Following the rooster mandrake

Itinerary

• From the center of Terecseny – former pub, Aligvár tourist house – we start westbound on the P◼ trail.
• After 800 meters, we change trail on the old railway route and continue on the right branch of the P trail.
• Emerging at highway 67, we change trail, following the P+ sign, then at the top we turn onto the left branch of K+.
• We walk two kilometers along the ridge, then turn right onto the K◼ trail and descend to Sas meadow.
• From Sas meadow, we follow the P◼ trail back to Terecseny.
• Before Terecseny, we take a short detour to the left on the K● trail.
• Returning to the P◼ trails, we arrive back in Terecseny.

Detailed tour description

On loessy paths

We start our circular route from the village center – former pub, Aligvár tourist house – heading west on the P◼ trail. We quickly leave behind the small village’s houses and climb up a rocky cart road, now in a forest environment, towards the former Kaposvár-Szigetvár railway track, where we spot the Forest rest house built from an old railway station. The slowly depopulating village suffered a significant blow in 1976 when the line was closed. From here we continue right on the P trail, through beautiful forest surroundings, and after about one and a half kilometers arrive at Antalszállás, another small Zselic village, insulated from the outside world by a sea of hills.

We turn right on the main road, then after 150 meters turn left onto a cart road. Soon we leave behind the old “Brick Factory” buildings – in the Zselic area, numerous brick factories operated in the second half of the 20th century, as the region’s clay-loess soils provided raw materials locally. In fact, Maria Theresa already issued a decree mandating the population to build solid brick houses, so almost every village built a brick kiln. We continue our route in a pleasant environment until we reach the main road 67 again. Leaving the P trail, crossing the main road, and following the old railway embankment and the P+ trail, we soon arrive at the border of a nature reserve. The charming Farkaslaki Forest’s protection is owed to it hosting the country’s largest population of the rooster mandrake. If we time our hike for mid-March, we can enjoy this strangely named pink spring flower in its thousands and the sea of spring flowers blooming at that time.

Near the Bőszénfa sawmill and the old railway station stands the Z trail, leading from Gálosfa to Bőszénfa. We continue following the P+ trail, turning right into the wild forest of Pálinkás-dell. After one kilometer – at a hunting stand – we turn left and climb a very steep slope, overcoming nearly 100 meters of elevation to reach the summit. Catching our breath, we then follow the wide ridge along the county border for two kilometers before turning right onto the K◼ trail, which leads straight down to Sas meadow.

Forest railway and hunting lodge – the legacy of the Biedermanns

After two kilometers on foot, we reach the hunting lodge at Sas meadow in a beautiful beech forest. The timber-decorated facade building was built in the early 20th century by the Biedermann family from Pécs. In the shade of the centuries-old plane tree avenue, it’s worth walking along the P+ trail to the nearby Kikerics educational trail, located in a 200-year-old (ancient) beech forest, the oldest forest stand in the county, guiding visitors through it. We can also discover the small island of the pond opposite the Kikerics Forest School, where we can take a longer break.

From Sas meadow – from the hunting lodge – we continue west on the P◼ trail. Baron Biedermann laid the forest railway tracks in 1901 for carrying timber, two years after the opening of the nearby Kaposvár-Szigetvár main railway. The trains transported the estate’s timber, agricultural goods, and products of the (German) Lukafa glassworks – initially horse-drawn. Interestingly, regular passenger traffic was typical from the start, as students could arrive by rail to the school opened by the baron at Sas meadow. Later, several branch lines were established, the original track was modified, but from the 1960s onwards, with the spread of modern trucks, decline set in. Tourist traffic saved the line from complete closure.

Long-awaited arrival

After the forest railway station, the forestry asphalt road winds steeply uphill. Upon reaching the top, watch for markings, as after nearly two kilometers of walking, we must turn left into a narrow forest strip, crossing a fence with the help of ladders. From here, we pass through a clear-cut area, then leaving a wide dirt road on the right, descend into the valley through shrubs. Before reaching the village, it’s worth a short detour on the K● trail to the atmospheric Aligvár spring built in 2009. From the 18th century, allegedly a tavern stood on today’s site of Terecseny – so few visited the secluded building that the innkeepers used to say “they hardly wait” to go elsewhere. Lajos Kossuth’s army also sighed when seeing the tavern: they eagerly awaited reaching it during their strenuous march.

Returning to our trail, we arrive back at the center of Terecseny next to the Zrínyi hostel nestled in the shade of the pine trees.