In the footsteps of Medves sights and springs

Itinerary:

• We start from the characteristic mining colony, Rónabánya, on the S trail, and follow this marking as we cross the Medves Plateau.
• Still following the S trail, we descend to Salgóbánya, and by following the unmarked asphalt road leading to the village center, we arrive at the House of Geowonders.
• From the visitor center, we walk along the village's main street (following the S◼ and then the Z markings), continuing on the Z trail to the Salgó Saddle between the two "castles".
• Here we turn right and take the PL and P▲ trail markings up to the Salgó summit (623 m).
• Returning to the Salgó Saddle, we walk along the PL trail to the Witch's Rock, then descend along the trail to Zagyvaróna.
• At the village entrance, we turn sharply left on the P● trail and climb up to the bubbling Zagyva “spring”.
• From the springs, we continue on the S● trail to the parking lot next to the Hotel Medves.
• On the familiar, atmospheric cart road, we climb back up to the Medves Plateau on the S trail, then turn right onto the S◼ trail, passing the Réti Cross and arriving at Rónafa village.
• We reach the Mogyorósi Lookout marked with a sign but without a tourist trail; then, returning to the S◼ trail, we walk down to the bus stop located next to the highway.

Detailed description of the hike:

The characteristic mining colony of Rónabánya lies on the edge of Central Europe's largest basalt plateau. Among many similar former mining areas now belonging to Salgótarján, this is the farthest, located directly at the edge of the Medves Plateau, at the foot of the Szilvás-kő ridge formed by three basalt cones. It is worth exploring the part of the settlement that consists of only three streets and is in need of better times.

On the breezy Medves plateau

We embark on the unique landscape of the Medves plateau on the S trail; no serious ascent awaits us from the elevated settlement part. The trail runs for a long section along the edge of the eastern escarpment of the plateau through forest. At one point, a fantastic view opens up over Medvesalja's Hungarian-inhabited villages below. Next to the trail, you can quench your thirst with the strongly iron-rich water of the Hideg-kút spring (reachable via a marked detour) before reaching the plateau and crossing it while continuing to follow the S trail. Hiking on the 12.8 square kilometer plateau at an altitude of 520–570 meters above sea level is a unique experience in Hungary, as only the highest peaks of the surrounding area can be seen from the surprisingly flat plateau's extensive meadows: Salgó, Karancs, and Medves's summit. The latter, with its 659 meters, is the highest point of the plateau; approximately 2–3 million years ago, lava mainly erupted from here. The volcanic cover varies in thickness between 11 and 107 meters. In this gentle landscape, it is hard to imagine that many mines once produced cobblestone here, and the clashing of thousands of hammers was only interrupted by the rhythmic noise of the narrow-gauge railway. Central Europe's largest basalt plateau became the center of domestic basalt mining during the great railway and road construction periods, and the gradually decreasing extraction ceased completely only in the mid-1980s. The cobblestones from here spread not only to the cities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but reached as far as Paris and London.

Salgóbánya and Salgó Castle

Still following the S trail, we descend along an atmospheric cart road to the edge of Salgóbánya near the parking lot next to Hotel Medves. From here, we follow the asphalt road to the village (briefly unmarked) and soon arrive at the former casino of the mining village, now home to the Novohrad-Nógrád Geopark's visitor center, the House of Geowonders. Be sure to check out the exhibition! Besides geological and industrial history curiosities, you can also read about the life of Zenthe Ferenc, born here.

From the visitor center, we walk along the village's main street following the S◼ and the joined Z trails heading towards the castle, continuing to the Salgó Saddle between the two "castles." We turn right here, and the PL and P▲ trails lead up to the imposing Salgó summit (623 m) crowned by Salgó Castle. From the surprisingly well-preserved domestic walls, we enjoy a magnificent view of our whole journey. You can see the Mátra, Karancs, and Cserhát mountains, and on clear days, views extend to the Börzsöny and the High Tatras ranges. The sack-structure basalt columns at the entrance reveal the mountain's origins; the castle was built on a volcanic vent exposed by erosion. This means the softer surrounding volcanic crater rocks have worn away, and the castle stands on once-intruded and trapped lava within the vent.

Probably the castle's most special historical episode was when in 1554 Kara Hamza Szécsényi Bey captured the otherwise supposedly impregnable fortress without fighting by intimidating with many logs mounded to mimic cannons in the misty weather. We also must mention poet Petőfi: he visited the castle on June 11, 1845, and according to local legend, his horse's horseshoe mark is preserved on a stone near the castle gate. What is sure is that he beautifully captured his experience in the book "Travel Sketches": "Perhaps there was no castle in Hungary closer to the stars than Salgó," where he enjoyed gazing for a long time: "my gaze roamed miles away, my soul wandered centuries beyond."

From Witch's Rock summit to the Zagyva spring area

Our next stop is Kis-Salgó (572 m), also called Witch's Rock, reachable from Salgó Saddle via the PL trail. According to some legends, witches once danced on the flat-topped rock; nowadays, hikers admire splendid views of Salgó Castle here, and Somoskő Castle is visible as well. Below us lie Zagyvaróna and the Zagyva spring area. Standing about at the same altitude as the neighboring basalt plateau, it is interesting to consider that the mountain range between Salgó and Kis-Salgó was once a smaller valley occupied by lava flow. While the hard basalt-covered terrain was exposed, erosion wore away the looser volcanic debris and previously formed marine sediment.

We descend along the PL trail to Zagyvaróna, where by walking a bit further, we can find a shop in the village center. If we don't need that, we turn sharply left at the village entrance on the P● trail and climb to the gushing Zagyva spring next to us. Our route starts with pleasant alder forests, then mixed woods, and finally dense beech woods, reaching springs only a few steps apart. Until the 1960s, only the Lehel spring's enclosure existed here, and the Varga Ferenc spring, named after the local ornithologist, was established only in the 2000s. So, which one is the true source of Zagyva? It's not a simple question, as a more voluminous discharge called "ancient water" is found a few steps along the S● trail from here, not to mention the István mine's abundant water next to Salgóbánya, which is actually ancient water supplying the area's water system, with some of it seeping freely. Miners called the water flowing from old mines "ancient water," which generally has a reddish color due to pyrite iron content in the coal. Since according to geographical definitions, the emergence of these two larger water flows is not considered a source, and the two trickling springs hardly feed the creek flowing a few hundred meters below, geographers now rather speak of the Zagyva spring area. It is worth knowing that the Zagyva is Hungary's longest river in the sense that its entire length is on Hungarian territory from its source to its confluence with the Tisza.

Village with a view

Nearby Hotel Medves, we can also see the aforementioned István mine, from which coal once was extracted beneath the basalt of the Medves Plateau. We climb back up to the Medves plateau on the known atmospheric cart road along the S trail, then turn right on the S◼ trail as we emerge from the forest. We walk on a beautiful, airy path, admiring the panorama towards our final destination, Rónafa village, passing the charming Réti Cross.

Rónafa, founded by a curse, could probably claim the title of the village with the best panorama in the country because its residents can see all the way to Börzsöny from their windows. After the end of mining, the village experienced a crisis, but tourism has played an increasingly important role in its life. It is no coincidence that just above the village, we find the Mogyorósi Lookout reachable by a signposted road, from where we can say a worthy farewell to this wonderful landscape. It is a magnificent experience to take in the land from the rather wild ridge of the Mátra all the way to Börzsöny, watching the sun set behind the neighboring Salgó and Karancs. We reach the nearby bus stop on the connecting road leading out of the village, but we can also walk back along the highway to neighboring Rónabánya (another 950 meters distance).