The western part of Mátra ridge

Itinerary:

• From the Ágasvár tourist house we descend to Mátrakeresztes following the P trail.
• We cross the Pásztó country road and continue along the P+ trail next to the Óvár Restaurant.
• At the next junction we continue again on the P trail.
• At the Erdész-rét junction we switch back to the ʍ trail and follow it to Nyikom saddle.
• From the small meadow of Nyikom saddle we ascend to the Nyikom summit on an unmarked rocky path, then descend the same way.
• For the remainder of the route, we follow the P  trail all the way to Szurdokpüspöki.

Route description:

Downhill from Ágasvár

We start downhill from the buildings of the Ágasvár tourist house on the P trail. We turn left from the forestry transport road and descend steeply to the Csörgő stream along the southern slope's young forest of Ágasvár. The shaded valley is an idyllic hiking section and tells about the geological history of Mátra. The gorge was formed by structural movements due to faulting, exposing volcanic rocks on both sides. The huge andesite walls of Csóka and Bárány-kő are popular rock climbing areas and rise above us on the mountain slope adorned with rock flows. In some places, the gorge narrows so much that lower rock pieces are within arm’s reach. A pleasant descent along the watercourse leads to the path to the Böske spring, where we can turn off to refill water from a nearby trickle. We make a wide bend around the reed bed drying up at the Békás lake, then step onto an asphalt road among holiday houses around the marsh, walking to Mátrakeresztes.

Mátrakeresztes, the former glassworks settlement

Mátrakeresztes is attached to the bottom of the narrow Kövicses stream valley, faithfully reflected in the village structure, if you walk along the main street of this remote mountain settlement following the watercourse. The long but narrow houses stand close together, with yards only in between, and in front of their walls runs the street directly. However, this idyllic valley location also has risks: in 2005, flash floods of the tributary Csörgő stream washed away Mátrakeresztes. A large amount of rain fell in a short time, flowing down the slopes and swollen the stream into a raging river that swept through the valley leaving ruins behind. Locals believe that the extent of the disaster was also increased by clearcuts on the surrounding slopes, as there was insufficient vegetation to hold back some of the suddenly fallen precipitation. The frequency of extreme floods may be connected to climate change, as since the turn of the millennium, four similar floods have occurred, which statisticians previously estimated to happen once every 50-100 years.

Unlike today, in the Middle Ages the entire Mátra was a dense, contiguous forest landscape. This condition led to the establishment of glassworks even during the reign of our Árpádian kings. One of Central Europe's earliest smelters was established near Pásztó, and the products of the Bodony glassworks were used in the windows of Eger Castle at the end of the 15th century. The significant glass production spanning eras was most intense in the 18th century when several glassworks were established in the inner parts of the Mátra with Slovak settlers. There are records of a total of 16 glass furnaces operating in the mountains from the Middle Ages onwards. The word “huta” is of German origin, meaning a smelting furnace.

The significant wood demand of the factories began to deplete and devour the forests of Mátra. Not only did the furnaces require large amounts of firewood, but also the production of potash (szalajka) needed for the process. An average domestic forest glassworks required about 4 tons of potash annually, which required cutting about 40 tons of wood. This led to the destruction of forests around the factories within a few decades.

During the 19th century, the glassworks ceased operations, but glassmaking and grinding did not end in the Mátra; an internationally renowned glass factory was established in Parádsasvár, and smaller businesses continue the centuries-old traditions today.

The local peculiarity of the 2005 flood was wooden boards scattered along the creek banks throughout the village. The old craft of wooden spoon carving is practiced by part of the Mátrakeresztes population today. The water spread the blank carved boards around. The village now belonging to Pásztó was formerly called Alsóhuta; Slovaks settled there in the mid-18th century. Initially, there was a glassworks in the valley, whose significant wood needs were supplied by the forest. A description from 1837 mentions: “Near Alsó Huta, 200 souls, Hungarian Catholic and Lutheran residents, bordered by hilly and valleyed land, have a workshop making beautiful glass.”

After the end of the glass production era, logging, timber transport and charcoal burning were the main livelihood, and many also undertook seasonal work in the Great Plain. Mátra loggers were famous and sought-after, employed with pleasure also by forest owners from distant parts of the country for seasonal work.

Cave, waterfalls, viewpoints

We cross the Pásztó paved road and cross the concrete bed of the Kövicses stream over the bridge next to the Óvár Restaurant, then enter the forest on the P+ trail to the right. Passing electric poles and making a sharp turn, we start rising out of the valley. Soon, on an unmarked right-turning path, we can take a detour to the interestingly shaped Alsó Waterfall, which tells about the volcanic past of Mátra. On the softer, reddish tuff rock there was a volcanic lava flow millions of years ago, and the creek falls as a small cascade over the edge of resistant lava beds.

Not far above, we reach a junction from where we can take two detours to see other sights. The PΩ trail to the right leads to the Zsivány cave. Such cavities are rare shelters in volcanic mountains and are mostly not formed by dripping water as in karst terrains. The main cause of this small fissure formation is that heat from the former lava flow caused water vapor and gases to escape from the bedrock, which merged into larger gas bubbles creating caves in the lava body. Later, frost opened it to the outside world, providing refuge for bandits of the mountains, including the famous Márton Vidróczky. This rocky hideout was especially advantageous because helpers from nearby villages were close by.

We return to the junction. On the other path, we visit the Upper Waterfall following the P▲ signs along the rocky streambed. The narrow trail is blocked by a dark stone amphitheater. Hard lava rocks were sculpted by erosion as they wore down the softer surroundings. The Lyukas-kő lava breccia arch was formed by earlier creek erosion, under which a small waterfall tumbles down towards the main valley. The scattered tuffs and the andesite bands laid out like lava mark the operational phases of Mátra: explosion and lava flow periods alternated building the layered volcanic structure.

Continuing on the P+ trail, we enter an increasingly steep climb on a path covered with stone debris, a sweat-inducing steepness. In the upper part of the hillside, we can catch our breath on the gradually foresting grassy-lush slope of Erdész-rét. The place also invites to look around, as the rise of Óvár opposite is revealed, with the andesite towers of Csóka-kő on its side. Next to it, we can observe the Ágasvár area, the middle section of the Mátra ridge. Below us, narrow and deep valleys carved into the slopes are well outlined, hiding the houses of Mátrakeresztes from sight.

We cut through a meadow half overgrown with thorny bushes and find ourselves on another bare spot beside a geodetic concrete pillar, from where there is a view towards the Zagyva valley and the rising peaks of Cserhát, Karancs and Medves regions. In villages established by the river separating these microregions, the memory of gold washing in Zagyva valley was still alive in the 18th century, gained from stream sediments of the volcanic rock of the mountains.

Continuing, we rejoin the P trail shortly. Thanks to a forest clearing, the landscape opens to the inner parts of the mountains. Behind the rock wall decorated block of Óvár and the gorge cut by the Csörgő stream, we see the eastern part of Mátra ridge with the prominent antenna tower of Galya peak.

On the way to Nyikom

We arrive at the reservation-free Nyikom spring on a beautiful spruce forest path covered with needles. The small wet area provides drinking and wallowing places for wildlife. Climbing to the saddle between the Vörös-kő-bérc and Nyikom, the terrain softens, and we continue hiking on a comfortable cart road. Southwards, a clearing gives a view over the deep Zám stream valley, behind which the peak pyramid of Havas forms the border between the Mátra and the Great Plain stretching to the horizon. Our path leads between an older oak forest and regrowth after logging to the edge of a marshy meadow of Nyikom-rét that has seen better days. To the right of the path, we spot a resting place and a roofed, drilled well. Reaching the small clearing of Nyikom saddle, we ascend the rocks to the Gortva-Jójárt lookout tower standing on the summit of Nyikom via an unmarked rocky path (indicated by a wooden sign here). On the 764-meter-high summit stands a four-story lookout tower, offering a stunning panoramic view through its closed windows to the wider surroundings. We have a good view of the inner Mátra region, where the prominences of Ágasvár, Óvár, Galya peak, and Kékes can be easily identified. Towards the Great Plain, the most characteristic are Muzsla and Havas peaks. Beyond the Zagyva valley, the lower ridges of Cserhát ripple, and to the southwest, we can glimpse the mountain ranges of Börzsöny, Visegrád, and Buda. To the north, Karancs and Medves reveal themselves, and in clear weather, higher parts of the High Tatras in Slovakia also appear.

The summit and its surroundings are privately owned. The owner built the lookout and made it available for use by the wider tourist public. Let's appreciate this intention, protect and preserve the building and its environment, and keep it clean!

Climb up Muzsla

Back at the saddle, we follow the P marks southwards, ascending through mixed oak and beech forest. Above the former clearcut regrowth to the left, we can observe the huge block of Kékes, and from another open area, we look back at Nyikom and its lookout tower. From this point, we can also view the earlier section of the Mátra ridge we walked, as well as the peaks of Ágasvár and Óvár.

This is a notable part of the western ridge of Mátra, where we are currently. The section south of Nyikom saddle slopes down sharply towards Zagyva, dissected by parallel erosion-origin gullies, with steep ridges running down to the mountain foot between the channels. From the valley settlements’ direction, this ridge appears coffin-shaped, hence the folk name “Seven-leader’s coffin.”

Reaching the ridge line of Ólom peak, the climb eases, and we arrive at the Muzsla saddle junction marked with a tourist signpost through closed forest of different ages, sometimes with rocky outcrops and stone fields. A short but steep section awaits here to the Muzsla summit, but the forest makes up in scenery and atmosphere for the difficulty. To the right among the trees we also get a glimpse of the Zagyva valley and the silhouette of Cserhát behind it.

We cross a beautiful grove of old beech trees, passing impressively gnarled and twisted trees. We also see huge fallen trunks in the leaf litter serving as habitats for insects. The magical, fairy-tale atmosphere is enhanced by smaller and larger mossy rock outcrops lying on the ground and the branchy, winding root systems.

After overcoming the breath-taking hillside, we stand on Muzsla’s 805-meter-high peak. Although the summit does not offer a view, excellent natural rest areas are provided by the andesite lava bed rocks. The summit is marked by a dilapidated geodetic concrete pillar, where a lookout tower was inaugurated by the walkers of the Hungarian Carpathian Association Mátra Department in 1935. Unfortunately, the 14-meter tower was damaged a few years later and eventually completely fell into ruin. Hopefully, a lookout will be rebuilt here in the near future so we can admire the panorama of the surroundings from the highest point of Western Mátra.

Ridge views

The rest of our route mostly consists of descents. We will lose more than 500 meters in height until the center of Szurdokpüspöki. Holding the ridge line, we touch a stone sea at the now forested Muzsla clearing and descend over grey lava rocks on the narrowing ridge path towards Harasztos-bérc. From a point, we catch sight of the Kékes peak crowned with a TV tower, and looking towards the Great Plain, the cooling chimneys emitting smoke of the Mátra Power Plant appear. We cross the Nagy-Hársas peak in closed forest. Below it, after a slight climb, we arrive at the Nagy-Koncsúr mountain plateau, where forest cover breaks, and we first look towards the Zagyva and then the wavy ridge line of Havas – Káva – Tót-hegyes, with the bald Világos mountain behind. Beyond that, the Kékes block enlivens the horizon.

Our next viewpoint is the Kis-Koncsúr rock, which we reach by stepping left off the tourist trail. The place offers a great panorama over the Mátraalja area flattening towards the Great Plain, and looking back over our previous route, we overlook the ridge peaks touched so far until Muzsla.

We descend again in the forest to Horka peak, but from here we travel through grassy terrains to the valley of Diós stream. From Horka, we get a good panorama to Havas peak, and in the valley below, we can observe the houses of Pásztó and Szurdokpüspöki.

The dominant points of the open area provide a wide view into the surroundings. We see a large area: beyond the flat Zagyva valley, the Cserhát bulges, identifiable are the peaks Tepke, Szanda, and Purga. Beyond them, the ridge of High Börzsöny rises, to its left the massive block of Naszály breaks towards the sky. Further, we see the peaks of the Visegrád mountains and Pilis, and the top of János hill in Budapest peeks out right at the horizon. Opposite, on the far side of Diós stream, are the forested slopes of Isten-fa hill and Tilalmas, behind which rise the ruins of the volcanoes Nagy-hársas and Apci Somlyó.

We descend on an eroded rocky path among shrubs and bushes on a grassy, rocky ridge. The lower section of the ridge leading down from Muzsla is characterized by missing forest cover or only scattered small tree groups. This is because decades of intensive use has thinned the soil cover, and trees can barely establish themselves anymore. In these areas, shrub forests, rock steppes, and grasslands have developed, which delight hikers with excellent viewpoints. Some of the tree groups along the ridge consist of non-native species; forest and black pine have been planted in eroded areas to protect the remaining soil.

End of our hike: Szurdokpüspöki

At the bottom of the steep, we enter a forest and cross the Diós stream, turning onto the cart road leading to Szurdokpüspöki. Soon, we leave the trees, and the village church appears in the foreground of the rolling Cserhát hills. We wind down the loess-covered road among vineyards, orchards, and arable fields.

We pass through the orderly wine cellar row's press houses, then step onto asphalt road. From a junction, we get a view southwards to the block of Nagy-Hársas. Under the former volcano crowned with a geodetic measuring tower flows the Szurdok stream, from which Szurdokpüspöki gets its name. If we detour in this direction, we can visit the 150-year-old Káponka Mária shrine. Those interested in shaman traditions can visit the Holy Cross spring on the eastern edge of the village a bit further. The environment of this ancient cult spring was arranged and rebuilt in 2008.

From the school building, we can take a detour to the baroque monument church and the Hanák Kolos Memorial House below it — the founder of Mátra tourism, who was born in the village in 1851. He made invaluable contributions to organizing domestic hiking as the very active president of the Mátra Association. He wrote the first hiking guide of the mountains and actively participated in establishing hiking infrastructure. His name is preserved by a challenge hike and an association.

Exiting to the main road, we turn left, bypass the Flagpole base, then the hexagonal wrought-iron ornamental fountain, reaching the end point of our hike at the Freedom Square. From the bus stop here or the railway station 1 km away, you can travel further.