Crossing at the western ends (Bükk trekking 2.)

Itinerary:

• We cross the western edge of the Bükk Plateau on the K+ trail, touching the Faktor Meadow and the Italian Gate.
• On the Z▲ trail, we climb up to Istállós-kő. To the wooded peak of Szilvási-kő, we can take a detour on the branching S▲ trail, then on an unmarked section.
• We cross the Őr-kő on the K, then immediately on the K▲ trail.
• We descend on the K trail to Kásás road.
• Shortly on the S trail, then on the S▲ trail we reach the Bél-kő viewpoint.
• On the K/ trail we descend behind Bél-kő and join the Z trail.
• On the Z trail and then the Z● trail, we descend into the Gilitka Valley to the chapel.
• On the K trail we arrive at Szarvaskő; a short detour to the castle is possible on the KL trail.

About the hike in detail:

Across the plateau from Bánkút

Starting from the Bánkút saddle, a renowned tourist attraction on the border of Borsod and Heves, between the ski slopes and the scenic southern meadow of Bálvány. On the site of the present White Eagle Guesthouse, in the early days of tourism there was the Bánkút tourist house, which was taken over and deteriorated by the tourism agency after nationalization following the war. It was renovated after the regime change and now operates as a restaurant and mountain hotel. Behind its fence starts both the National Blue Trail K marking and its supplement, the K+ marking, traveling together for the first kilometer.

From the saddle, we descend into the depression of Visszafolyó, where the impressive Diabase cave hides in the deepest sinkhole. Here on the plateau's limestone block, a volcanic rock wedged into the limestone creates a short-lived, seasonal stream on the rock unsuitable for karstification. As it reaches the carbonate rock, the water sinks underground through cracks. This phenomenon forms the basis of the landscape visible on the Bükk Plateau. In geological history, similar circumstances shaped the limestone surface with sinkholes and swallow holes. There was always some volcanic or debris rock cover above the limestone block, on which streams and shallow valleys formed. Over time, these valleys cut down to the limestone, where the karstified, soluble rock absorbed the streams. The old surface has almost completely eroded, its material preserved only in patches and cave sediments to this day.

Our further path leads through the brush created by logging in place of the stinging nettle pine forest. This forest was felled in the early 2010s by a tornado-like storm, which shaved off a strip of forest from the plateau's edge through Bánkút all the way to the Látó Rocks near Szentlélek. The remaining destruction was tidied up by forestry, just as much of the plateau meadows remain as pastures and hayfields for the local livestock after forestry logging. After one kilometer, we arrive at a typical mountain meadow: the flower-rich forest clearing of Faktor Meadow. Here we separate from the National Blue Trail along the K+ marking, which we follow to the Őr-kő meadow.

The notable Maria-icon beech tree of Faktor Meadow can be found at the far end of the meadow, but to reach it we must deviate from our route on a gravel road branching off at the western end of the clearing. Here, under old ash trees, we touch the route of the old forestry railway that led from the western edge of the plateau into the interior of the plateau. We see its embankments and cuts several times, as at Huta meadow, the Italian Gate, and along the Káposztáskerti-láp the railway line formed the base of forestry roads.

At the western end of Faktor Meadow, we pass over a small saddle to Kis-Huta meadow, a longitudinal series of clearings hidden in a depression between montane beech woods and planted pine forests. The meadow dotted with groups of pines offers a Carpathian atmosphere. Its average altitude near 900 meters, and the mountain climate is home to Carpathian species; this is what makes the Bükk Plateau special. At the winding meadow's end, hidden modestly behind a pine group, stands the Hármaskúti forester's lodge. The former forester's lodge offers puritan romantic accommodation along the route of the hike. Below the forester’s lodge, at Huta meadow, the gravel road in the valley branches; we continue on the branch leading into the mountains. We pass through a logging clearing from the once contiguous pine forests of Huta-bérc and Semmi-bérc. Here we cross the route of the old timber railway. The national park wanted to renew the route to operate a romantic small train for tourists. The plan was to connect the Szalajka valley and Garadna valley railways with the plateau line and a chairlift between the valleys and plateau. The plan remained unimplemented.

After about one kilometer on the winding forestry road in the shallow valley, we reach Fekete-sár meadow where we cross the plateau's asphalt road. A few hundred meters west stands the rock gate, cut through by Italian prisoners of war by hand during WWI for the forestry railway route. This artificial rock gorge is called Italian Gate, where the railway was replaced by road traffic. Before the national park's protection, one could drive through here between Miskolc and Szilvásvárad. The termination of car traffic was opposed by the national park, but the nature conservation authority banned car traffic from the plateau (though car access is allowed beyond Italian Gate, as well as to Bánkút and Jávorkút for tourist cars).

We continue the hike beside a forestry stone hut on the far side of the meadow. We climb onto the shoulder of Kőrös-bérc, where we must carefully follow the K+ marking, which does not follow the obvious gravel road. To the right hand, among old beeches, we cut into a path leading to a spacious sinkhole with a small meadow. The characteristic Bükk route passes through mountain meadows dotted with juniper bushes. On the other side, across the remnant logging in the former cabbage garden pine forest, we cross the sinkhole series of Káposztáskerti-láp. We touch the memorial column of Uncle Józsi Veress in a shady beech wood worthy of a rest, then cross the railway cut for the last time to reach the southeastern foot of Istállós-kő.

Here, a shallow valley leads through to the primeval forest, but we leave the comfortable route following the sinkholes and climb the saddle beneath Istállós-kő along a rightward opening gorge. With a short detour on the Z▲ and S▲ trails, we can visit the old and new highest peaks of the Bükk: Istállós-kő and Szilvási-kő respectively (for the latter on the branching S▲ trail and then on an unmarked path). Compared to the rocky, forest-clearing-topped Istállós-kő, long thought the highest at 958 meters, the 161-meter higher forested summit of Szilvás-kő was precisely measured by satellite, revealing only a slight difference in favor of Szilvási-kő.

On the merged Z and K+ markings, we continue westward among magnificent beech halls. The slope rests in a small basin, then bypassing the ridge of Kis-hegy, we turn right off the comfortable road and start descending steeply in a gorge. The path follows the natural slope at the base of the rounded block of Nagy-Kopasz.

At the bottom of the gorge, at a resting place, the Z marking bids farewell towards Szilvásvárad; we continue traversing along the K+ marking following the plateau meadows. Touching the edge of Kopasz meadow, in the beech grove at the valley head, we cross a rocky corner to reach the next meadow, Kerek meadow. The pine forest here, as at Káposztáskerti-láp or above Huta meadow, is slated for cutting: forestry tries to save healthy timber from bark beetle. Warmer and drier seasons have heavily degraded the central mountain pine forests; weakened trees are destroyed jointly by storms and beetles. If nature does not claim them first, forestry cuts them down for economic reasons, so the plateau pine forests are reaching the end of their days.

With Kopasz and Kerek meadows, lasting almost a kilometer, we enter a mosaic landscape of plateau meadows and groves. The cart track meanders over the convoluted surface at the edge of the sinkhole series; at the last large meadow, we bypass the considerable semicircular depression of Almád-sinkhole from the left, then join the forestry road arriving above us. After characteristic plateau beech forests, we reach the forest clearing of Őr-kő meadow.

The grove clearing broadens into a meadow with a resting place at the junction of the path leading to one of the mountain's most beautiful and characteristic viewpoints.

On the plateau's watchtowers, at Őr-kő and the truncated cone of Bél-kő

We cross to the far side of the meadow and climb the rocky gate narrowing following the K▲ trail to the peak furrowed by devil's plowing. At the top of a cliff opens the characteristic southern Bükk view. Őr-kő lives up to its name: through the southwestern ridges of Bükk it offers a magnificent panorama over the Felsőtárkány basin, the city of Eger, and all the way to the Great Plain. A defining element of the view is a series of whale-back shaped rocks forming the plateau edge, with the most characteristic representatives, Tar-kő and Pes-kő to the east, while the forested backs of Ördög-hegy, Sándor-hegy and Kerek-hegy rise to the west. Below us, the impressive cliffs dissected by grassy ledges are among the most beautiful representations of rocky grasslands in the mountain range.

Beyond the viewpoint, at the mountain's western foot, we reach the K trail, which leads through charming clearings to the end of the Bükk Plateau. After the meadow between Ördög-hegy and Sándor-hegy, at the last plateau meadow, Zöld-meadow, we turn off to Kásás road on the S trail. On an old beech-encircled ridge section, we arrive at the S▲ trail leading to Bél-kő neck and the Bél-kő peak - the truncated rocky remnant remaining of Bél-kő.

Mining began on the mountain at the beginning of the 20th century, first at the easily accessible northwestern rocky escarpment, which became life-threatening by mid-century. In 1963, mining moved to the mountain top, considered a sacred mountain by the local Palóc people. Bread from the first harvest was brought as an offering donation to the mountain's rocky peak, an ancient ritual element remaining until the last century. The mountain was likely a cult site historically, with healing springs at its foot, and the Cistercian order founded a monastery here in the Árpád era. Mining stopped in 2002, ending irreparable damage. Over nearly a century of operation, 7 million cubic meters of limestone were removed to sacrifice the Palóc's holy mountain on the altar of new world building. Only the southwestern end of the mountain, Simon's castle, preserved its original rock form and wildlife, and was placed under strict protection. The mining yard and the mountain's wider surroundings gained protection in 2008 for the sake of protected plants inhabiting the rocky area. The cliff golden saxifrage, early carnation, and Hungarian pasque flower can reclaim their mutilated homes.

From the remaining 815-meter-high peak, we have a good view of the nearly flat and leveled, over one kilometer long mining yard dominating the view with its surreal plain. Below it, houses of Bélapátfalva adorn the Bél basin, while in the distance the hilly Palócland stretches to the forested ridges of Mátra and Medves Plateau.

Descent at the western ends

We must walk back to Bél-kő neck to descend via the educational trail to the shortest route from the plateau's western tip. The K/ trail leads down the groove formed at the displaced block of Bél-kő. We descend nearly a hundred meters suddenly to the dozer road leading to the mining yard. Then, on the abandoned mine's operation road without marking, we descend a few hundred meters to the left, joining the ridge-following Z trail on a road branching from the mountainside.

The road begins gentle waves along the southwestern ridge dense with oaks, which we accompany with meditative monotony for the next 2.5 kilometers. At the P trail crossing, we find the sorrowful memory of the Great War below Holtember summit. A memorial stake proclaims that 20 German soldiers rest in unmarked graves in the surrounding forest. One kilometer from the saddle, in the gorge of Rocska valley, we branch off on the Z● trail. At the mid-point of the shallow valley, we pass a ruined forest house, once more beautiful days seen, the crumbling Antónia hunting trail. The shallow valley runs into Gilitka valley, where we arrive stylishly at the Gilitka spring. The abundant dripping spring is our first and last water drinking opportunity during the hike.

Below the spring, the path reaches a forest clearing with a strangely shaped, whitewashed chapel at its edge. This rest stop shrine was built in honor of Bishop Kilit of Eger along the old Eger road. Kilit was an ecclesiastical authority from the local Bél clan, who as a confidant of King Andrew II recorded the historically significant Golden Bull of 1222.

At Gilitka chapel, we rejoin the circulation of the National Blue Trail, which arrives on the ancient route between Eger and the Bél basin on the K trail. We continue southwestward, gently climbing the ridge of Köves-bérc. Here much gentler forms characterize the landscape than at the Bükk Plateau's edge, related to the mountain's building rock alongside lower altitude. After the Triassic Bükk limestone of Bél-kő, younger volcanic and sedimentary rocks constitute the gently undulating ridge. We descend along basalt layers of Szarvaskő about 150 million years old; only here in Gilitka valley do we touch the related deep-seated magmatic gabbro rock.