Zuppa Trail

Itinerary:

• In Szárliget, follow the K mark from Mezei Confectionery to the Vitányvár fork
• Take a detour to Vitányvár on the KL mark
• From Vitányvár, stay on the K mark until the end of the descending slope
• At the fork, switch to the Z mark until the fork before Szép Ilonka spring
• Sharply turn back following the P mark, and follow it through Szár to the climb leading to Zuppa Peak
• The K▲ mark takes you up to Zuppa Peak, then down from there
• The K mark leads back to the finish at the Mezei Confectionery in Szárliget.

Route description:

The Zuppa Trail is the organizers' first truly circular route, where the start and end point coincide exactly, at the Mezei Confectionery Café in Szárliget, Baross Gábor street 4. Just a few minutes’ walk from the railway station, we start on the K mark and leave the settlement towards the west. Crossing main road number 1, before the barrier we take a sharp right headed to Csákányospuszta, where we soon leave the street and cross the stream to wind forward through the meadow.

Passing the Csákányospuszta tourist lodge, entering the forest, the route continues on the K track climbing the Maria Gorge Valley carved by the former Béla spring (Csákány stream), past prominent rock cliffs and fallen trees. Adventurous hikers who like to climb have the option before the gorge on the K+ mark to make a short (about 1 km) detour to Kis-Kopasz-hegy Körtvélyesi lookout. Returning to the K mark, at the bottom of the gorge, the hiker meets the Virgin Mary’s carved face in the tree, and a few hundred meters lower on the right can see the special atmosphere of the ancient gravestones of the Körtvélyes forest cemetery, which nature is slowly but surely reclaiming.

After the cemetery, following the paved road briefly, turn left again into a clearing and then into the forest, mostly descending to reach the white ruins of Vitányvár, decorated on the Zuppa Trail medals. The castle, built in the second half of the 13th century, can be approached on the KL mark and here is also the first checkpoint of the route. Descending from the castle, turn left at the junction and follow the Z mark, which at the end of a furrow-like path leads to the Rockenbauer memorial tree named after Pál Rockenbauer, the author of the series “One and a Half Million Steps in Hungary.”

The Z mark almost leads to the Szép Ilonka spring, where we turn left uphill towards the mountain slope onto the P mark. More adventurous hikers can find a path before the spring on the green mark, along the forest fence up to the Gráciák ridge, which is a beautiful rock-terraced formation and a wonderful viewpoint. Heading right from the ridge, the P mark joins again.

On the red mark, ascend to the Macskabükki junction where after a right turn the mark turns right again onto a straight section bordered by pines on the left and meadow on the right. From here, we wind on an excellently runnable plateau through the forest until we begin descending towards Szálláskút, where suddenly the mark leads left onto a small path. The P mark takes us into the settlement of Szár (here is the second checkpoint and the only water point on the route), then leaving heading right at the crossroad, crossing under the railway tracks we leave the settlement. Again we head into the forest and mountain, this time towards the namesake elevation of the route, Zuppa Peak, also called Spitzig by locals, affectionately Spici hill.

The Zuppa Peak, which offers a wonderful view of Szárliget and the laying Vértes behind it (third checkpoint), can be reached by leaving the P mark left onto the K▲ mark, then descending on the now familiar K mark to the Mezei Confectionery Café, which also serves as the start point.