In the center of the kurucs, in the karst region

Itinerary:

• From the center of Szögliget, follow the P trail to the Szalamandra House.
• From the Szalamandra House, turn right and follow the PL trail as we climb up to Szádvár.
• From the castle, we descend back along the PL trail to the junction after the stairs.
• At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and follow the KL trail until it joins the Kéktúra route.
• We cross Derenk on the K trail, then descend into the Ménes Valley.
• Follow the P trail to the left to return to Szögliget.

Detailed description of the route:

Above Szögliget, in the former fortress

Starting from the center of Szögliget, from the bus turnaround in front of the Catholic church, we follow the P trail. The settlement nestled in the basin of Vár Valley is characterized by a series of traditional houses with porches, bordered by forest, creating a harmonious Palóc village image. We are in the easternmost area of the Palóc dialect, which becomes clear when listening to the locals. The close-to-nature lifestyle and calm, pleasant way of life of the ethnic group still lives on today. A significant portion of the neat houses is now uninhabited, maintained only as holiday homes; apart from tourism, the forest and the wide valley of the Bódva provide only limited livelihood.

At the village end cross shaded by linden trees, we leave the neat settlement and follow the line of the Ménes creek, bordered with alder trees and meadows, heading upward in the Vár Valley. The name is telling, as from here we can already see the proud, rocky limestone peak opposite, where for centuries a key fortress stood: Szádvár, overseeing the junction of the Bódva and Jósva valleys. However, a less conspicuous older castle also sleeps in the surrounding hills: to our left, the Óvár peak holds an even older fortification. Its trenches are likely from the time of the Hungarian conquest but await excavation.

Soon we reach the youngest castle, at the bend of Vár Valley where we arrive at the Szalamandra House, which has a playground fortress for children in its park. This picturesque building recently served as accommodation for border defense units who used it to monitor the Czechoslovak border strip that bordered the Ménes Valley and Derenk to the north.

Opposite the Szalamandra House playground, we climb up the PL trail along the ridge of the hill accompanying the Várszög Valley from the south, to the side of the fortress. The sudden ascent clearly shows the strategic role of the Szádvár massif: during a siege, a significant elevation had to be overcome from the deeply cut valley to the mountain ridge level. After twisting off from the dense juniper-oak forest, we enter a valley head dotted with mossy limestone blocks, on the rocky slope of the hill. To ease the climb, the cart road leading to the castle fully circles the hill and spirals up the karst scrub-covered summit on increasingly rocky terrain. However, we stay on the PL trail, climbing up the stairs created during the 2021 renovation aimed at preservation. Oak plank walkways on the ruins of the lower castle offer the romantic experience of discovering the ruins in a forest environment. At the narrowest point of the rocky trench before us, we slip through the fierce gate of the lower castle and climb the strenuous slope to the upper castle.

The Árpád-era castle, once the commanding center of the Bebek family and a kuruc stronghold, is now a tangled, bushy ruin. Among the wall remains, we can find protrusions, tower bases, cisterns, and thanks to the 2021 preservation renovation, a stone repository, information boards, benches, and rain shelters are also available at the summit. From the northern bastion, we have a view towards the mountains of Upper Hungary and the neighboring mountains of the Gömör-Torna karst.

On the western terrace beyond the castle, the fullest panorama unfolds from a bench. Above the surrounding peaks, along the winding Ménes and Vár valleys below, we have a broad view west and south. Beyond Szögliget’s colorful houses, at the junction of the Bódva and Jósva valleys, we can spot the historic important route connecting the former Tornaszentandrás and Gömör regions between Kassa and Fülek, Szepsi, and the Tornaalja area. The Trianon borders cut off this connection, but the natural area of the karst, directly connected with the central mass of the Carpathians, has benefited several times from the border zone's abandonment and tranquility.

Derenk deserted basin, former game reserve of Miklós Horthy

The next section of our hike leads to this nature-reclaimed landscape, to the zigzag groves, abandoned meadows, and dense thickets of the plateau. From the castle ruins, we say farewell on the familiar stairs along the PL trail. After leaving the ruins, we turn left on the KL trail, which at the meadow turns northwest (to the right) along a broad wheel track.

We join the K trail here, which we follow westward to the Ménes Valley. After alternating dense forests and groves, we cross the road leading to the Torna Valley near Vidomájpuszta, then join the broad ribbon of the Derenk road. We descend into a long basin typical of karst plateaus, a closed valley called the Derenki Polje (Derenk meadow), where we reach the former village site near the edge of a marshy meadow.

This once inhabited settlement until the mid-20th century has a special atmosphere, as nature has almost completely reclaimed the area. Open pastures, wild fruit trees, and grassy mounds suggest the former village locations. The old school and chapel have been renovated; to reach them, we climb from the old main street. The exhibition housed in the school building reveals the history of Derenk, the settlement connected to the castle, as well as the final days of the village repopulated by Poles during World War II. The displayed photographs depicting everyday life and the story of the village's forceful evacuation are truly thought-provoking.

At Derenk's western border, we turn onto the stony juniper-covered landscape characteristic of the Aggtelek karst after bypassing the largest field. After the flat filled Derenki Polje, the terrain becomes lively again: rocky saddles, steep cliffs, and landslides alternate with meadows and forests in the landscape. Through planted pine forests and dense shrubby groves, we reach the valley of the Mocsolya Creek, the largest tributary of the Ménes Creek. This is a deserted area, far behind us lie the settlements. Forests and pastures connect the gently rolling, rugged karst plateaus with the higher Carpathian landscapes. The upper course of the Ménes Creek north of the Szelce Valley is a strictly protected core area of a reserve where native species live undisturbed.

It is no coincidence that this was Miklós Horthy's hunting ground, as the natural state of the area harbors abundant game. By the 2000s, wolves, lynxes, and occasionally bears have been confirmed to have settled here. We can only discover them from their traces; their senses are very sharp, and having learned human nature over the past centuries, they keep their distance from us. However, if we hike quietly enough, we may see prowling foxes, grazing deer, or wild boar groups foraging in the overgrown fruit orchards.

We cross the Mocsolya Creek on an old wooden bridge, then cut through the meadow along the creek and climb in the forested slope of Öreg-tető to the saddle separating the Mocsolya and Ménes valleys. From here, a steep and overgrown path leads down to the other side, and soon we reach the wide Ménes Valley.

Back to Szögliget along the Ménes Creek

Here, the K trail turns west towards Szelcepuszta, which with its charming accommodation is a great alternative towards Jósvafő. However, we turn east along the Ménes Valley and follow the creek’s flow on the P trail towards Szögliget. The spacious valley floor squeezed between steep cliffs winds ahead of us for a long stretch. The dense pine forest bordering the path is a forestry nursery used for replanting the surrounding mountain area after clear-cutting. Despite the low average elevation, significant plantation pines green the karst plateau in a climate „inherited” from the nearby Carpathians.

Below the nursery, riparian meadows with willow and alder groups stretch across the middle section of the Ménes Valley. Only the dammed Ménes Lake water surface breaks the rhythmic riparian idyll of clearings and tree groups. The lake fits naturally into the environment: a sediment-laden, usually cloudy reservoir maintaining extensive swamp habitats near the creek mouth, where herons, egrets, and the very disturbance-sensitive rare black storks also hunt eagerly. Hungary’s largest brown trout of the past century, weighing over 5 kg, was caught here, a truly capital size compared to the typically stream-dwelling colorful trout species.

At the lake, the already crossed Mocsolya and Ménes creeks converge. The Mocsolya's gorge piercing the steep hill slope is one of the most spectacular valley sections in the entire mountain range. The moss-covered, rocky area’s narrow, a few meters wide gorge mouth is entirely occupied by the wildly winding creek, tumbling down with cascades. At the Mocsolya Creek road crossing and the attractively arranged rest area at the Ménes Lake shore, we can pause to break the long valley hike. At the edge of the watercourse from the gorge, the Hideg-kút reliably offers cool water.

The marshy forest along the creek’s floodplain narrows for the next kilometer; the Ménes Creek, winding among alder trees, sometimes runs right beside the bulldozer road. Near the meadow under Szádvár, we leave the rocky gorge and a wide curve spreads out as a flood meadow. From the dashing peak of the pine-covered rocky mountain, the proud Szádvár castle looks down on us. From here, the Szalamandra House is already visible on the opposite side of the meadow. We also pass the abundant Tetves-kút spring, which rises directly below the Vár Bükk, and join the broad asphalt road coming from Derenk and Vár Valley. At the Szalamandra House, we reach the already familiar section of the road leading into the village, flowing back to Szögliget with the watchful gaze of Szádvár upon our backs.