Aggtelek karst hike to the Jósvafői Tengerszem

Itinerary:

• From the cliff wall of the Baradla Cave, we leave the tourist center to the left on stairs and concrete paving slabs, following the Z+ and Z/ markings.
• We change from the Z/ marking to Z upon reaching the junction leading to the Slovak border.
• We enter the village of Jósvafő on the K+ marking.
• Next to the Reformed Church, the K marking of the National Blue Trail leads us out of the village and back to the entrance of the Baradla Cave.

Detailed description of the route

From the Baradla Cave entrance towards the Slovak border

The route starts from the entrance of the Baradla Cave, where it is worth seeing the panels presenting the cave’s interesting features. The cave system is Hungary’s oldest researched, most famous stalactite cave visited for centuries. In terms of length, together with the Domica Cave opening in Slovakia and forming one system with it, it measures over 25.5 kilometers. The first facility to facilitate visits was built in 1806, and since 1995 it has been under UNESCO protection.

In Slovak, the word "bradlo" means a rocky, steep mountain, presumably where the cave system got its name. Formed during the Ice Age along vertical fault planes with displacement, it is a 51-meter-high rocky ridge, the predecessor of the former Acheron sinkhole, formed in the Ice Age and visible from afar immediately. Karst phenomena are the result of surface and subsurface rainwater dissolving the rock, requiring many physical, biological, and chemical interactions to occur.

From the Baradla Cave entrance, several markings begin upwards from the popular tourist center stairs. Following the Z+ signs, we leave the village on a concreted path above the wooden houses. For a few hundred meters, we walk through a meadow, with the karst slope bordering our path on the right. Turning north, we climb between rocks and bushes, where we can also see information boards of the nature trail turning upwards to the right on the mountain. After the shrubbery, we enter the Baradla Valley, covering 1 km northward. Here we are surrounded by beautiful mixed deciduous forest, but limestone rocks covered with thick moss pop out everywhere.

Worth exploring in Jósvafő

The Z/ marking branches left to the Slovak border a few hundred meters away, but we head east following the Z tourist trail, following the Kecső stream. After about 1 km, we reach the Jósvafő waterworks building. Crossing the stream and several meadows, the Z marking turns south; following the K+ marking and the stream, we reach Jósvafő on a dirt road.

The village’s architectural monuments (mainly residential houses and timber-structured farm buildings) are under heritage protection to preserve the village's fitting architectural culture within the landscape, the ancient structure of the settlement, and the harmony of the buildings for future generations. The village structure is defined by the four streams confluencing in the settlement: Jósva, Tohonya, Kecső, and Kajta, as the rows of houses and streets were built along the winding beds. Among the protected values, the 19th-century arcade houses, climate-adapted and sized wooden barns, granaries, and various outbuildings stand out.

The free-range horse herd of native Hucul horses lives only here and is kept for gene preservation 1.5 km from Jósvafő at the Gergés marsh. We can see the demonstration stable in the courtyard of the village manor, where horseback riding and carriage rides are available.

After exploring the charming village, continue following the National Blue Trail K marking: between the stone-walled Reformed Church and the bell tower, we climb up through the symbolic wooden gate of the old Jewish cemetery. Passing by several tombstones from the 1860s, we enter the forest, and below, the water surface of Lake Tengerszem glimmers between the trees.

The mysterious world of the Aggtelek karst

Above the Tengerszem Hotel, we cross the Z marking. The nature trail turns left, but following the National Blue Trail K marking, we head west on the long ascent aiming for Magas Hill. Moving southwest in the Mész Valley, we spot Aggtelek below, whose surroundings harbor nearly twenty caves. The best known among them are the Babot-kút Spring Cave, the Baradla Hill Shaft, the Béke Cave, the Lófej Hill Cave, the Szőlő Hill Quarry Cave, the Water Spring Cave, and the Red Lake Shaft. (The Baradla-Domica Cave System officially belongs to Jósvafő).

It is not necessarily worth entering the village; instead, follow the K marking westward on the barren karst slope directly above the cave entrances. After the viewpoint, we reach again the concreted, railing-lined path of the tourist center and descend on the cliff edge stairs back to our starting point, the Baradla Cave visitor center.

The main attractions of the Aggtelek karst are naturally the stalactite caves. It is worth visiting several caves as each hides unique natural wonders. Although independent entry is forbidden, the National Park offers several guided tours of varying lengths and difficulties. The park guides are excellent experts who lead the underground routes, telling detailed yet exciting stories about the geological and chemical background of cave and stalactite formation, the history of discovering and constructing underground passages, and their rare wildlife. The cave passages are well developed, with perfect concrete paths and railings ensuring safe walking routes.

Longer hikes are possible from the Red Lake entrance route. A special feature is that after an approximately two-hour underground walk, we surface at the Jósvafői Tengerszem Hotel, from where the National Park minibus transports visitors back to the starting point. This is suitable for families with young children and older visitors. An exciting experience can be the so-called long hike starting from Aggtelek, equipped with flashlights to explore less developed cave passages. The minimum age for this tour is 10 years. Finally, adventurous enthusiasts unafraid of mud and physical strain can, with prior arrangement, visit, climb, and even crawl through completely closed caves: the Kossuth and Meteor Caves.