Adventures in the karst area around Orfű

Itinerary:

• From the Remete-rét we cross the Rose Hill on the K trail.
• Turning right on the K● trail, we descend into the Szuadó valley.
• From the Szuadó valley to the border of Orfű, we follow the K+ trail.
• From the Orfű junction bus stop we start right on the K▲ trail, which we follow to the Balázs Hill lookout tower.
• From the lookout, we descend on the S▲ trail to the foot of the hill.
• We turn right onto the S● trail, where we stay until the road.
• On the road, we turn right to the S+ trail and walk to the Orfű lake dam.
• We cross the lake dam.
• On the other side of the dam, we turn right to the S trail leading to the mill museum.

• From the mills, the ZT trail of the Vízfő nature trail leads to the Vízfő spring.

• From the Vízfő spring, we turn back to the ZΩ trail.

• After the Mecsek House, we reach asphalt, where we follow the Z trail to the village streets and a bridge.

• On the S+ trail, we turn left into the forest.
• On the right, on the Z● trail, we take a short detour to see the Dragon spring.
• We return to the S+ trail, which we follow to the Büdös-kút forest lodge.
• At the lodge (straight ahead), we switch to the K trail and eventually return to the Remete-rét.

Detailed description of the hike

On the karst ridge

We start from the Remete-rét at the crossing of the national road between Pécs and Orfű along the K trail of the Southern Transdanubian Blue Trail going westward across the Rose Hill massif. We climb through oak woods mixed with pines and linden trees up to the ridge, soon reaching the highest point without a view. The dense forest in the summit area changes into beech forest adapting to the altitude and cooler northern climate. With a short detour on the KL trail, we can visit Cinke farm on the northern edge of the neighboring Vas Hill, where instead of the forest hut now there is only a resting place and a memorial plaque honoring four nature lovers from Mecsek. We remember the Millner brothers, pharmacist Aurél Baranyai, and forest engineer Sándor Csokonay for their friendship and efforts for nature walking. Baranyai Aurél researched the mountain’s medicinal plants, and Csokonay Sándor revealed and secured many Mecsek springs, earning the title "father of Mecsek springs." We head to one of the springs he built stone enclosures for: the Laci spring in the Szuadó valley slope.

From the K trail, we turn onto the K● trail, which steeply descends into the beech forest of the Szuadó valley. In the hillside, surrounded by old beech tree rings, we find a tidy spring enclosure, the first of many springs in the valley. The Laci spring is named after Sándor Csokonay’s second son. The "father of springs" inscribed his child’s name above the easily accessible flowing water trough on a neat stone wall he built for public use.

Down in the valley bottom, we join the K+ trail and descend along the creek. On the way, more springs appear, like the Szuadó and Bagoly springs named after the valley.

The narrowing valley bottom forces the previously playful creek into a rocky, stony bed. Three swallow holes open here on the bank, draining excess water at high flows. These swallow holes are researched by the local caving association, with the Szuadó and Trió caves surveyed to hundreds of meters in length and about 50 meters in depth. The underground rocky world is also hosted by overall "adventure tours." Here the largest known limestone formation in the Mecsek karst was found, the stalactite formation called the "hunchback furnace." The Szeged Karst- and Cave Research Association was also founded during the exploration of the Szuadó cave. At the caves, the path switches to the hillside; to see the otherwise closed underground entrances, you must walk along the creek on an unmarked route.

The leveling path in the beech forest turns into a cart road then joins a paved road for a short but dangerous section. Here, the rocky gorge cuts deep into the limestone, where the Szuadó and Körtvélyes valley streams unite to carve the Dragon Gorge, which we will visit on our return. For now, we must make our way carefully along the narrow roadside straddling a busy road, accelerating our steps along the drainage ditch. Beyond the gorge, the once forested valley opens up, and at the Orfű junction, we turn up the streets towards Balázs Hill following the K▲ trail.

Around Orfű

We reach the hilltop and the lookout guarded there among weekend homes. The previously searching gaze among dense trees is rewarded by the endless panorama of the Balázs Hill lookout, from where we can scan the northern foothills of Mecsek and the Baranya hills around. Our attention is drawn to the long-stretching Pécs lake below, its shimmering water surface separated by a colorful mosaic of holiday homes amid the forested landscape. Behind us, peaks of Mecsek rise across our traveled route; next to the smiling forest part of Rose Hill, the block dotted with Tubes towers stands highest over Pécs.

We descend from the hilltop along the very steep S▲ trail, which joins the S● trail on gentler ground. Turning right, we approach the Dragon Well, a rare natural feature: a periodic spring. This means that its operation does not depend on the amount of precipitation, as its often rumbling outflows are governed by a complex siphon system behind it. A local legend immortalizes its characteristics, telling that a dragon terrifying the locals once got trapped in the cave when a rock blocked the exit. It is still alive, for when it rises, you can hear its growl from outside, and it pushes water to the surface as it bathes.

Our hike connects to the Orfű road, on which we walk right on the S+ trail to the Orfű lake dam. The dam built in front of the Orfű creek flow in the 1960s is crossed without marking but clearly. On the far side, we turn right onto the S trail, which bypasses forestry lake shore cabins, then arrives at the area's former "industrial open-air museum," the Orfű mill museum. Not all of the neat houses stood here; only the paper mill and sawmill were reconstructed here. On the flow rate of the nearby karst spring, a watermill was built in the 19th century, which still stands at the meeting of the channel-crossed charming orchard and forest today. A wooden-frame guest building stands by the creek, where the museum’s guided tours start and it is also a convenient spot to rest on the terrace and recharge your energy with refreshments and cakes — restaurants and cafés are available to assist.

From here, we climb back to our starting point, although we take especially comfortable, gently sloping paths through the Mecsek forests. Immediately at the mill museum, we turn off the asphalt road and follow the ZT nature trail markers behind the buildings to approach the Vízfő spring along a wide forest road. (Another option is to continue on the road and from there cross the alder swamp of the creek floodplain on the wooden footbridges of the Vízfő nature trail. At the end of this short but interesting route, which explains the surrounding life communities, we find the origin of the creek.) Among the tree leaves, we outline a surprising above-ground structure resembling an obelisk or totem pole, indicating the nearness of the Vízfő spring. Originally resembling a tulip, the waterworks built in the 1970s has lost its original function, as it was used to pump karst water to the neighboring karst area near Mánfa, supplying Komló's water. Under the spring house, water gushes from a moss- and ivy-covered cliff, the largest karst spring in the area, gathering rainwater infiltrating the covered area of our route. Currently, we see a stream starting in a wide gravel bed, as after decades of restriction, since the regime change, spring water flows freely here instead of the forced Komló diversion.

In the land of dragons

Returning along the creek, then turning left on the ZΩ trail, we climb to the base of cave researchers, the Mecsek House, whose forest-hugging building offers a great place to stay. In front of Mecsek House, we join the Z trail on asphalt, which crosses the meadow above Orfű lake and winds through the village houses. Before a small bridge, the S+ trail invites left into the forest, from which we make a short detour on the Z● trail to see another product of karst activities. Here lies the gorge we previously saw from above near the third third of our hike. Up close, we can explore the rocky world where the creek's underground hiding place only surfaces during high water. At the Dragon Gorge, along the rocky creek bed, the Dragon spring seeps slowly.

We return to the S+ marks and make our way along the ridge in a pleasant beech forest. Only the clearing of Büdös-kút breaks the monotony of the forest patches. The discoloration of the spring is also attributed to (another) dragon’s claw, which according to legend was slain by a knight, whose blood and body stain and stink the water. The lodge offering accommodation with a towered forest cabin exudes a peaceful atmosphere, surrounded by beech forest. The neat spring, stone bridge, forest pavilion offering bivouac accommodation, and fire pit indicate active tourist life near the county seat. Crossing the beech forest, now on the K trail, we get closer to the road and before the Remete-rét, we cross the turning branch towards Tubes. After this, by a forest playground and picnic area, we return to our starting point, the forest clearing of Remete-rét crossed by an asphalt ribbon.