Börzsöny Blue Tour 3rd section: Nagybörzsöny–Szob

Itinerary:

• From Nagybörzsöny to Szob follow the K signs.

Detailed description of the route:

Historic village

The starting point of our route, Nagybörzsöny, located at the western foot of the Börzsöny, was once a privileged town due to its gold mines. The picturesque settlement’s history dates back to the founding of the state: King Saint Stephen himself donated the village to the church, so it is not surprising that a splendid Romanesque style church dedicated to him was consecrated at the western border of the village. The impressive building still hosts ceremonies today, and anyone can admire it from inside upon request. Besides numerous other sights, the narrow-gauge railway also offers a great program.

The Nagybörzsöny verification stamp can be obtained at the Malomkert Inn’s restaurant, then in the village square at Hunyadi Square, bypassing the promenade turn left into Petőfi Street, then left again at the local history house directing to József Attila Street following the K signs. On our left, stairs lead up to the Miners' Church, built in the Árpád era similar to the Saint Stephen church – this served as a mass site for German hospes settlers. We ascend winding streets; on the right, old ruined cellars carved into the steep hillside remind us of the village’s former vineyards and famous wines, destroyed by the 19th-century phylloxera. We wind between nicely renovated rustic houses until turning left at a well with a wheel into a small bulldozer road and leave Nagybörzsöny.

Through valleys

We continue climbing in a typical forest at the village edge: acacias and maples grew where former fields and pastures were. We cross a loess soil belt: the road "turns yellow", with loess walls rising on the left and right, then the trees thin out, and we cross a shrubby meadow until finally entering the forest. On the wide, level path through the oak-hornbeam forest, the walk is comfortable; on the right, through the foliage, the ditch of Farkas Valley intermittently appears, into which we gradually descend. At a barrier, we join a dirt road running in the valley, a favorite route for cyclists between Nagybörzsöny and Nagyirtáspuszta. At the road crossing, we almost immediately leave Farkas Valley, turning sharply right onto a farm track along the ridge. On a "roller coaster" path, we cross the hillside, and on the far side, we arrive in the Granát creek valley, a branch of Farkas Valley.

The valley is darkened by overlapping canopies, but these soon open up: we reach a grassy-nettle clearing. The climb intensifies over the next 1 km, so we ascend to the resting benches at Koppány Saddle, where on the trail sign we find the verification code. Turning right on the P sign, we can make a detour (400 m) to the Kis-Koppány viewpoint, turning left on the K+ sign we can reach the panoramic summit of Nagy-Koppány (800 m) – or even visit both. (From the first, the panorama faces Magas-Börzsöny; from the latter, one can admire the Danube Bend and Visegrád Mountains with their mountainous panorama.)

From saddle to swamp, from swamp to mountaintop

Facing Koppány Saddle, but not along the fence road, we leave on a grassy path. We return to the forest, where a patchwork of nettle bushes is colored by one or two older beech trees. Our path ends at a hairpin bend of a farm track; here we turn left, then entering a shrubby cut; at a Y-junction, the signs direct us right. The winding path leads to a clearing where the presence of reeds is striking even from a distance: we walk next to Black Swamp, a waterlogged, poorly drained area. On our right is a decaying resting spot, on our left blackberry bushes from which we can feast in July and August.

Leaving Black Swamp, we turn right next to the fence, then the signs immediately guide left onto a grove path. We climb unpleasantly steep, in summer densely nettled, at times almost impassable path up to Széles Hill, whose treeless top offers the verification code and a beautiful view: partially we see the bald peak of Nagy-Koppány, the ridge formed by Nagy-Sas Hill, Sós Hill and Kopasz Hill, and we also observe the mass of Saint Michael Hill. Unfortunately, the clearing is unsuitable for longer rest; in summer the tall undergrowth prevents sitting, and shade can be found only under the tree dominating the summit.

Winding in paths

The descending trail is similar to the ascent: overgrown, nettled, and difficult to pass. Fortunately, we soon turn right onto a road, then shortly afterwards, together with the approaching Z sign, turn sharply right. We proceed along a straight corridor: in a grove forest letting plenty of light through, dense undergrowth formed, narrowing the former farm track into a footpath. We avoid hunting hides, then at the end of the path turn left. After several branches, under the shade of old beeches, we return to the forest, cross an erosion gully, and start a mild ascent towards Piribék clearing. On our left stretches a valley, where the cold settling in it cools the local microclimate, refreshing in summer heat.

Coming out onto the hay meadow of Piribék clearing, the relatively large number of legacy trees is remarkable: such wooded meadows are very rare in Börzsöny, where typically only one or two individuals are left in the mountain meadows. (Its name derives from the word pribék, which comes from an old story that "pribék pandurs" ambushed bandits distributing to the villagers here.) The K sign cuts across the lush grassy clearing, beyond which we find the next verification point of the Börzsöny Blue Tour. The direction arrows point towards Letkés with the Z sign; we start climbing towards Galla clearing. Before reaching the clearing, a farm track branching from ours at level leads right to the steep K▲ sign, where we can visit the 479 m high Nagy-Galla peak. The extreme climb is rewarded with a wonderful panoramic view: the comprehensive picture of the Danube Bend mountains can be seen from the sharply dropping rocky mountain to the south.

Following the narrow-gauge railways

A few meters after K▲ junction, the K sign leaves the farm track and turns left into an oak grove. The path reaches the fence, joins a farm track, then after a brief "zigzagging" we descend for a long stretch until we reach the bivouac shelter of Bakancsos hut. The cabin is made suitable for forest nights by civilians through renovating an old, dilapidated forest hut and furnishing it.

Signage is scarce in this section, but the farm track bending along the fence is quite well followable. From the hut we continue straight, then cutting the left bend of the farm track, we find ourselves on the embankment of the former branch line of the Szob narrow-gauge railway from Brjéska mine. On the almost completely flat road, we turn right. A few hundred meters later, the KL sign branches left, whose steep path leads to the modest castle ruins on Zuvári Hill, and the view opening from the hilltop is worth visiting if time permits.

The K sign crosses the old, impressive stone bridge of the narrow-gauge railway, then the K● signs lure to the Railwaymen’s Spring, the only water intake point outside settlements on our route. At a Y-junction, the sign follows the left path, but the right path can also be continued as they meet again. We arrive at Misa meadow, approaching the Szob–Márianosztra highway, but shortly before it – at least in summer – an impassable nettle patch blocks our way, forcing a detour. We recommend the farm track on the edge of Misa meadow, from which soon we turn left onto a connecting road whose bridge makes crossing the creek more comfortable.

Among endless fields

On the other side of the highway, we cross the track of the Trans-Börzsöny narrow-gauge railway, then start a long but low-intensity ascent on a nondescript farm track. After 1 km, we reach the embankment of the former branch line of the Csák Hill andesite mine of the Szob narrow-gauge railway, and leaving the forest, we step onto a meadow. We pass between hillside fields with a nice view towards Csák Hill; turning back, we can also spot the characteristic peak of Nagy-Galla and the rounded Zuvári Hill. We arrive at the old Szob–Márianosztra highway at a T-junction, where opposite the road sign we find the verification code of Sukola Cross, but the black cross itself is only a few hundred meters south. The crucifix erected in 1943 by István Sukola and his wife was destroyed by vandals, and in 2006, their daughter and grandchildren replaced it here.

The road descending among agricultural fields and former sites compensates the monotonous boredom with continuous views of the Danube Bend mountains. From Sukola Cross, we still have 3 km to go until the K signs lead into Szob, then turn right towards the railway station, where we can get a stamp at the ticket office or note the last verification code of our route at the signpost next to the bus stop.