Beautiful view: Exploring the Szakadás Gorge, the Rám Gorge of Mátra

Itinerary:

• Start from the Tar, town hall bus stop, or if arriving by car, a bit further up, from the parking lot of the Saint Michael Archangel Church, following the K+ mark out of the village.
• At the Upper Csevice spring, climb a marked path to a nearby viewpoint, then return.
• Continue about 300 meters, then after a stream junction, turn left onto the forest road. You are on the right track if you soon have to climb two ladders over the game fence.
• After a few hundred meters, we spot the gorge on the left, descend into it on a path, and walk through it for about 1 kilometer.
• From the end of the gorge, continue on an unmarked forest path, then also on an unmarked forest road up to Agyagos Peak.
• On the peak, turn onto the forest bike path, where at Fenyvespuszta we connect to the K+ route seen at the start, descending on it to the branch of the Szakadás Gorge, then back all the way to Tar.

Detailed description of the route:

The best starting point is the Tar, town hall bus stop, or by car a bit further up, the parking lot of Saint Michael Archangel Church. Leaving the impressive historic fortified church, we exit the village along Attila street.

Follow the K+ route sign outwards; this takes us up the Csevice valley to the branch turning onto the Szakadás Gorge valley. At first, we walk in a typical village edge environment, then a smaller path branches off from the forest road, winding along the Csevice stream.

After about half an hour, we arrive at the Upper Csevice spring and the small rest area built beside it. The map shows a short path climbing from here to a rocky peak with a beautiful panorama, and indeed: after a short ascent, we reach the viewpoint. From the peak, there is a good view toward the heart of the Mátra mountains; the two peaks of Ágasvár and Óvár are visible, and somewhere in the saddle between them lies one of Hungary's most authentic mountain huts, the Ágasvári turistaház. Descending back, behind the valley mouth, we have a view of the distant Tepke mountain range.

Returning to the trail, we continue in the valley, only needing to walk 300 meters further to jump a small stream fork and reach the unmarked forest path leading to the Szakadás Gorge.

You can be sure you are on the right path if you soon need to climb ladders twice over the game fence. Although unmarked, the path is legally passable; the gorge is not in a strictly protected natural area. We climb a bit more on the narrow path, then enter above the gorge. At first glance, it is clear this is not a little trench.

It has huge, vertical, dark rock walls as tall as a mature tree, and mossy huge rocks scattered along the bottom with a stream running among them. Naturally, we descend into its depths where cool, slightly musty air welcomes us. The muddy stream is 1-2 meters wide in places and 10-50 cm deep, so stepping into it is not recommended.

Alongside the water, some parts are muddy and covered with leaves, which also sink in several places; it is best to step on protruding stones or thin logs placed in the water. A faintly trodden path along the streambank leads upward. For about one kilometer, we hop, balance, and hold on inside the gorge, sometimes narrowing to about one meter wide, then as it widens into a ditch, we climb out on the right bank.

Outside on the path, we continue onto a muddy forest road churned up by wood transport tractors. Continuing here, we reach the National Blue Trail heading to Ágasvár, marked with K. At Agyagos Peak (394 m), we turn onto the forest bike path, where at Fenyvespuszta we reach the K+ route seen at the beginning, descending on it to the branch of the Szakadás Gorge where we left it.

Fenyvespuszta is a surprisingly tidy forest rest area with a guesthouse, pavilion, fire pits, and right next to it is the Tuzson Arboretum. Don’t be worried; it is not an over-maintained flower garden in the middle of the forest but a fenced evergreen mini-forest made of special trees.

Down from Fenyvespuszta, we greet the Csevice spring (still dry) as a familiar sight and slowly return back to Tar next to the fortified church.