Forest reserve, rocks, panoramas

Itinerary

• From the summit stone, we set off on the S trail (and the K that starts together with it), passing the Saint Elizabeth Cross and Eagle Rock.
• We make a short detour to Disznó Rock following the K▲ marking.
• We return to the S trail, which we follow until the next junction (Loop Road).
• From the junction we descend on the S trail to the Rózsaszállás junction.
• From the junction before Rózsaszállás, we walk beside the S+ sign to the Gabi's Death memorial site.
• From Gabi's Death, we descend on the K+ trail to the junction next to the Trout Lake.
• Next to the Trout Lake, we make a round trip detour on the P+ trail.
• We follow the P+ trail to the junction after Kőris swamp.
• After the Kőris swamp, we turn left to the S● trail, which we follow to the Som Saddle.
• At the Som Saddle we turn left onto the S trail that leads back to the starting point.
• On the left branching S▲ trail, we make a short detour to the Dragon Lookout.

Detailed description of the route

Spine route from Kékes

It is worth starting our route at the circular café located 42 meters high in the TV tower. The breathtaking panorama from here offers surprises every season. Around us are the Mátra mountains, to the south the Great Plain, to the east the Bükk, and to the west Karancs can be seen. To the north, we can glance into Slovakia where, in clear weather, the High Tatras are visible.

From the tower, on the S trail (which intertwines for a long stretch with the National Blue Trail K and the Mátra ridge ʍ marks), we cross Angel Meadow into an ancient mountain beech forest, where we soon pass the meteorological station and then walk parallel to the fence of the former Rákosi villa towards the east. The house was built by the Csonka family in the 1930s, who also founded a sanatorium, and after World War II it was nationalized along with a spa hotel, becoming a party resort. Allegedly Rákosi kept the villa for himself, which is why the name stuck. On the stone-strewn path in front, we descend quickly and soon cross the old ski trail at the Dark Marsh saddle.

The Saint Elizabeth Cross is about 200 meters from here, from the base of which there is a view to the northern side of Kékes and the block of Galya Peak. We continue along a narrow ridge, balancing over dislodged andesite rocks formed during the last Ice Age, with scree piles at their base.

A few minutes from the path, we can admire the beautiful panorama from Eagle Rock. From the 898-meter summit, to the north we see the High Mátra, the Parádi Basin, Karancs-Medves, the Heves-Borsod Hills, the Bükk and the Eastern Mátra mountains; on clear days even the Tatras may come into view. Descending to the southern lookout, a panorama opens up of Mátraalja, Vár Valley, Markaz, Domoszló, the Mátra Power Plant, the Great Plain, and the flat Kékes summit.

At the Eagle Rock summit stands a memorial for tourists who died in World War I, erected by the Hungarian Tourist Association in 1930. The dry silicate rock grasslands and rocky scrublands host rare plants such as the rock-breaking stonecrop growing in the cracks of the rocks or the Danube rowan beside the memorial. The steep cliff used to be home to peregrine falcons.

From Eagle Rock to Loop Road

After Eagle Rock, we arrive at the narrow trail through beech forest on the ridge side to the steep Disznó Rock on the northern side of Little Eagle Rock, accessible via a short marked route K▲. From here, views open towards Galyatető and further eastward ranges of the Eastern Mátra.

On the southeastern side of the mountain, the S mark suddenly turns northeast and leaves the K marks. On the narrow path, we gradually enter another beech forest where we walk at about the same elevation to the paved forest exploitation road named Loop Road. On the opposite side stands the worn-down Rózsaszállás mountain lodge, the former hunting lodge of the Károlyi family. From the Rózsaszállás spring at the base of the road, we follow the S+ mark on asphalt, which turns left after the first bend and climbs beautifully through sparse wind-beech forest to the intersection called Gabi's Death, named after a lumberjack who died here in a horse-drawn carriage accident according to legend.

Along a forest reserve

We stand on the edge of the Kékes-North Forest Reserve. Previously a hiking trail passed through this strictly protected and now completely closed forest area, which is also highly important for science. In this ancient, old beech forest, researchers can study the ecological effects of the diverse tree structure and natural forest dynamics in a full cycle.

The fortunate situation of the forest is partly due to the fact that from the 1870s until 1945, the Parád Basin was owned by the Károlyi family's game reserve, and no forestry activities have been carried out in the area since the protection began in 1976. (Timber harvesting is still prohibited in the area.)

The K+ trail descends in dense, dark wind-beech forest along a path named Wiltner Road on some maps, named after the former chief physician of the Kékes sanatorium. We soon reach flatter terrain. When the massif tilts southward during the mountain's uplift, large landslides occurred on the increasingly steep northern slopes, leaving behind cliff-like slopes and flat terrains below. These springs feed small lakes that today, with declining discharge, have become marshes, but Trout Lake is artificial, created by damming in the 20th century.

Near it, on the P+ trail, it is worth making a round trip detour to see the marshy lake closely and the cleverly designed resting place suitable for bivouacking. Fish have not lived in the formerly fresh-water bed for years, but protected alpine newts and spotted salamanders still use it as a key breeding site.

Return to Kékes

After this, follow the P+ trail westward. On a forestry road, mostly through beech forest, we cross the steep terrain slope "resting place" with its only notable spot being the Kőris swamp. The basin, formerly named Green Lake, was likely formed by a large landslide at the end of the Ice Age warming period about 10,000 years ago. As its earlier name suggests, sedimentation was rapid, turning the former lake into a marsh and later a spring marsh. Its main botanical treasure is mountain grass. Folk observations say that the swamp, or as it was called here long ago, similar places "buzz" before weather changes, which can be clearly heard in the Parád Basin. This is caused by wind often getting trapped under the Sombokor slope, producing a whistling sound. South of the swamp is the former starting point of the Kékes–Parád downhill ski slope, once connected by a cross-country ski trail through the forest reserve to the northern ski slope.

Soon we reach a junction, from where we follow the S● trail left to the next trail intersection. At the Som Saddle, we turn left onto the S trail and head down the Kékes slope. A steeper section awaits us, challenging our balance between protruding stones and roots. At the first small clearing, the ascent softens, and we get a beautiful view of the Western Mátra peaks, Gyöngyös and the Great Plain, as well as the southern ski slope. A little higher, the S▲ mark invites us left. It is worth making the short detour to the Dragon Lookout, which owes its mysterious-sounding name to a large, flat rock here. In the past, dragon fliers took off from here. From the lookout, we see the eastern and northern parts of the Mátra, the Bükk, and the Heves-Borsod Hills; on clear days, the peaks of the Tatras can also be identified. We return to the S trail and cover the last 60 meters of elevation more gently along Angel Meadow, enjoying a comfortable stroll.