Beautiful view: Izra loop around Nagy-Milic, boundless

Itinerary:

• From the bus stop, we start on József Attila Street, following the K■ mark out of the village
• Crossing the border, in Slovakia the K■ mark changes to K, which we follow to Lake Izra (Jazero Izra)
• At the lake, we switch to the P mark and, following it uphill, pass by Little Izra Lake and the Kopaská shelter
• At Kis-Milic saddle (Malý Milič sedlo), we switch to the S mark, which leads to the saddle below Nagy-Milic; here we turn onto the Z mark to the summit
• On Nagy-Milic and through Orita Hill to Tolvaj Hill, we follow the Z marked winding hiking trail along the border
• From there, we turn towards Hungary on the P▲ mark and descend to Pusztafalu

Detailed description of the route:

The starting point of the route is Pusztafalu, specifically the square in front of the mayor's office. We start climbing following the K■ marked hiking trail already in the village, as the local folk song says: "Pusztafalu is in a pit, Tilalmas is above it. They measure good pálinka there, the charm of the lads." The Tilalmas named resting place is one of the stations of the joint Slovak-Hungarian Nagy-Milic Nature Park EU-supported educational trail. At the top of the meadow, at the beginning of the forest, we reach the Hungarian-Slovak border. For a while, we walk along the border stones, then enter Slovakia's territory.

We continue on a forest path following the K mark to Lake Izra, about 3 kilometers from the starting point. The well-trodden path shows there is considerable visitor traffic from the Hungarian side as well. We can look for the Izra buffet marked on the map, hoping to have a coffee. We have to ring the bell on the house wall, and if we are lucky, the Slovak buffet lady appears. If we have no euros, perhaps forint is also accepted.

We leave the lake at 450 meters elevation and continue climbing on a forest trail along the hillside. The forest is mainly atmospheric beech as on the Hungarian side. Few hikers visit here.

The sense of solitude increases when we reach Little Izra Lake (Malá Izra), often floating in mystical fog in winter. The tussock clusters droop wilted, and in the half-frozen water, the gnarled branches of the bare trees reflect blackly. It's almost possible to hear the howl of the monster of the Devonshire moor in the most famous Sherlock Holmes detective novel. The small swamp is a protected natural area and originated when a massive landslide blocked the flow of the Izra stream. Its melancholic-mystical atmosphere is the most captivating part of the entire route.

A little higher, at a crossroads, a decades-old tent-roofed shelter, Chata Kopáska, was built. On its terrace, there is a resting place where we can sit and have sandwiches, and on clear days we can admire the panorama opening to the east. Then we can see where we came from, and maybe even the surface of Lake Izra gleams between the trees.

The tourist house is not far from Nagy-Milic's 894-meter-high summit, but this short way requires us to overcome 300 meters of elevation difference. We tackle the steep climb and arrive breathless at the saddle just below the summit. We turn onto the ridge, then gallop up to the stone obelisk built on the summit, following the Northern Green marked hiking trail directly along the borderline.

We stand on the highest point of Zemplén, but the summit is so flat that the view is blocked by trees. Perpendicular to the border, towards the Slovak side, a small path starts leading to the Milic rock. We follow it along a sharp stone ridge. The massive rock mass spreads slightly lower and is completely surrounded by forest. There is no view from here either, but its dignified mass commands respect.

We return to Nagy-Milic's summit and slowly descend along the Northern Green marked hiking trail to Kis-Milic, rising 400 meters below. The mountain, barely lower than its big brother at 892 meters, but with a much better viewpoint, has a wooden Károlyi lookout built in 2015. They placed it in the best spot: from here almost the entire Tokaj Mountains are visible, and Füzér Castle is clearly discernible below us.

One of the best parts of the route follows: we head east along the ridge of the mountains, exactly along the border line. A specific concept was developed for the border hike: in 2006, the marks were painted on the Northern Green trail, which winds from Balassagyarmat to Sátoraljaújhely, mostly along the border. Perhaps the Milic ridge is one of the most beautiful and best maintained parts. From here it goes through Orita Hill and then Tolvaj Hill.

At Tolvaj Hill, we leave the Northern Green and head south into the valley on the P▲ mark. The map indicates a beautiful view from the 450-meter-high Sólyom rock peak, but since it is not entirely clear whether it is a strictly protected natural area, it is better to skip the few hundred meter detour. The village where we started is now close; the barking of dogs heard from below signals that we will soon return to our starting point.