Beautiful view: The cemetery of tree mummies in the Páris Creek gorge

Itinerary :

• from the bus stop, we walk up Palóc Street to the Z mark
• At the Z mark, we turn left and walk out of Nógrádszakál beneath the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
• At the foot of the castle hill, we switch to the Z+ mark
• When we rejoin the Z mark, we return on it, walking down left to the valley
• In the valley, the branches of the gorge fork right and left. It is worth exploring both branches
• Going further down in the valley, we reach the parking lot and beyond the railway the paved road
• Along the paved road, then over the castle hill, following the Z mark, we can walk back to Nógrádszakál

Detailed description of the route:

Although the gorge can be reached within a few minutes from the parking lot next to the paved road, behind the railway tracks, we recommend the more adventurous (and longer) route starting in Nógrádszakál, which is less frequented. This route starts from the center of the village, Palóc Street, towards the hilltop Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, then continuing past the building following the Northern (recently Palóc) Green hiking trail Z mark climbing higher. Where it turns left onto the castle hill, we continue straight on the Z+ route. In winter it's easier to progress on the path cut through dense bushes, while in spring and summer a machete may even be needed here. After 2-2.5 km, on the hilltop, we rejoin the Z marked hiking trail, which we now follow left down into the valley.

The fork is quite difficult to spot in the vegetation period, so it is advisable to rely on GPS and then on the emerging upper ravine valley. Moreover, the terrain is rocky and branched. Eventually, we arrive at the steep edge of the Páris Creek gorge, where the trail leading downwards is more visible but very slippery in muddy weather. At the bottom of the valley, a resting place, rain shelter, and information board await visitors, but we do not need to go down there yet, since first we can reach the northern and southern branches of the gorge by returning to the marked path after going right, then left on a well-trodden but unmarked path.

The walls are entertaining reading material for geologists. The deepening valley reveals the world of 15-16 million years ago, when a deep but wide trench was gradually filled with gravelly sediment by the meandering river. In the mausoleum of the layers deposited over millions of years, petrified tree trunks, animal bones and teeth, and exact leaf imprints preserved in fine volcanic ash clay are hidden from the times when huge, curved-tusked mastodons strolled along the shore in the shade of giant maples, elms, and willows. Although the valley is called the Páris Creek Gorge, water is only rarely seen at the bottom of the bed (during rain or snowmelt).

For those not interested in the natural geological exhibition, the size, shape, and steep walls of the ravine are fascinating enough to spend at least an hour gazing. In summer, on nice days, probably more people visit this very secluded corner of the country than in winter, when on weekends barely a dozen people come around here.

After admiring the "Palóc Grand Canyon," we can walk back to Nógrádszakál following the Z mark at the railway crossing, then along the paved road and the Ipoly River, passing the castle hill crowned with a chapel, which offers a beautiful view of the Ipoly valley.