Following Jókai in the Bükk

Itinerary

• We walk on the P trail until the junction below Odvas-kő.
• We climb to the Odvas-kő viewpoint on the P▲ trails.
• From the peak, we head to the Csondró valley on the K▲ trail.
• We continue left along the creek on the K+ trail.
• At the crossroads after the Mária spring, we turn left onto the K marked path.
• We take a detour to Buzgó-kő on the K▲ trails, then return the same way.
• We descend on the K trails to the junction after the Harica creek ford.
• We continue left on the K+ trail to the edge of Tardona.
• We return to the village via the already familiar P trail on the stone road.

About the hike in detail

"One summer, one autumn, one winter I hid in these forests..." – Jókai and the Bükk

Our hike connects several of the Bükk locations visited by Mór Jókai during his hiding. Before setting out, it is worth recalling this period of the "great storyteller's" life.

After the surrender at Világos, Haynau's reign of terror was unleashed over the country. Jókai justifiably feared retribution against him personally, as he was one of the leaders of the revolutionary youth, played a significant role in the March 15 events, and for a time was part of Kossuth's inner circle. He served the cause of the freedom fight at assemblies and in the national guard, wrote and edited political publications and newspapers. In the last days of August 1849, he arrived at Tardona by cart, where landowner Benjamin Csányi and pastor Endre Rácz protected and sheltered him. The then only 24-year-old revolutionary and writer learned bitterly and disappointed about the defeat of the freedom fight and the prevailing state of the country. He was physically and economically vulnerable and in danger. His days passed in seclusion, scarcely informed of events until his wife, Róza Laborfalvy, managed to obtain a safe conduct letter for him from Klapka. Jókai spent a total of 4 months in Tardona, cut off from the world.

"One summer, one autumn, one winter I hid in these forests, hunted by the authorities. My host was the brave lord Csányi Béni... We were hidden under a pseudonym. Everyone knew I was in hiding; no one betrayed me. The village was called Tardona." – he writes in the work titled The Levite of Barátfalva.

During his mournful third year in the Bükk, he was not in the mood to write, too weak to process recent events. The village’s location—near the mountain and forests—proved a lifeline. Jókai often roamed the area, immersed in nature, drawing and painting. His drawing and fine arts activities are less known, but in his youth he created numerous works—several of which can be found in the Jókai memorial room in Tardona.

With time and motivation, he often climbed the peaks and plateau above the village. He frequently visited the Örvény, Buzgó, Odvas-kő, and Látó-kövek rock ridges, ascended the Dédesi castle, and also made pilgrimages to the ruins of the Szentlélek monastery. On these excursions, he painted the landscapes unfolding before him from the summits, resting spiritually in nature. Later, he always wrote appreciatively about the area's beauty and the forests' splendor. "And since then I kept wandering, painting landscapes in the vast Bükk. I still keep the paintings I made then. What beautiful motifs; if a trained artist took up those brushes!"

The experiences and states of mind from Tardona left their mark on Jókai's later work; Bükk locations, characters, feelings, and experiences appear in several of his novels. The months spent here left such deep impressions that they haunted him for a long time. "I hid in Tardona. Blessed be those beautiful beech trees that sheltered us, but even more blessed be the people who kept our secret, warded off danger from us, opened their homes hospitably when hosting was forbidden, and eased our sorrow with their love. This beautiful region will be unforgettable for me for life," he said during a visit to Miskolc in 1883.

After his wife arrived with the safe conduct at the end of December 1849, they left Tardona and traveled to Pest. Almost immediately, legends and stories began to circulate in the area. Some tell how the population helped and hid the fugitive when gendarmes were patrolling, others name the places visited by Jókai (e.g., Jókai’s tree in Tardona and Bánfalva, where he liked to sit; the water of Hársas spring was once bottled under the name Jókai water). However, it is a fact that nowhere in the memoires or other sources does it appear that authorities searched for him during these four months.

The inhabitants of Tardona and neighboring villages enthusiastically cultivate his cult. "Come to Tardona to learn humanity!" he fondly said later. This saying still lives in the memory of locals. Every spring they organize the Jókai memorial hike, a circuit route passing through the Bükk sites his footsteps visited. Returnees are welcomed in the village with Jókai bean soup.

From Tardona to Odvas-kő

Tardona is a settlement in one of the valleys of the hilly Bükkhát, the northern foreland of the Bükk, located along the similarly named creek. We start our hike on the P trail in this valley. Passing the bus turn-around next to the sports field, we soon leave the village and proceed on a wide stone road toward the inviting heights of the mountain range. We have an excellent view facing the southern edge of the Kis-fennsík; the Bükk rises like a wall before us. The highest point is the peak of Örvény-kő. This was the view Jókai also faced when he embarked on his excursions. "To leave the village, there is only the same road because it lies in a valley basin, from which only neck-breaking paths cross the mountain's other side, which is another world altogether." The trail soon branches. Previously, the trail led up alongside the Tardona creek, but recent floods have made the valley section difficult to pass, so the P trail now runs along the ridge above the watercourse to Odvas-kő.

Starting to ascend on the side of Kapi hill, looking back we see Tardona's houses and the surrounding basin hiding the village; on the left flank, the ridge of Koponya and Szalasznya peaks accompany us — from this direction, we will return at the end of our hike. Meadows and pastures with some scattered fruit trees spread over the slopes above the village. This area was once planted with vineyards, but today there are far fewer vines, and only the scattered old press houses recall the former farming. Interestingly, in the 1920s a narrow-gauge railway snaked here from Nagyvisnyó, which for a few years operated along the side of Koponya hill to transport coal from the mine.

Crossing meadows, we pass along the edge of a spruce forest before our cart road curves toward the boundary of Bükk National Park. Before entering the forest, it is worth looking back carefully because from this height we have a broad panorama. On the left, we notice the deep valleys of the Csondró and then the Bán creek, guarded by the prominent peaks of the Upponyi Mountains. To the north, the Sajó valley opens the distance to our view: behind the Gömör-Tornai karst, the lowland Gömör-Szepes ore mountains rise over 1000 meters, framing the horizon.

After crossing the protected area boundary, the environment changes significantly. We ascend in a closed oak forest, but soon we walk among large beech trees. Reaching the small saddle before Odvas-kő, we turn right onto an unmarked path to a viewpoint and the cavity of the Odvas-kő cave accommodation. Walking 250 meters along this trail, we reach the break of the Csondró creek gorge, where thanks to the watercourse's incision, we can observe from the prepared limestone rock the dense forest-covered valley's environment and the edge of the Bükk plateau. The white limestone of Odvas-kő clearly rises above the canopy — our next stop. Descending from the viewpoint, we wind down to the famous Odvas-kő cave shed. The natural karst cavity was converted in 1967 by nature lovers from Kazincbarcika into a freely usable accommodation. When Jókai was here, the cave had not yet been made comfortable with windows, beds, or stove.

Taking one last push on the P trail, we ascend in a few minutes to the junction of the P▲ trail, where we tread toward the rocks along the peak mark leading to Odvas-kő. From here, after a short climb, we reach Odvas's strongly folded limestone ridge. From the rocky grassy eagle ridge, there is a great view of Kemesnye-kő’s cliffs, the Csondró valley, and Kemesnye valley. In another direction, the Látó-kövek and Örvény-kő prominences mark the edge of the plateau. The peak was a destination for Jókai from Tardona; he visited the rock several times and sketched the view.

The Mária spring and Buzgó-kő

After resting and taking in the view, we head along the K▲ trail toward the Csondró creek gorge. In continuous beech forest, we descend into the upper part of the valley and arrive by the narrow section next to the Cakó-kő cliff at the water. We change to the K+ signs and follow the creek to its source, the Mária spring. A large flowing stream springs near the Kelemen forestry house, replenished from the plateau above. According to the story, this and the nearby Silvia and Ágnes springs were named after a forester’s three daughters. The resting area equipped with benches and tables offers a place to gather strength for the next part of the route.

Continuing on the K+ trail, we climb to the Teri-Bikk-forest crossroads. From here, two detours can be added to visit nearby viewpoints. Turning right on the K trail after 500 meters, we can marvel at the landscape from the top of Látó-kövek, or if we travel 1 km on the S, then the S▲ trails, we can enjoy the panorama from Örvény-kő and pay respects at the Jókai memorial column.

The junction is the altitude profile turning point of our hike; from here, descents dominate. Turning left on the K trail, we proceed along the western side of Örvény-kő. For most hikers, the K trail brings to mind the National Blue Trail, but we have now stepped onto a regional hiking route along the 72 km-long Bükk Blue trail between Eger and Miskolc. We walk downward through nice fir beech forests alongside silvery-gray tree trunks, gradually descending into the Harica creek valley head. At one place, we change to a broad forest road to bypass a section made impassable by an earlier windfall, then we reach the ridge under Buzgó-kő. On the K▲ trail branching left, we can climb to the 576-meter-high peak.

From the open, rocky grassy terrain, the summit's karstified, ploughshare-shaped limestone bastion rises markedly, offering a prime panorama to the north. We see the mountain range's foreland villages, including Tardona's houses and the hills of the Upponyi Mountains. The view is framed by the high peaks of the Northwestern Carpathians, with ranges undulating one after another in the landscape. In ideal visibility conditions, the peaks of the High Tatras can also be seen. From neighboring parts of the Bükk, we can observe Kemesnye-kő’s cliffs, the side of Örvény-kő, and the Harica valley. Underfoot, we can observe species of the valuable rock grassland community; star aster, goldenrod, and bellflower also bloom here.

Jókai also visited Buzgó-kő several times. He writes about the time spent on the Bükk’s rock cliffs: "This was usually the purpose of my wanderings. Half a day there, half a day back, building a fire at noon from twig wood on the rock’s ledge, having a princely feast with toasted bread and bacon, then sitting on the dizzying rock ledge, struggling with the impossible (for me impossible) painterly task. Below my feet, in the foreground, the darkness made from the crowns of beech trees, and where this ends, a smiling nook, in the middle, the little Tardona with smoking chimneys, surrounded by the yellowing vineyard plots, streaked hills of green fields, above which the smoky green mountains of the Bükk rise, and beyond this mountain range, the group of Gömör mountains; their shadow turns purple, but on them reigns the Trenčín and Turóc mountain chain; this is already cloud blue, and above them rises, like a fata morgana, the princely row of the Szepesi Carpathians..."

Farkasgödör, terminus

Descending back and continuing on the K trail, we admire the Buzgó-kő rock row from below when passing its base. Soon, we spot from the left the first of the Harica creek sources, the Örvényes spring. Our route follows the watercourse in the next kilometers. The Harica valley is one of the typically long gorges of the Northern Bükk, which have cut into the rocks up to the plateau edge due to the valley heads' backcutting. In the deepening canyon, a clearing soon opens the forest along the creek bank where the Farkasgödri Mountain Hut stands. The building originally served as shelter for forest workers but has been serving tourists for decades.

We walk past a hunting lodge and a few minutes later reach a built resting place by the creek bank, where we can observe freshwater limestone precipitations creating small steps in the Harica's bed. The artistically crafted spring enclosure evoking Carpathian atmosphere, in better days, also catered to groups arriving here by narrow-gauge railway—the LÁEV’s branch used to run here up to the 1990s.

We cross the former station's open, bushy area on the K trail. Of the Farkasgödör-Örvénykő terminus, which handled significant traffic at its operation, today only the remaining loading concrete arch and a few short rail pieces bear witness.

Construction of the Szinva Valley Forest Railway began in 1920, and it was named Lillafüredi State Forest Railway in 1929, a name still in use. The network was originally built to transport Bükk raw materials but soon started passenger service. This demand increased with the opening of the Palotaszálló hotel, remaining strong through the second half of the 20th century. Hence, much of the system luckily escaped dismantling after freight transport ended—unlike many other mountain railways. Today, special forest narrow-gauge railway rides are still possible in Bükk. The Farkasgödör-Örvénykő branch line was completed in 1948, snaking 17 km through mountains and valleys from the Miskolc Paper Factory to here. After freight transport ended, the last scheduled passenger train ran here in 1994; later, the final section was handed over to decay. Due to continuous rail thefts, the forestry removed the remaining sections of this structure in 2006; since then, trains only run to Mahóca. Interestingly, the idea to extend the railway to Tardona was born precisely when the Farkasgödör section closed. Although plans were made and the route designated, the extension was ultimately abandoned due to nature conservation reasons.

Back along the Harica to Bükkhát

After viewing the remains of the station, we take a few steps on the decaying sleepers of the embankment. Then the trail leads beside the creek. The next few hundred meters are adventure-prone due to windfalls and dense undergrowth, but if successful, we continue in wonderful silver fir-beech forests along the babbling Harica's edge. Due to climate change, strong storm showers bringing sudden large amounts of precipitation have increased recently, damaging forests and causing extreme floods. Streams flowing from the Bükk plateau sometimes carry so much water that they partly flood the foothill villages—as happened in early summer 2019. After such storms, upper valley sections suffer damage; significant sediment and damage to roads and fords make hiking more exciting. On the next section, we will see flash flood impacts and traces of earlier overflows, bank erosion, and landslides. The valley's bends adapted to the area's very diverse rock compositions' fracture and displacement zones.

As we descend toward Bükkhát, oak and hornbeam gradually take over, and sometimes we walk through young coppice forest. We cross the Harica multiple times and a tributary while bypassing the Tizes-bérc prominence. Crossing to the creek's left bank, we reach the wide stone road leading to Tardona.

At the crossroads, we turn left onto the K+ trail and climb the Román-bérc slope toward the village. After a rusty metal barrier, we reach the saddle of Koponya peak, where the trail directs right into an area once planted with grapevines in Bangó-dűlő. From here, on open terrain at the forest's edge, we descend into the Tardona basin, then step back onto the stone road beneath the hill. If this section is overgrown and not cleared, we should stay on the forest road and walk down to the village boundary. Entering the hillside, we come to Hársas spring, where Jókai often quenched his thirst. Interestingly, this spring forms an independent hydrological unit.

Reaching the familiar P trail by the Tardona creek, we walk back to our starting point, the bus turnaround.