznek

Itinerary

• From Suttony bus stop we start on the Z trail heading in the opposite direction of the village.
• We switch to the left branch of the S trail, which we follow all the way to the Cuha Valley.
• In the Cuha Valley, we turn right onto the P trail, walking on it up to Vinye.
• From Vinye, we head towards Csesznek on the S trail.
• At the corner of an agricultural field, the trail markings disappear; here it’s better to choose the unmarked dirt road which reconnects at the edge of the field back to the S trail.
• At the end of the path, on the familiar section, we arrive at the overpass on the Z trail, where the bus stop is located.

Detailed tour description

Through the Cuha Valley

Turning our back on Csesznek, after the Z trail we start climbing on the S trail in the valley between small plateaus towards the Cuha stream. Loess, the dust material scattered in the Bakony basins, is a harbinger of Ice Age winds. After a tunnel-like deep loess path section, we pass the timber yard, then sharply turn left leaving the forest road and turn into the dense woodland according to the markings. The ascent holds no special challenges. We go under power lines, surrounded by dense, stubborn shrubs on both sides – long pants are useful here in summer due to waist-high nettles. Fortunately, 1 km after the timber yard we reach a saddle point, from where a small detour leads to Károlyháza, a former hunting lodge and today a forest guesthouse.

On the right the hornbeam beckons, but the trail descends along the barren pasture beneath the power lines. At times we briefly enter the forest, crossing deep tracks over a mixed pine grove, then touching the corner of a heavily thinned beech forest. Finally, under young coverage, we reach the promenade of the Cuha Valley. Here the valley does not yet reveal its spectacular face; the meandering stream is bordered by wide, marshy meadows. We must take the P trail to the right towards Vinye.

Along the Cuha stream

We walk along a beautiful forest promenade, the atmospheric path not yet hinting at the upcoming landscape excitement. The forest, interspersed with clearings and meadows, closes increasingly, and beneath its dark canopy the stream’s ford tests our agility. (At these points, floods may force us to turn back.) As we progress downwards, the density of rocks lying in the streambed visibly increases and the valley narrows. Cuha is a Slavic-origin word, a variant of “szuha,” meaning dry – referring to the characteristic of this stream drying up or having low flow in summer. After more fords, we cross under railway tracks (emerging from a tunnel), sticking close to the watercourse. Reading the educational trail boards provides detailed information about local features.

The gorge

If we cross the stream to look around near the rails, small limestone quarry cavities patch the rocky hillside – their material is stained reddish with iron washes. The hiking trail reaches the gorge, walls close in, and on the right the tumbling, seeking stream roars loudly. In 2021, stepping stones fixed in the streambed made the fords safer to cross. On the far side, an interesting structure appears on the slope beyond the green foliage curtain: the “semi-tunnel” has a perforated pipe on the slope-facing side, serving as the country's only landslide protection vault, one of the engineering feats of the Cuha Valley railway line. High above, harsh dolomite cliffs peek out from the vegetation as the water (and the trail with it) deviation makes a large loop around rocky prominences.

The railway

At the end of the bend, railway tracks emerge from a tunnel, crossing the stream on a high viaduct. We walk under the viaduct’s white limestone pillars. The Cuha Valley railway line has been operational since the late 19th century, when construction of branch lines began in the Budapest-centric, radial network. The track connected Dombóvár with Győr and posed significant engineering challenges due to the rocky, narrow mountain environment. One of the engineers, Károly Gubányi, later directed construction of the Trans-Baikal railway section in Manchuria. The track's completion required numerous blasts to reshape the surroundings, tunneling, and building bridges and viaducts. Although the line is somewhat derelict (and has undergone several renovations), it withstands the stream’s occasional fury and falling rocks. Despite its low traffic (mainly for tourism), it was once slated for closure but remains an industrial monument today due to its construction and environment.

Cool gorge path

After the next bend, a rain shelter and rest area offer refreshment opportunities; beside it, a massive cliff wall flanks one bank of the stream - looking up, we can see thick limestone layers. Ford follows ford, and we are in the most atmospheric and perceptibly cool part of the gorge: the water lowers the temperature, while heavy, cold air is trapped in the narrow valley. We walk through a magical rocky-strewn section, sunlight rarely coloring the leaves in long streaks. Fortunately, at the end of the 19th century, local limestone was used instead of concrete, so the railway’s long retaining walls are beautifully concealed by habitat-finding, dark moss coverage. The wild gorge trail crosses the stream several times, ending at a widening point marked by a resting place. Crossing the stream (either wading or using a small bridge), within minutes we find ourselves in Vinye’s forest settlement (following an unmarked path in the last meters).

Vinye

The wide clearing is a hub of hiking trails; numerous accommodations offer opportunities for forest stays. It was once property of the Esterházy family, but no trace remains today – it is one of the rare places where tourism evidently seeks forest tranquility. We leave Vinye eastwards on the S trail, soon bypassing the 14-meter long Kőpince cave – erosion has worn away softer, colonized rocks on the hard limestone, creating this small passage. Upward, a water-dissolved chimney opens to the surface.

Back to Csesznek

Our path climbs through nondescript, fragmented forest patches, then after a sharp left turn, we reach the edge of a wide field. Here the markings basically disappear – the trail actually leads onto a bushy, overgrown strip that’s hard to find and annoying to walk through. It’s better to follow the dirt road along the field edge, turning right at the end at a right angle, which leads us back to the now passable hiking trail.

The last kilometers are again through forest: the trail named after Bél Dornyay, the author of Bakony’s first hiking guidebook, runs along a nice, medieval hornbeam edge. At the end of the long walk, we reconnect to the Z trail, whose left branch descends on the now familiar loess path to Suttony bus stop.