From the narrow-gauge railway to the Ipoly valley

Itinerary

• During the route, we must follow the K+ marking all the way.
• Only before Sákola Peak, at the very beginning of the climb to the mountain, do we need to take a short detour to the left on the hard-to-find K▲ marking.

About the route in detail

Departure from Nagyirtás

Nagyirtáspuszta was the center of the forest estate for a long time. The role of the narrow-gauge railway network transporting wood first declined, then ceased due to the impact of the asphalt roads opening up the mountain range - but the popularity of this travel mode among tourists made the operation of the trains necessary again (albeit only for a smaller part of the year). A significant part of Nagyirtáspuszta was planted with pine forests - unfortunately, these are now slated for cutting down due to the warming climate. On a picturesque meadow stands a hotel catering to high standards, and next to its separate station of the narrow-gauge railway, there is a small forest buffet.

We start our route here on the K+ marking. We cross the asphalt road and begin to climb on a path in the forest above a winding bulldozer road. (We can also choose the forest road for a few minutes; in this case, at the first big left turn, we turn right into a valley unfolding under the trees, where we find the marking again). After some undulations, we enter a valley head rich in fallen timber, ascending upwards. The path soon turns out of the ditch and leads out on an unpleasantly steep, slippery slope to another forestry road.

We follow this pasture for a long time. Dense young growths and tiny meadows alternate alongside the sparsely marked hiking trail. We walk on a low watershed, small clearings appearing on the right, while on the left, we occasionally catch views of the impressively sized volcanic domes seen from here - Sós Hill's bald forehead shines almost glowing in the green forest landscape. On the right side of the path, at one point, an ancient hollow oak fights the elements: the Méhes Tree (also known as the Mézes Tree) is said to have once been home to wild bees.

The Nagy-Koppány

We leave behind the Juhász Meadow stretching long uphill on the hillside and step into an old, airy oak forest after passing through a wind-ravaged forest. We only enjoy this beautiful forest patch briefly, as meters later we change onto the grassy slope of Nagy-Koppány. The 549-meter mountain is also called Nagy-Homlok, which becomes clear as we storm the slope and reach the summit: on the southern side of the summit, a wide grassy slope stretches out. Gazing around, a wide panorama opens onto the low, rugged mountains around the Danube Bend: the Visegrád Hills ripple opposite, and the proud shapes of Prédikálószék and Szent Mihály Hill are identifiable on both sides of the Danube's sparkling ribbon. The nearby basin floor is colored by the roofs of Márianosztra, with the rubble of Gerecse lined up in the southwest. To the west, the Helembai Mountains block is conspicuous, with gentle hills rising not far beyond the Ipoly valley on the other side, while on this side, the Nagy Valley snakes beneath the prominent elevation of Sákola Peak.

To head towards the latter, we need to descend the path, which soon enters the forest. Following the dusty road, we arrive at the Koppány saddle (a short detour leads to the grassy slope of Kis-Koppány, from which you can also see the High Börzsöny). The two Koppány Mountains rising hardly noticeably above the forests are the eroded remnants of ancient volcanic domes, the rock of which reveals the material from the depths of the volcanoes.

On an abandoned summit trail

Unfortunately, we won't enjoy much in the next kilometer: we accompany dense clear-cut areas on an increasingly rocky and water-washed road. At an intersection, the signs call us forward and left; we tackle the long, exhausting climb of Sákola Peak in a beautiful oak forest. In the first meters, take a short detour left, following the barely noticeable, worn K▲ signs, to look out some 30 meters away from a small clearing at the head of the Nagy Valley! The grassy forehead of Nagy-Koppány also appears among the wooded elevations.

Walking again on the K+ marking towards Sákola Peak, we proceed. The occasionally nettle-covered, overgrown path's abandonment is best shown by its condition. Following the trail sometimes presents minor challenges since the signs are also sparse and faint. In an old oak forest, we climb the narrowing ridge between increasingly steep slopes. Although the name summit suggests a flat elevation, in the case of Sákola, this only applies to the extended length of the highest point; on the left is a steep slope, and to the east, it is sometimes bordered by a cliff-like break. In many places, mossy dacite blocks also poke out from under the ground cover - the view cannot be called wild, but it is interesting in that it shows what the medium-height, secluded peaks of Börzsöny are like, which most hikers understandably avoid.

Arrival in the Ipoly valley

We quickly descend back to the bulldozer road, which we soon leave on the left along a path. "One level down," past a thicket, we turn onto another forest road, approaching the Ipoly valley this way. The unmarked path becomes unpleasant before the mountain base, but the dense, shrubby vegetation is replaced by meadows: we must cross tower-ward wide hayfields - on the far side, we always find the continuation of the tourist markings. Meanwhile, you can see the roofs of the village of Letkés sitting along the Ipoly, the church tower rising among them, and the block of the Helembai Mountains separated from Börzsöny by the river. Short forest strips separate the wide fields; at the bottom of these, among former vineyards (the village once had significant viticulture), we reach the village outskirts along a deep road. We stroll beside the cemetery into the center of Letkés - a bus stop on the main road to the right offers departure options.

(If we extend our route on the Z marking, we can walk down to the bank of the Ipoly as well - a mill worked here for centuries. The hills and the villages squeezed between Börzsöny and the confluence of the Danube and the Ipoly were completely devastated and "hidden" from the world by the changes to the borders after the Treaty of Trianon, but thanks to the bridge here and the possibility of free border crossing within the EU, it is possible to cross over to the neighboring settlement.)