A geological walk inside the revealing mountain of Jakab Hill

Itinerary:

• We cover the first 100 meters of the route on Rákóczi Street towards the mountain.
• From the center of Kővágószőlős, we follow the P◼ mark to a forest junction.
• From the junction, we continue right, straight ahead on the P+ mark.
• At a junction, we turn right to the P▲ mark, which we follow up to the Jubilee Cross detour.
• We take a short detour to the Jubilee Cross on the ZT mark.
• Returning to the P▲ mark, we reach the Babás rock formations.
• From the rock formations, we start climbing left on the K+ mark, then ascend to the ridge on the K▲ mark.
• We follow the K mark right towards the ruins of the Pauline monastery.
• We take a short detour to the Zsongor Stone on the K▲ mark on the right.
• We continue following the K mark up to the monastery ruins junction.
• We take a short detour to the Pauline monastery ruins on the Z mark.
• Heading back on the Z mark, we descend on the eastern side of Jakab Hill to the Panorama Road.
• On the Panorama Road, we sidestep back to near the Babás rock formations to a junction on the P▲ mark (right up).
• From the junction, the K▲ mark leads down to the border of Cserkút.
• At the edge of Cserkút, we turn right and return to Kővágószőlős on the P◼ mark.
• We walk the last meters on Rákóczi Street to the bus stop.

Detailed description of the route

Heading to Jakab Hill!

We start from the main square of Kővágószőlős, Heroes' Square, on Rákóczi Street towards the hill. The village originally dates back to the Árpád era and was inhabited during Roman times, evidenced by a villa from the 2nd century AD excavated at the village border. Its first written mention already indicates taxation in vineyards and wine. The protection of the Jakab Hill ridge on the southern slopes, paired with dry, sunny summers, creates excellent conditions mainly for growing white grape varieties. Another main income of the settlement comes from the extraction and processing of the easily carved stone from the surrounding hills. The most usable sandstone was quarried up to the peak of Jakab Hill; the quarry clearings can be spotted from the village as well. We join the P◼ mark near the wine tavern and head north out of Kővágószőlős along vineyards towards the hill.

We continue climbing through oak woods, where on the right side, in a steep cut, we reach the P+ mark at a projecting rest area formed by harder conglomerate layers. The P▲ mark passes along the top of the inclined rampy rock slab, traversing near the middle of the southern slope of Jakab Hill in the direction of Pécs. At the Jubilee Cross, we reach the first rock tower, accessible via the ZT nature trail, offering a view over the Kővágószőlős basin and the distant Villány Mountains rising from the Dráva Plain. The colorful, size-variable Babás rock formations made of conglomerate can be well studied underfoot: some blocks as big as a child's head suggest quickly flowing depositional environments, while the reddish sand grains hint at a desert environment. The upper, gravel-layer was piled and rolled by the advancing sea's energy, while underneath cross-bedded sandstone was deposited from an earlier meandering river.

Returning to the P▲ mark, numerous small projections offer panoramic views, and we can admire diverse rock towers and stone mushrooms in this open-air exhibition of natural creations. The bizarre shapes have also touched the locals: in the stone sculptures, they believed to see two wedding processions cursed by a banished beggar on their happiest day, turning both families into rows of rock columns. From the last wall, we overlook the towers and then turn north to conquer the remaining ascent of Jakab Hill.

On the sandstone ridge

The K+ mark tackles the steep, rocky path that joins a cart road a few hundred meters higher. From here, we continue ascending along the K▲ mark. The path leads to the abandoned quarry called Sasfészek, now fully forested. Its straight walls and geometrically cut blocks remind us of the former manually quarried difficulties—the excellent quality sandstone was transported as building stone and material for carved elements and statues. The path crosses rocks emerging from the forest floor, where climbing is recommended—especially in rainy or icy conditions.

Above Sasfészek, we soon reach the end of the path and arrive at the ridge of Jakab Hill, where the K mark of the South Transdanubian Blue Trail arrives on a wider track, which we follow briefly rightward. On the left, hundreds of meters away, Iron Age burial mounds can be found in the forest, while ahead lie the ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort on the summit. Here, however, the walls are lower since the inaccessible cliffs of Jakab Hill's natural escarpment provided natural protection to the structure. The Hallstatt culture's people likely used this as an important fortification, dating the hillfort back to the 8th century BC, the early Iron Age. Beneath the ramparts is a resting place and a short path marked K▲, which descends to the hill's most impressive lookout point, Zsongor Stone. Below us stands a rock tongue equipped with an Iron Age railing, accessible via stair-like cliff descents; as we reach the sandstone wall edge, the view emerges from the sparse oak forest. If we're not afraid of heights and move confidently despite the exposure, it's worth descending a bit to the viewpoint: en route, cross-bedded sandstone bands and fossilized ripples can be seen on the layers.

An inscription dated 1892 can be seen on the rock parapet; the Mecsek Association installed the iron railing soon after its founding. Caution is well advised, as the lookout grabs our attention far and wide, letting us scan the Baranya Plain with the Villány Mountains and the Papuk mountain range beyond the Dráva Valley. The houses of Kővágószőlős and Cserkút are clearly visible—a kind of otherworldly atmosphere pervades the basin unfolding beneath us, and our imagination may leap beyond material concerns. At the top of the rock lies the Hermit Cave, where many took shelter for longer or shorter times over past centuries, and enlarged the natural cavity formed in the sandstone crack. Probably countless prayers and supplications were directed from this high point, as monks also lived on the hilltop beyond the hermits.

Returning briefly along the K mark, we reach a forest clearing providing shelter and comfort with a spacious rain shelter to visitors arriving on the hill. On the far side of the meadow, along the Z mark, lie the ruins of the former Pauline monastery. The 12th-century building was expanded upon an existing church's walls and later rebuilt in Renaissance style. The current ruins are remains of walls devastated in the Turkish era and renewed in the 18th century, as King Joseph II dissolved the Pauline monastic order; the abandoned building was then used as a quarry by locals. The monastery church's holy water font, stone and wooden crosses, and the sacramentum were transported to the Árpád-era church in Kővágószőlős, where they are still visible.

Back to the plain

From near the summit, we descend southeast on the Z mark, initially walking along the ramparts of the subsidiary peak's fort, then passing through the supposed gate and losing elevation on mossy forest floor dominated by oaks and pines. We pass by unusual stone structures that bear marks of modern human hands: rock towers and shelters erected here by creative nature walkers. We descend with increasing steepness on the hill’s southeastern slope until reaching a cart road slightly below 400 meters elevation. From there, turning left, one can reach Pécs via Éger Hill or the Örög neighborhood, but we turn back towards Kővágószőlős along the P▲ mark. After the Farkas Spring detour, the path becomes adventurous: named Panorama Road, our view is limited but we traverse nearly level terrain to the Babás rock formations. At first, we hike in the warmer, gentler southern oak and black pine woods, later into rockier and steeper dry valleys where beech trees dominate.

We can comfortably walk back to Babás rock formations or turn off to the cart road leading to the border between Cserkút and Kővágószőlős following the K▲ mark. The trail gently winds out onto the ridge protruding between the two settlements.

Still in the forest, we may notice water wells tapping sandstone layers to supply water for the area and Pécs. A legend relates to local groundwater: Ottoman troops occupied Kővágószőlős, and a pasha settled in the most beautiful house, planting roses in its garden. The beautiful garden was admired by many, guarded by soldiers, but a Hungarian girl repeatedly stole the finest rosebuds. Only with two others could the pasha’s guards catch her, forcibly taking her away. The girl didn’t give up; one evening, she filled her master’s room with roses, and when he fell asleep intoxicated, she stabbed him and escaped. The next day, Hungarian troops expelled the garrison from the village, and the pasha’s body was thrown into the rose garden’s well. Since then, if a well’s water near here smells or becomes cloudy, the elders blame the pasha, saying "this water also tastes like Turkish."

On the asphalt road from Cserkút, we turn right on the P◼ mark and arrive in Kővágószőlős beside the Árpád-era Catholic church. At the village border, we can visit an exhibition of mining shafts and tools from the uranium mining that significantly changed the area. Passing the corner tavern and grocery store, we return to the familiar section of the path and arrive back at our starting point.