From Kőkapu to Nagyhuta in the footsteps of the green treasure of the Tokaj Mountains

Itinerary:

• From Kőkapu we walk westward on the Z trail to Rostalló.
• From Rostalló we continue straight on the S trail, which we follow to the Mlaka meadow.
• From the Mlaka meadow, we take a right, forward branching K▲ trail to detour to the Sólyom-bérc (we will return on this as well).
• We continue to the right on the K trail.
• At a junction, we turn left onto the K▲ trail leading to Kerek-kő.
• From Kerek-kő, we return to the Blue Trail on the left branch of the K▲ trail.
• We turn left onto the K trail, which we follow until the junction after the Eszkála forest house.
• After the Eszkála forest house, we walk down to Nagyhuta on the straight K◼ trail.
• On the main street of Nagyhuta, the K trail runs to the bus stop.

Detailed description of the hike:

Kőkapu

The narrow-gauge railway breaks through the Kőkapu rhyolite rock by a tunnel, whose ridge was once guarded by the hunting castle of the Károlyi family, former landowners. It now operates as a hotel built following a Swiss model, and in front of its rock the Kemence stream has been dammed. According to legend, it was so easy to catch prey here that the lazier hunters could even shoot from the room window. Hunters were accommodated at the castle in Füzérradvány and then escorted to Kőkapu for a few days to stalk the "Radvány trophy." The local press regularly reported about the hunts of dignitaries such as Miklós Horthy or István Bethlen.

Kőkapu lies in the central part of the Tokaj Mountains, far from settlements, connected to the outside world by the road and the narrow-gauge railway. The name of the Kemence stream cutting through the valley derives from the Slavic word 'kamenica,' meaning "stony," referring to the significant gray cobbles of its bed. Its water originates deep from the heart of the mountains; its branches break and carry away the ridges of the Central Zemplén on a millennial scale. The people temporarily settled here mainly transported wood along the stream—the muddy road conditions sometimes hindered the haulage, meanwhile the economic boom after the Compromise and the market of the nearby Košice furniture factories demanded larger logging of forests. Therefore, before the turn of the century, the first track network of the mountains was built, the predecessor of today's Pálháza narrow-gauge railway. At its peak, the total length of the rails exceeded 17 kilometers and reached the uppermost nooks of the valley system. At one time, the railway extended to Sárospatak, and there was a period when the track wound all the way to Nyíregyháza. Eventually, with the strengthening of road transport, the narrow-gauge railway was discontinued, most of the tracks were dismantled, but since the 1990s, passenger transport has been running again on a short section.

Up to the peaks

Turning our back to the settlement (where in summer a small buffet also operates) we start our hike on the asphalt road along the Z trail heading towards Rostalló. To the left, under the trees, we follow the railway embankment of the narrow-gauge railway, which crosses our path only at the stream crossing. Looking at the closed forest, nothing really recalls that beautiful marsh meadows once flourished in the valley (only a few small representatives remain near Pálháza). Likewise, the ski slope reminiscent of snowier winters is no longer as it used to be—though this can be seen only if we make a detour on the nature trail. Continuing along the valley, we soon arrive at Rostalló, the terminal station of the narrow-gauge railway, where we find a covered resting place and a tourist accommodation built in 2021. The Rostalló Eco-conscious Education Center offers an interactive exhibition presenting the forest wildlife, a forest school, and buildings modelling the regional architectural style.

From the end of the 18th century, the beech forests around the area were sacrificed for the coal ash needs of the glassworks in Regéc (today's Háromhuta) and Hegyköz. For this purpose, a water mill grinding perlite and quartz sand and frog salt from the stream operated somewhere nearby. After the glassworks ceased operation, the beech forests of Rostalló were specifically spared, not cut down, at most thinned here and there.

Heading straight ahead on the S trail, we enter the gorge of the Devil Valley with its steep banks. We ford the never-drying stream twice, then suddenly leave its cobbles behind and ascend higher along the exposed area. Below, the narrowing stream bed with fallen trunks and eroded rocks accompanies our steps as we climb through wind-beech forest to the Mlaka meadow clearing. The Slavic-origin word mlaka means "puddle," explained by the meadow's marshy soil. If we move away a little from the cultivated resting place, we may observe the sunny fallow: formerly serving as winter fodder for animals, now protected by conservation mowing to prevent tree encroachment. At first glance, its uniform, dense green cover hides a wealth of rare plants and insects.

On the Throne of Falcons

Ahead to the right, the K▲ marked path starts towards the Sólyom-bérc, but the trail markers are noticeable only in the forest on the trees' trunks. The path is well trackable in the steep montane beech forest, leading over increasingly growing stone debris and finally through moss-covered rocky towers to the terrace of Sólyom-bérc. From the wide andesite cliff top, lined with needles for 600 meters along the peak, we see Háromhuta valley and its bordering ridges, as well as the nearby Regéc castle. The waves of a secluded, peaceful, and vast forest landscape, the best of the Zemplén terrain, unfold around. And all this can be viewed from a rugged cliff seldom visited, deep in the wilderness. The Central Zemplén's andesite blocks were shaped by the freeze-thaw cycle occurring during the last ice age's periglacial climate: water entered the cracks of the layered rock and froze repeatedly, expanding in volume, slowly breaking, fragmenting, and decomposing the rock bit by bit. At its base, a large debris slope testifies to this slow process, now with decreasing intensity, slowly shaping walls and towers from the raw rock surface exposed on several sides. The bastions of Sólyom-bérc are also crisscrossed by climbing routes.

Farewell to the panorama, we return to the Mlaka meadow and turn right at the resting place to continue on the K trail. Initially, we enjoy the forest shade, then cross increasingly often clearcuts, from which more distant clearcuts are also visible. Interestingly, although pines in our low mid-mountain ranges are dying due to the increasingly drying and warming climate, fresh plantations can be seen here in several places. This part of the Tokaj Mountains is generally characterized by devastated, fragmented forests or their apparent absence. Of course, the growing forest is also a forest—but this offers little comfort when for kilometers only clearcuts and patches of young forests accompany our steps. Intensive logging is not a new phenomenon, nor does it reach its largest scale nowadays: the Regéc area forest supplied the first glassworks of the mountains at the end of the 17th century with its huge beech trees, which were dragged down to the Háromhuta valley. Then the glassworks closed, the systematically managed forest strengthened, and in the 1920s the owner Waldbott estate led a narrow-gauge railway from the Nagyvasút station in Olaszliszka to the Háromhuta valley and the adjoining slopes, beginning ruthless logging often breaking contemporary regulations. The later planted pine forests were decimated by climate change; therefore, forestry tries to remove them and plant native species instead. Where forests were less disturbed, government game hunts were organized in the 1930s. The expansive forest road network of the area was mostly built at that time.

Viper Nests in the Grip of Mountains

We bypass the Szpalanyica valley chapter and arrive at the left branch of the K▲ trail along a winding road by the fence. Walking on a rolling path, thinning ridge beech forest, the soil beneath reveals more and more stones. Due to a gap on the right, the view peeks through the edge trunks, hinting at what awaits us a few meters ahead. Finally, in an oak forest, we see the robust rock: the pink rhyolite Kerek-kő sits on the mountain ridge like petrified whipped cream, dominating its environment. The crevices and warming surface are also favored by crossed vipers, which live in the Tokaj Mountains and avoid tourists; therefore, we should be careful before sitting down somewhere! Stepping out, the breathtaking panorama with mountains all around unfolds. It is one of the few spots in the country from which no flatland can be seen. The endless view is packed with valleys and steeply rising peaks. The Csattantyú hill (ruins of an old eruption center) stands opposite, to its right in the background the Milic group ridge is icing. The Hegyköz basin is also emerging, and closer by, the Kemence stream valley arches deeply toward the mountain heart. Since we crossed the geological line dividing Central Zemplén northwest-southeast, similarly to Kőkapu, we are on rhyolite terrain again. The lava of the rock barely flows, hardens almost immediately upon reaching the surface, and is quite resistant. The fractured block of Kerek-kő was shaped by ice age leveling, similar to Sólyom-bérc; thus, it is exceptional among the famous Zemplén rocks with similar origins, as its peers are built from andesite.

Where is the wood, boss?

One could spend a whole day here observing, but we are not even halfway along our route yet, so we must continue. The left branch of the K▲ trail is initially hard to follow because we have to push through a young forest patch. After some bush battles, we reach the Cselliszka meadow, bordered by the remains of a "naturally" cleared forest, with a hunting stand in the middle; opposite it, a watering place tempts the game into the hunter’s sight under the shade of a dead tree. Soon, we return to the Blue Trail, turn left, and are in for a long forest hike. We bypass the Border valley chapter, and after the uniform patches of young forests, a refreshing rest at Gerendás meadow awaits us. Here, next to the fire pit, the forestry created a rain shelter equipped with benches and tables, which curiously has an attic usable as bivouac accommodation. From the camp located at the meeting of the valleys at the intersection of wide forest roads, it's about a 15-minute walk to the Eszkála forest house. This stretch is on nicer, older forest, and to the left we can replenish our depleted supplies from the relatively reliable Fekete Péter spring despite its low yield. The forestry building is a herald of times when neighboring forests were exploited to an enormous extent, to the limit of their renewing ability—first for the glassworks’ ash distillation, then serving the economic narrow-gauge railway rattling to the Bodrog. Additionally, beech was considered an undesirable species at the end of the 19th century due to its difficult industrial utility; pine and oak were planted instead. Due to ruthless land use and failed planting attempts, even in the second half of the 20th century, half to three-quarters of the forests here and to the east of this area were just coppices.

Oasis in the Desert

Further along, one can still see the results of reforestation attempts and the legacy of the past in the fragmented forest. Therefore, it’s not easy to perceive the junction and decide if we are on a meadow or cut area, but the hiking trails split: we must follow the left, forward-continuing K◼ trail for the remaining kilometers. We bypass the Eszkála peak, then climb to the far side of the summit through the grassy oak forest of Pap Hill behind a saddle point. Here, unusually, the logged forest patch is useful since the entire cluster of rounded pyramids of the Sátoros mountains is fully revealed opposite. We meander on a transversal, barely used, rocky wheel track on a hillside; to the right, the long ridge of the Kecske-hát opens up, carrying the National Blue Trail. After endless young forest dense patches, the path finally leads under trees as we descend sharply left into the beech woods of Repka valley— a natural oasis compared to the previous kilometers of barrenness. The long lower section of the stream valley is filled with small villages, but above them special habitats have developed. Since it is relatively narrow and opens to the north, its humid, cool climate provides a home to species that are both rare in Hungary and represent higher parts of the Carpathians. Descending the path, notable are several meter-diameter extraction gaps, which testify to careful forest management and researched, observed areas. In the gaps, new growth can develop in protected places, and (as a result of several decades of treatment) the structure and appearance of the forest will change. Trees of different ages and heights will live in close proximity in this grove, making it more resilient and able to renew continuously in a near-natural state. Its sheltering nature can host many living beings.

The Home of Traveling Craftsmen

We cross the stream and come to Nagyhuta on a eroded path through beautiful beech woods, where the pleasant environment is accompanied by a neat village image. As the name of the settlement suggests, for centuries (from the 18th century) a glassworks operated in the valley, relying partly on the resources of the surrounding mountains and partly on the expertise of the Slovak population that spontaneously settled here after the Turkish occupation (in the 18th century). Its peculiarity was that unlike other mountain glassworks, this small plant only produced sheet glass. Additionally, Nagyhuta was the southernmost village of the traveling craftsmen spreading in Upper Hungary; its inhabitants, familiar with glass, mainly traveled the region as glaziers. When the Trianon borders cut off supplies and markets from Upper Hungary, the wire workers coming mostly from the north disappeared, so the locals started wiring themselves and also learned tinworking (the glassworks had long since closed by then). The Slovak traveling craftsmen of Zemplén roamed Northeast Hungary even after World War II (roughly until the 1950s). On the village’s main street, there is a bus stop and slightly lower is a tavern where we can rest at the end of the long march.