MackóKör - Hiking on the Medves mountain

Itinerary

• Starting from the Vargánya guesthouse, go up along Vörösmarty Street, then continue straight into the forest where, after about 200 meters, it joins the P and S trail markers. From here, proceed straight to Eresztvény following the P marker!
• From Eresztvény to Somoskő, follow the P+ marker; when entering the settlement, follow the Z marker all the way to the castle. From the castle to the cemetery located in the middle of the village, return along the Z marker, then turn left onto the Z/ (nature trail) marker, until you reach a contour path. From here, turn left onto the Medves Plateau, reaching it via the Z marker (note: until 2018, this was marked as P+).
• On the plateau, follow the Z marker until you reach a richly marked junction. Here, slightly turn left and continue along the S marker all the way to Rónabánya, from where Rónafalu can be reached by turning right on the asphalt road.
• Turning right into Rónafalu, continue walking following the S◼ marker – through the settlement, across the Medves Plateau (turning left at the Kadlót Cross), then crossing a forest section, from the last intersection continue on the S marker to reach Salgóbánya.
• From Salgóbánya, follow the Z cyclist marker to reach Fanyúlig.
• From here, continue to follow the Z cyclist marker until the corner of the Beszterce housing estate – in the village, this continues as the Z marker, so do not stray from it!
• At the Beszterce housing estate, turn right onto the P▲ marker and do not leave it until reaching the Kercseg-lapos entrance (a resting place resembling a bus stop, also a checkpoint).
• From here, the S cyclist marker leads to Somoskőújfalu. Follow this from the railway station to the point where the trail met the marked path at the start – turn left here to return to Vörösmarty Street, and thereby enter the home stretch.

Detailed Description

Begin by scanning the QR code on the fence of the Vargánya guesthouse, then head uphill along Vörösmarty Street. Where the asphalt ends, continue straight into the forest to soon reach the tourist trail marked with P and S – this also follows the route of the former Eresztvény mining railway. The narrow-gauge steam railway likely existed as early as the 1870s, transporting coal from the Vecseklő mine to Somoskőújfalu until it was closed. In 1910 it was rebuilt, this time to transport basalt. On this 760 mm gauge steam railway, two significant structures were built: a viaduct and a tunnel – the latter still exists today and our route passes through it. The railway ceased operations on January 1, 1963, and the track was removed in 1965. However, the former route remains well traceable, and the MackóKör also follows it up to Eresztvény, making the ascent steady but not too steep.

From Eresztvény, follow the P+ marker to Somoskő. Once crossing the road to Salgóbánya, a playground and a modern yet landscape-integrated building appear. The Eresztvény Visitor Center serves as a start point for guided tours, an information point, café, and a modest exhibition space – focusing mainly on attracting visitors and offering program suggestions, not a large exhibition. Next to the visitor center, continue on the asphalt and then gravel-surfaced road through a private garden area until you suddenly spot the ruins of Somoskő Castle to the north – this impressive ruin beckons, and the first checkpoint is also situated there. Going further along the trail, you soon reach the Petőfi spring. Petőfi’s visit here is highly valued in memory, with many nearby sites recalling the poet with names and memorials.

Before Somoskő, at a Y junction, turn left and pass through the "Returned Village" (Somoskő and Somoskőújfalu are among the few settlements that returned to Hungary following favorable border modifications after the Treaty of Trianon), straight along the street leading to the castle on the Z marker. The route is lined with an old fire station, a cemetery, and a modern bus turnaround. Below the castle is a charming park where you can see the memorial of the 13 Martyrs of Arad, several castle models, and a Petőfi hut. The hut commemorates Petőfi’s visit more than 170 years ago and showcases features of local folk architecture. Don’t forget the checkpoint and the castle towering above! On the Slovak side of the border stands Somoskő Castle, whose core was built in the 13th century by the Kacsics clan, later becoming royal property during the Anjou period. It briefly fell under Turkish control in the late 16th century, was significantly fortified, and finally destroyed by a fire in 1682. What makes the ruin truly fascinating was already noticed by Petőfi: “Somoskő is not a large castle, nor does it lie on a high hill, but I marveled at its construction made of beautiful pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonal stones.” The hill beneath the castle is essentially a huge basalt flow that occurred about 5 million years ago in the area. The columnar basalt with pentagonal and hexagonal shapes resulted from the slow cooling and solidification of the hot lava flowing from deep underground; the shrinkage during cooling caused regular geometric forms. The regular stones can be admired in the castle walls, well, and also at the basalt waterfall on the northern side of the fortress.

From Somoskő Castle, return the same way you came, then at the corner of the cemetery turn left onto the Z/ marked nature trail, which after a few hundred meters leads to the Z mark again; turn left here toward the Medves Plateau. Soon you will reach Central Europe's largest basalt plateau, covering 12.8 square kilometers. This unique geological formation is quite young, having formed about 12-14 million years ago when lava flowed over hilly sedimentary rock, resulting in variable thickness from 11 to 107 meters. The plateau has meadows, pastures, oak-hornbeam forests, gyertyán-oak forests, and beech woods as dominant plant communities. Walking the Z trail, you can usually see far, and on good days, the grass invites rest and sunbathing.

At the plateau, you reach a significant road junction where trails marked in almost every direction continue – this is probably the only point on the tour presenting a risk of getting lost. Don’t be alarmed; slightly turning left, continue on the S trail on a downhill path soon leaving the grassy plateau and entering a forested area. Proceed along a pleasant path to Rónabánya, often with excellent views northward. Upon reaching Rónabánya, you have gone beyond the twelfth kilometer and must check in before the asphalt road. Rónabánya appears as if time has stopped: the mining settlement on the side of Szilvás-kő was established in 1891 for coal mining (Gusztávtáro) and still shows much the same appearance with its three streets of miners' houses dating back to that time.

From Rónabánya, continue on the asphalt road toward Rónafalu – at the first fork, turn right toward the settlement, then follow the S◼ marker all the way to Salgóbánya. According to legend, it was founded by five Slovak families, its golden age owed to coal mining, and passing through this neat community (once an independent village, now part of Salgótarján), you soon return to the grassy Medves plateau. In the middle of the field, the cross erected by Andor Kadlót and his wife since 1901 shows the way. At the tension point, turn left aiming for the northeast corner of the field, where the S and Z trails cross, but continue on the S◼ marker. After an intersection, switch to the S marker, and through a forest section reach Salgóbánya, passing by the House of Geowonders.

At the visitor center, visitors mainly learn about the area's geological past, while the formerly thriving mining settlement lets them glimpse into the gray everyday life of miners. Leaving along the Z cyclist trail through the small streets toward Salgó Castle, you approach the next checkpoint full of anticipation. If time allows, take a short detour following the PL marker to complete a short but intensive climb to Salgó Castle. Like the neighboring Somoskő Castle, this fortress was initially built and owned by the Kacsics clan, then changed hands several times in the 15th century, eventually occupied by the Turks and held under their control between 1554-1593. An interesting era, as the nearby Somoskő Castle was under royal Hungarian control almost throughout. The castle’s retaking caused its downfall; it was destroyed and burned, and since the late 16th century, the former stronghold on the mountain peak lost its military role.

From the castle, return along the PL marker to your original route (Z marker), and after a few hundred meters, at a junction, find the next checkpoint (18.3 km). From here, descend on the Z cyclist trail to the Beszterce housing estate on Salgótarján’s northern border. You reach the sports fields from Tatárák (the tourist path continues straight as the Z marker). Take a look back here; Salgó Castle is visible on the nearby basalt peak. Before reaching the block houses, turn right onto the P▲ marker toward the former Lake Beach, then after circling the lake's southwest corner, cross the main road 21.

From here, start walking the remaining roughly half a dozen kilometers on the serpentine road leading to the former stone quarry on Karancs’ side. Built in the mid-1970s, about 2.2 million tons of stone were transported on this road over the following twenty years. It's dizzying to consider the amount of cobblestones, crushed stone, and other basalt forms used in roadbeds, railway track ballast, or directly in pavement from the Karancs and Medves materials — sources confirm the materials have been used as far as Budapest, Vienna, and London. While pondering this, you almost unnoticed reach your last checkpoint at a forest rest stop where the S+ and S cyclist trails cross. After checking in, follow the S cyclist trail branching right from your current path. Except for a small hill, you descend continuously toward Somoskőújfalu railway station, last catching sight of Salgó Castle in the distance across a large meadow. Crossing the station overpass, you find yourself beside road 21, from where you stay on the same trail marker facing a steep street to overcome your last few meters of elevation difference.

Those who successfully complete the tour within the time limit will certainly be richer in experience and receive a personalized certificate. Those wanting more can obtain a badge for 500 HUF or a T-shirt for 2500 HUF.