In forests, meadows, and gorge valleys – moods in the Branisko Mountains

Itinerary 

• From Lipovec (Szinyelipóc) the P trail leads up to the Lačnovský canyon (Lacsnói Gorge), then we continue further through the village of Lačnov (Lacsnó) all the way to Lačnovské sedlo.
• From the pass we continue southwards along the ridge on the Z trail to Sedlo Zákrut.
• From Sedlo Zákrut the P\ trail leads down to the stream (Kopitovský potok).
• We follow the stream along the S trail downhill to the right until the junction with the K trail (Kopytovská dolina, crossroads).
• Following the K trail northeast we cross the mountain ridge and return to Lipovec. 

Detailed description of the route

Forest walk through the gorge, insight into the depths of the mountain range

We start our journey with an easy walk following the P trail from the western edge of Lipovec (Szinyelipóc), from the bus stop next to the school. Above the village, right next to our route, lies the ancient castle of the settlement, Mersevár (Lipovec castle). The names Szinye and Merse may also be familiar from the 19th-century painter Pál Szinyei Merse, from which we can infer the origins of the artist's family: this prominent family owned the surrounding area for centuries.

We leave the village immediately behind the school and walk a few hundred meters along a winding asphalt road to the foot of the mountain, soon drawn by a magnificent gate built from pine beams inviting us to enter the Lačnov Gorge (Lačnovský canyon). Beyond the gate, the pine forest opens to a spacious meadow with a neat tourist park offering a buffet, benches, and a small lake, inviting for an early rest. This site can also be visited at the end of the route with a short detour. From the meadow, the spectacle of the gorge already becomes visible, dominated by the Karst-protected area’s namesake Kamenná Baba, a slim dolomite tower rising pointedly toward the sky like an index finger. The summit above the gorge is crowned by the ruins of Mersevár, the stronghold of the Szinyei Merse family who dominated the area until the Aba clan destroyed it in the 14th century. It is more easily accessible from the village side, but it is also possible to climb to it from the side valley shortly after the first narrow rock gap; its reconstruction is currently underway. Shortly after the first narrow section, the gorge widens for a breath’s pause, and here at the mouth of the side valley on an atmospheric riverside clearing, there are also forest huts.

After the clearing, we enter once again the mossy cliff-lined, shady, cool gorge valley. The elegant rock formations also impressed the local population, bringing stone compositions to life in their imagination. Mid-19th century traveler Elek Fényes, who also visited here, recounts the wonderful mountain landscape rising at the village border:

"In the hilly part of the Lipóc border, nature mimics the mountainous region of the Carpathians in miniature. Here, terrifyingly tall rock cliffs tower upwards, forming uniquely strange and surprising shapes. Among others, there is Kamenná Baba rock, depicting a mother holding her child in her lap. Moses is a free-standing, imposing rock. Among these rock formations, you can hear the babbling of several small streams, which form beautiful waterfalls and, after descending to the plain, turn objects into stone."

Wandering among the mossy rock jumps, through the forest’s leafy canopy, Kamenná Baba appears above the treetops, a slender 30-meter-high rock tower. Its top is extended by a scrawny pine tree that clings to the crevices of the ridge, receiving ample light but hardly any nutrients. However, the surrounding gorge forest is rich in water and nutrients, and the trees squeezed into the narrow gully, mostly beeches and pines, are forced into slender forms by the eternal struggle for light. The path cleverly circling the rocks alongside the stream becomes steeper, and the stone steps become too dangerous in places; therefore, metal trays have been installed alongside the water, and the ascent has been made safe with chains and railings. Here, we see the largest waterfall in the gorge, whose total height exceeds twenty meters.

After the rocky narrow section, a branch offers a detour to a cave carved 200 meters above us into a rock at the ridge. The triangular entrance shelters a shallow cavity, an excellent site for overnight stays. It was likely used as a stone tent by humans and animals for millennia. The path continues alongside the stream without trays or artificial steps, but where passage requires it, old rusty chains with missing links are found. This adventurous, winding section is where the stream valley truly becomes wilderness: although the rock formations soften, the environment is a genuine 'wild park' for large predators. According to the nature protection information board, black storks, lynx, wolves, and naturally bears also inhabit this area.

The bordering mountainsides gradually lose their steepness, and the space around us widens as we reach the first meadow above the gorge. Juniper bushes, birch, and pine groves adorn the landscape. The path also turns out of the valley and, crossing the rocky clearing to the right, reaches the border of the village of Lačnov (Lacsnó). From the top of the meadow, we can still see the wide gorge covered with broadleaf canopies, but meanwhile the outer houses of the village invite us to discover the lifestyle adapted to a mountain environment.

Meadows and log houses, the cornerstones of Carpathian Rusyn lifestyle

Administratively, Lačnov (Lacsnó) is part of Lipovec (Szinyelipóc), but historically it is separate, as it was settled by Rusyn colonists over the past two centuries. The population that once approached 200 inhabitants has practically moved away, and the settlement currently has few permanent residents. The village houses surrounded by dense forests are built from always readily available materials, mainly pine logs. Even if the houses are now rebuilt in stone, the tin-roofed barns and farm buildings everywhere are made of pine logs placed on stone foundations. We see this architectural style throughout the Carpathian villages adapted to mountain life. The population was engaged in logging, woodworking, and livestock farming—the latter evidenced by the series of meadows and pastures surrounding the settlement, occupying all suitable, gentle mountain slopes.

We pass a small but neat Greek Catholic church in the village center, circle around the stream carving the gorge below, and then turn westwards to the level of the meadows. From here, there is a great view of the houses and yards nestled in the valley, and above the village the former Sáros County unfolds with the volcanoes of the Eperjes-Tokaj Mountains in the background. The opposite mountainside hides the Zlá Diera cave, decorated with stalactites and can be visited with a guide. The cave is not developed, so wearing overalls, a helmet, and a lamp on our heads, we can explore the constantly 7°C and always humid cavity in about 40 minutes.

Our hike continues westward from the village border along meadows edged by pine, birch, and beech groves. During blooming, it is worth observing the orchids and other mountain flowers blooming here in the loud green grass. Meadows farther from the village attract deer, roe deer, and wild boars to the open area, especially during dusk and early morning hours, but it is worthwhile to move quietly and attentively even during the day. The narrow two-kilometer stretch leading through the clearings is covered with slight waves, traversing nearly level terrain.

From Lačnovské sedlo ("Lacsnói Pass"), we return to the forest and instead of following the previously used P trail, we continue our hike on the Z trail. The forestry road skirts the ridge’s prominences, allowing us to comfortably maintain almost the same elevation as we progress through a mixed pine-beech forest. The mountain ridge is also a watershed and administrative border; west of it lies Spiš, and the waters flow with a large detour via the Torysa River, passing Prešov, into the Hornád River; while on the Sáros (Šariš) side of the range, the Svinka stream unites the tributaries before flowing into the Hornád. At the edge of a small clearing, we pass a forester's lodge where we can turn back into the valley towards Lipovec (Szinyelipóc) via the P\ trail. (If we continue along the ridge on the Z trail, we can climb to the main peak of the mountain range. The route crosses beautiful forests and meadows with nearly 400 meters of climb, ending with a great view of the High Tatras and the wide area of Spiš, framed by high mountains. At the summit, there is also an open shelter equipped with two small rooms where we can spend the Carpathian night anytime.)

Descent through forest and meadows back to Szinyelipóc

We descend along the P\ trail from the ridge into the deeply cut valley below, nestled among the mountains. The upper part of the depression hosts an old, undisturbed mixed forest. From the traces around the stream, we can also learn about the rich wildlife of these rarely visited, remote forests. If we walk quietly and are lucky, we may catch a glimpse of the Carpathian inhabitants. In summer and autumn, the forest floor is brightened by a rich variety of mushrooms: among the pines, alongside the red caps of the fly agaric, the tasty boletus, a delicacy for mountain dwellers, often appears together with the mottled russulas.

The forest path descends quickly; in just a few hundred meters, we lose a hundred meters in altitude. After passing through a narrow section, we reach a spacious meadow dotted with houses, from where a wide gravel road leads along the valley floor (to the right branch of the S trail). The valley floor spreads out gently along the stream banks, providing an atmospheric conclusion to our varied walk. After barely one kilometer, the towering mountains leave less space to the stream, as the water descending from the dolomite ridges meets the mountain’s hard, crystalline core made of rocks. The Kopitovský potok politely detours around them: after piercing through the first sandstone and conglomerate mountains, the crystal shales and granite rocks suddenly turn eastwards.

For a short time, we walk together with the stream descending from the main peak of the mountain range and can comfortably descend to the neighboring village of Šindliar (Singlér). However, if our car awaits us in Lipovec (Szinyelipóc), we cut across the hillside on a dirt road marked with a K trail. Locals have used this route through the old forest for a long time; its track runs deeply cut among root tangles. We only need to climb about sixty meters in altitude to return to the border of Lipovec (Szinyelipóc) (opposite the canyon we passed at the beginning of our tour).

Below us spring the sources that bring carbonated mineral water to the surface at the boundary between the mountain range's crystalline core and the dolomite and claystone mountains. They flow with such volume that once a mill was built to harness their energy. The water, bottled under the name Salvator since the early 19th century and available in local shops, is worth tasting for the delicious beverage derived from the rocks forming the mountain range. According to last century’s advertisements, it is the most effective medicinal water for kidney, bladder, stomach, and rheumatic patients. We bypass the waterworks built on these springs, the water source’s protection zone arcs widely at the foot of the mountains before returning to Lipovec (Szinyelipóc), where our circular route ends.