Between springs among stone seas

Itinerary

• We start from the Kékes Peak summit stone on the K trail, but soon switch to the Z trail to begin the descent. 
• At the mossy end of the White-Stone Stone Sea, on the right side we find the Z● mark, along which 30 m away is the low-flow Kossuth Well.
• The Z trail leads all the way to Mátrafüred, the end point of our hike.

About the hike in detail

Descent from the tower

It is worth starting our hike with the 176 m high TV tower. Just for the view, it's worth going up to the circular café built at 42 m height, from where a stunning panorama unfolds. Under the tower stands the characteristic national color summit stone of Kékes, next to which is a memorial dedicated to all deceased motorcyclists.

From the summit stone, the K trail leads us south, but after a few steps, crossing the asphalt road, we switch to the Z trail and leave Kékes Peak. We start descending southeast on the stepped promenade next to the sanatorium. At the main entrance, turning right, it's possible to shortcut the two bends of the paved road. Turning onto the asphalt joining from the left, we proceed parallel to the southern fence. From this direction, it is worth approaching our country's highest source, the Kékes spring, which rises about 200 m inside the sanatorium garden. From here, 30 meters to the right, we turn onto a forest path winding under old spruces and beeches. On the way heading south then east, the Z trail separates to the right from the P trail.

Rocks and stone seas

Soon we wind down in a beautiful scree-covered slope through a cozy beech forest to Pezső-well. The spring rises directly on the right side of the path in front of Pezső Stone, from which it gets its name. The latter is a cryoplanation rock tower emerging at the end of the western spur of Hidas Ridge. Cryoplanation is a type of frost-induced surface formation, whose intensity was greatest during the stronger glaciations of the Pleistocene era between 2.4 million and 12 thousand years ago. At temperatures around freezing, repeated freezing and thawing causes water seeping into the cracks of rocks to freeze, increasing its volume by about 10%, further fracturing the rock and eventually breaking it into small pieces. Thus, depending on the internal structure quality of the rock, cliffs and rock towers have formed on the slopes, and below them extensive scree slopes have developed from the fallen stones. The process still works today, but with much lower intensity due to higher temperatures.

It is easy to overlook the spring house made of andesite stones. Soon we cross the forest roller track, then several times the winding forestry road; finally, turning east, we reach the crumbling hunting lodge, a memento of the former Mátra game, and the Vályús well beneath it.

From the hunting lodge, hornbeam and sessile oak woods replace the beech forest. When we reach the forestry road again, we turn left on it, then shortly after veer right into the forest. After a steep but not too long section, the terrain levels out. About 100 m ahead, a narrow path leads left, at the end of which the atmospheric White-Stone stone sea can already be glimpsed from the road. Its formation dates back to the major glaciations, when due to the strong cryoplanation mentioned above, the decay of the rocks was much faster than today. On its extremely slowly moving parts (active zone), vascular plants still have not been able to settle. As their name suggests, lichens living on the very light-colored stones adorn these areas. On the passive parts of the stone sea, the moss carpet colors the otherwise grayish andesite green.

Springs and streams

We return to the Z trail and descend a few more meters. When the path sharply bends left at the mossy end of the stone flow, on the right side we find the Z● mark, along which 30 m away is the low-flow Kossuth Well. The Z trail continues winding alongside a wide dirt road into the cool, shaded valley of Vizes-Kesző. Soon the bed of the Csurgó stream appears from the right, then about 20 m further, another small spring rises. A little over 400 m on the right side, the trickling Béka spring flows, then 30 m to the left, another unclaimed spring emerges whose water meanders on the path.

Soon we cross a wide dirt road. On the shoulder, we turn left towards a forested stream valley, where several smaller and larger parallel stream beds wind downward. The path continues along their banks. This is an adventurous section of the hike. A few times we descend on a continuously narrowing ridge between the two increasingly deepening stream branches, including some stream crossings. Here rises the Pafranyos spring. The valley suddenly flattens out; we proceed in a roughly 20 m wide band between the two beds. The small path reaches a bridge, from which the Csepegő spring rising within 400 m is already visible. Its nicely developed surroundings make for an ideal resting place.

Arrival at Mátrafüred

We continue on a forestry road through a grassy, young stalked sessile oak forest, from which we turn right at a left curve. In a young, mixed sessile oak forest, we arrive at the neck of Kőporos peak, where until the early last century there was the Kis-Sás lake, now replaced by a mature pine seedling garden. Based on a division charter from 1301, here the streets of Bene or Beneváralja, also called Lászlósor, Dávidsor, and Samusor converged. These can still be found in the form of ditches. The original settlement was destroyed in the 14th century, but its church was still mentioned in 1716. Later Bene farmstead lay beneath it, which was renamed Mátrafüred in 1930 after the cold-water bathing site built in 1892, analogous to Tátrafüred.

Before Mátrafüred, we descend along a stony clearing below power lines, through a sloe and privet shrub thicket, where the houses of the settlement start to appear. After the rain shelter, we cross the Bene stream, which once powered 13 mills, and turn left on the concrete road of the Canal Valley waterworks to reach the final stop of the Mátravasút railway.