Crossing the Bükk plateau

Itinerary

• From the bus stop, we need to follow the Z◼ mark.
• Upon reaching the plateau, turn left onto the tourist trail marked Z▲ to reach the fork after Három-kő.
• After Három-kő, continue straight on the paths marked K and K/ to the Olasz-kapu meadow.
• From Olasz-kapu, turn right following the K+ mark and walk to Hármaskút.
• At Hármaskút, turn left on the S mark to cross the Huta meadow.
• On the asphalt, continue straight on the S+ marks (when S turns left).
• Follow the S+ mark to the road curve to visit the Leány-völgyi lookout.
• Return following the S+ signs, then turn right onto the S mark to walk along the Tótfalusi valley.
• Upon reaching the Szalajka valley, turn right onto the Z mark to walk to the main road of Szilvásvárad.

About the route in detail

Bánkúti shelter bus stop – Három-kő

For those without a car heading to the Bükk plateau, the Eger-Répáshuta bus line stop at the Bánkúti shelter junction is the ideal start point. The Z◼ mark goes straight onto the rim of the plateau. We start from about 700 meters altitude, so we only need to climb about 200 meters to Három-kő. The ascent is quickly overcome as we cross the forestry access road's switchbacks, soon reaching the fork of the Z▲ mark.

The trail winds naturally through undisturbed forest along the plateau’s edge, mostly staying level, with distant highlands of the mountains visible between the trees. At the mouth of a small side valley, we suddenly turn north and after a short ascent enter a darker pine forest: behind the forest’s curtain, the open terrain of Három-kő’s grassy clearing almost glows.

Három-kő is the easternmost member of the towering stone formations on the plateau’s southern side, rising to 904 meters and towering significantly over its surroundings. It offers the richest view among visitable rocks: on clear days, the panorama stretches from the Mátra to Tokaj’s Kopasz-hegy. The limestone cliffs on the edge of the limestone plateau (Pes-kő, Tar-kő, Három-kő, etc.) formed as the softer supporting layers (slates) eroded away and the resistant rock (limestone) collapsed or broke off. As they lie in the mountainous interior, their summits offer a rare panorama in our country, rich with mountains, stretching to seemingly endless distances. Sitting in the Három-kő meadow, our semicircular view’s main elements include the Southern Bükk with the Kőlyuk-galya rising over 700 meters, the Hór valley penetrating the Great Plain, the small basin of Felsőtárkány, the Mátra, and the rocky, towering Tar-kő partly hiding it.

Három-kő – Huta meadow

Heading north on the tourist trail, the landscape changes dramatically in moments: after a narrow tree-lined strip, we arrive in a small meadow, stepping onto the juniper-strewn Zsidó-rét clearing. The depressions typical of karst plateaus formed by limestone dissolution make the surface here one of the most typical and most spectacular on the entire plateau. The postcard scenery is briefly replaced by the ‘forest-roofed’ concrete road of mark K/, leading us to the equally picturesque, also doline-spotted Olasz-kapu meadow. This wide hayfield is one of the northern gates of the plateau and offers a short rocky corridor northwards, cut in 1918 with 18 Italian prisoners of war.

Essentially, we cross the narrowing plateau transversely toward the west, but before leaving it, it’s worth a short detour on the K+ mark to the right to visit another mountain hayfield: the long Huta meadow beyond the Huta-bérc ridge, a secluded and little-visited spot in the Bükk. We approach through beautiful mixed beech and pine forest, then descend left along a clear-cut edge to the macadam road running beneath the Hármaskúti forest lodge. Once a small railway loaded with wood clattered here, today it’s a quiet, peaceful part of the mountains. The dark pine forest on the edge of the clearing partly explains Huta meadow’s high mountain atmosphere. The green, waving meadow is enriched by the white ribbon of the forest road; its narrow pasture recalls the alpine world of the Pădis plateau in Bihar.

Huta meadow – Szilvásvárad

Following the S mark into the forest, we essentially leave the plateau behind, walking again in a wild, old beech forest. After about 2 kilometers, we reach the Leány-völgyi lookout accessible by stairs next to a road bend. From the small terrace, an astounding panorama opens: due to the steep slope, the narrow valley floor lies literally below us. The Leány and Ablakos-kő valleys are strictly protected and closed to visitors. This special protection is fortunately visible in the forest's condition: a continuous, closed forest cover blankets the slopes, with no traces of logging. Small limestone ridges break through the forest cover ahead, and to the north, the viewpoint stretches toward the Slovakian uplands.

We return to the S mark, then turn right, descending. The serpentine road winds down the steep mountainside to the depths of the Tótfalusi valley. At the bottom, the Bükk bids farewell with a closed, peaceful valley, without a trace of the hustle of neighboring popular hiking spots. Our route ends in the Szalajka valley, where turning right, passing buffets, bakehouses, and the racecourse buildings, we arrive in the center of Szilvásvárad.