Excursion on the Cuha Gorge 'model terrain'

Itinerary

• Along the Cuha Valley, the P trail leads all the way, on which we arrive from Vinye railway stop to Porva-Csesznek railway station.
• On the way, we take a short detour to a few caves on unmarked paths and on the PΩ marked trail.
• To Porva-Csesznek railway station, the S trail turns down crossing the Cuha stream, in the last 100 meters.

Detailed description of the route

Outlaws in the gorge wall

Starting from Vinye railway stop, we head towards the houses of the settlement on the P trail, which we follow almost without interruption until the end of the route (we only need to leave the trail for the train on the S trail in the last hundred meters). After leaving the inn, we reach the edge of the Bakony forest. The humid air of the valley favors the formation of dense forest, only opened up by clearings in a few places. Right at the beginning of our route, we find a resting place next to the path, on the edge of a small clearing. The atmospheric resting place immediately offers the opportunity to organize our group.

The path leads to the other side of the stream, to the Kőpince spring emerging from the corner of the hillside – it is worth taking its cool water along as a provision. For a short section, we follow the path along the stream, against the flow direction, but soon at the beginning of the path, a rocky cave appears on the opposite bank. The Kőpince cave penetrates nearly 10 meters deep into the rock along a bedding plane, its roof broken by a small opening so natural light illuminates the interior of the cave. Located a stone's throw from the Vinye homestead, the cozy cave served as a hideout for outlaws before the 20th century, as folk tradition says that in such places poor men on the run from the law took refuge.

We follow the bend of the stream on a path bordered by rock piles, which soon connects to the bulldozer road coming from Vinye. From here, we follow a wide, gravelled and partially paved road, crossing the stream on fords. In case of high water levels, walking sticks and rubber boots can be helpful for crossing the stream, but in some places, the path bypasses sections beyond the fords – so we can even stay on one side of the stream for the entire route. The gorge gradually narrows after the initial section, the two opposite hillsides approach each other and become steep and rocky. On the rocky cliff above us to the left, two smaller caves, the Outlaw's Bench and the Kőfülke, can be discovered by taking the side path marked PΩ. As their names suggest, they deepen as cozy residential caves in the rock above the Cuha Gorge, where outlaws presumably really stayed in past centuries.

We cross five fords within less than a kilometer until we reach a larger resting place. Here we find a shelter, a fireplace, and plenty of benches and tables, so we can take a longer rest close to halfway through the walk. On the opposite rock wall, a few via ferrata routes, i.e., climbing paths secured with steel cables, are built, requiring special protective equipment. The stream, the dense gorge forest, and the mossy rock walls promise special adventures.

Walk on a model terrain

The railway line above us is also interesting, as it cleverly solves the problem of the gorge valley’s winding course: cutting through the rocky ridge forming the side of the gorge, then over a valley bridge, through tunnels, and on steep slopes reinforced with retaining walls run the rails. Bypassing a rocky protrusion, among the treetops unfolds the viaduct named after Károly Gubányi, the most spectacular element of the railway line. The valley bridge built during the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy has a massive structure gracefully arcing over the 30 meters between the rocky hillsides. This is the narrowest point of the gorge. On the northern side of the viaduct, a staircase leads to the railway track, allowing us to view the bridge also from above, just remember the railway traffic!

In the gorge, streams still cross the creek on a few fords here and there, but from now on, over the next tight kilometer, the railway will be our most spectacular companion. On the hillside opposite the tunnel, we also find a cave hollow, the Cuha Valley fox den, which is literally just a fissure suitable for a fox family. The atmosphere of the gorge is similar to what we have seen so far, though after the rock formations around the viaduct, the valley wildness softens somewhat. Crossing under a railway bridge and making a large curve, the gorge widens; the section close to Porva-Csesznek railway stop is flatter, with clearings interrupting it, and we get farther from the stream. But here too, there are resting places suitable for picnicking and barbecuing.

Soon the building of Porva-Csesznek railway station appears on a small meadow on the opposite side of the stream, to which the S trail leads across. Our short route ends here, and while waiting for the train going to Vinye, it is worth checking out the station building’s permanent exhibition about the construction, history, and future of the Cuha railway.