Bába Hill circular route

Itinerary:

• We follow the K◼ markings along the main street of Pusztafalu to the village center, then directly conquer the Bába Hill on the K▲ markings.
• At the junction next to the 200-year-old oak, we turn right onto the K+ marking, which leads to Füzérkajata.
• In Füzérkajata, we follow Felszabadulás street straight ahead, then turn right onto Ady Endre street.
• From the end of the street, we follow the gravel bike path (its marking is expected in spring 2022, from when it will be marked K+).
• We join the K+ markings, which lead back to Pusztafalu.
• In Pusztafalu, leaving the marking, we follow the main street, then the shortly arriving K◼ signs guide us back to the starting point.

Detailed description of the route:

Departure from Pusztafalu

Starting from the Pusztafalu bus stop, we follow the K◼ signs to the center of the settlement, then towards the eastern edge on the K▲ marking. The characteristic clearance settlement built in a stream valley was one of the last mountain village settlements established in the 14th century. It was a natural passage connecting the villages of Hegyköz and the Zemplén hills until the Trianon borders cut off the connection. The village lost valuable areas from the forest of the Milic block, and the largest natural lake of the mountains, Izra Lake, also fell beyond the border. Many people emigrated from this forced dead-end village, and the population has decreased below 200. With the removal of internal borders in the European Union, nowadays it is again possible to move freely across the border area, even visiting the former outskirts belonging to Pusztafalu.

Starting along the main street, we leave the old houses behind. As we ascend to the saddle above the village, it's clearly noticeable how the originally sheltered buildings in the protected valley basin have expanded over time towards the exposed parts, where the northern wind blowing over the ridge creates much harsher conditions. On the flat pass on the Slovak side, we have a good view of the gentle floodplains, the Alföld stretching along the valleys of Ronyva, Tapoly, and Ondava. At the edge of the plain, the members of the volcanic arc of the Northeastern Carpathians frame the horizon.

Crossing the Bába Hill 

In the saddle, we turn right, then after a patch of forest, we cross an open area towards the towering Bába Hill. Behind it, we see the ridge carrying the border, and beyond that, the parts of the Tokaj-Eperjes Hills in Slovakia. Walking along a fence, we reach the forest, from where we proceed with sharp turns to the ridge. In the beautiful beech forest, we turn onto a path and enter beneath the break of Bába Hill. On the suddenly steepening surface, a scree field welcomes us, which spreads in a curved manner at the foot of the forest. During the last ice ages, with tundra climate, these slopes were exposed to enhanced frost shattering, so the deeper rocks were excavated from the hill's core by retreating erosion. This resulted in the abundant rock debris now strongly covered by vegetation. Another interesting phenomenon is that the lush old beech forest here grows under the oak wood of the hilltop due to the effect of a wetter and cooler microclimate, reversing the usual vegetation layering.

We climb up to the rhyodacite cliff edge on the airy ridge path, which leads right on the edge of the break to the summit. We walk in a pleasant oak forest, the tree trunks and ground are covered with fresh moss cushions. The sparser forest sometimes allows narrow views of the Upper Hegyköz region, while the 545-meter peak of Bába Hill offers a real lookout point with a magnificent panorama. From this direction, the boldest is the contour of the Milic block, behind Pusztafalu the rocky area of Tolvaj Hill rises like a real Carpathian basalt above the village meadows. On the southern edge of the group, the always impressive volcanic cone of Füzéri Várhegy crowns the edge of the Hegyköz basin. In the distance, the peaks of the central part of the mountain range climb over each other, hiding one of our country's last wildernesses.

Descending to Füzérkajata

The path descends gently from here, turning widely eastward towards the border. After just a few hundred meters, we arrive at a wide gravel road at a hunting lodge, which invites resting with a large terrace, benches, and tables at the edge of a fresh clearing. It's worth sitting here for a while in this idyllic nook of the hill before starting our long descent – from here, we meander through mixed beech-oak forests to approach the Slovak border. At one point, the marked path is led onto the gravel road via a hairpin bend.

We pass the outlet of Fövenyes-kút (a spring), then shortly at the Mester András spring with a small wooden hut, we can sit on benches again at a resting place at the foot of the beeches. We leave the magical spot along the brook path and step back onto the gravel road, turning right onto the K+ marking. At the intersection, we can admire two ancient oaks around 200 years old: these venerable heritage trees are remnants of the forest of the past. Continuing westward, we pass a drilled well, then next to the building of Erzsébet Farm, and among the trees, Kánya Hill rises above Hollóháza with its military observation tower. On the edge of Füzérkajata, we switch to asphalt and after the protected area of the Rednek-kút waterworks, we enter the small village houses. From the curve of the road, we can admire the view of the hills around Telkibánya.

Back to Pusztafalu

Staying on the K+ marking, we walk into the village and keep straight along the unmarked Felszabadulás street. We join Ady Endre street, where we turn right before the cemetery to reach the unmarked gravel bike path leading out of Füzérkajata. This is currently unmarked but will be marked K+ from spring 2022. The bike path merges with the service road, which eventually leads down to the meadows and fields between Pusztafalu and Füzérkajata.

From here, there is a nice view of the spacious Hegyköz area, the northeastern corner of the mountain range. However, the landscape is dominated by the renovated fortress on top of Füzéri Várhegy. The descent changes to sidling again as the road turns north back to the foot of Bába Hill, finally reaching the edge of Pusztafalu among fields and orchards. Above the village, rocky Tolvaj Hill and the border-carrying ridge stretch out. Our path leads under the gardens of backyards, along the brook into the village. The signs leave the main street, but we don’t turn off, and soon we follow the connecting K◼ marking towards the village center. We pass the Öreg Bence tourist house, then walking among old houses, we arrive back at our starting point.