Ipoly riverside exploration in the splendid world of the floodplain

Itinerary

The path of the Ipoly Bridge hike is marked by posts and signs, and you can also come across the Z mark of the Nógrád green trails; however, for comfortable orientation, it is advisable to use the Természetjáró app. 

• From Drégelypalánk railway station to the wooden bridge crossing the Ipoly, we follow the Z mark of the Nógrád green trails.
• From the wooden bridge, we make a detour on an unmarked path to the birdwatching spot on Nagy-sziget.
• From the birdwatching spot, we return to the Szent Borbála bridge between Drégelypalánk and Ipolyhídvég.
• From the Szent Borbála bridge, we proceed on an unmarked cart road directly along the Ipoly to the birdwatching tower in Ipolyvece.
• From the observation tower, we continue on an unmarked embankment to the Derék Creek bridge.
• Crossing the Derék Creek bridge, we travel approximately 4.5 km along the unmarked embankment.
• North of Dejtár, at a junction, we turn right toward the meadow. On this unmarked dirt road, passing the Dejtár lookout, we arrive at Dejtár.

Detailed description of the route

The surroundings of Nagy-sziget

We depart northwards from Drégelypalánk railway station along the asphalt of Honti Road. Before the Szent Borbála bridge crossing the Ipoly, we turn left off the asphalt following the Z mark of Nógrád green trails. We reach the Ipoly on flat terrain; a wooden bridge over it leads into Slovakia. Here we can closely admire the normally gentle water surface of the river, which sometimes flows untamed and splays out at the border.

Heading west from the bridge, we arrive at the resting place called the “hunting look-out tower,” where, standing on top, we can mostly observe the birdlife of nearby Nagy-sziget, but the incredible variety of habitats along the Ipoly is also striking: from the dark, nutrient-poor bog pools through flowering-rich marshes and reed beds to extensive meadows, different communities cover the landscape.

From the “hunting lookout tower,” we return to the Szent Borbála bridge and on its far side, take the Ipoly Bridge hike route toward Ipolyvece. On our left, we see willow trees along the river; to the right, a large meadow and the distant Börzsöny hills frame the landscape. Floodplain meadows have formed exceptionally valuable habitats from a conservation perspective over centuries of river meadow farming. Their preservation can only be ensured through traditional land use methods. This important task is carried out jointly by local farmers and the area's manager – the Danube-Ipoly National Park.

Along the Csadó meadow

The meadow marked on the map is named after the Csadó family. They once ran a mill on their former hundred-acre estate; today, one of the best-maintained marshes with a constant water supply in the Ipoly valley can be found here. A prominent species of the rich wildlife here is the singing swan, which nests only here in our country, but other rare birds can also be spotted, such as the black stork, which occasionally visits from the Börzsöny mountains. The greatest bustle can be experienced during the migration period of wading birds, when resting travelers almost completely cover the area.

Whether we explore this peaceful region on foot or by bike can depend not only on our preferences but also on the water level. In spring, the hundred-hectare meadow sprinkled with bait almost turns into a sea, and the sinking sandy soil of our trail may slow progress. At such times, the vast water surface hosts thousands of birds. Besides lapwings, redshanks, spotted redshanks, ducks, geese, cranes, and great bitterns, gray herons, white storks, and great egrets with white plumage also hunt here. In summer, as the water recedes, waves of grass cover the landscape, in which quails and marsh harriers raise their young.

Our next station, the wooden tower rising on the border of Ipolyvece, already stands out from afar. From here, we can view the stretching meadows and marshes from a new perspective. If we're lucky, we can also observe rare birds, and if we have thoughtfully brought binoculars, we can get a closer insight into the world of birds.

Our route does not enter the pleasant small village of Ipolyvece in the Ipoly valley. We continue east along the embankment, then cross a small reed-fringed creek on a swing bridge, coming ever closer to the river Ipoly with its banks lined by weeping willows.

The hidden world of oxbows

On this section of our hike, the traces of human intervention are already visible in several places. The environment around us has been shaped by millennia of work by the Ipoly, depositing sediments that built and at the same time destroyed the landscape, while regularly flooding the riverside. In the 1960s, regulation was carried out on the Dejtár section: the river bends were cut off, thereby shortening the water route and accelerating its flow.

The water regulation structures – dams and locks – still obstruct the natural movement of water today, depriving the old floodplain areas of regular water replenishment. Nevertheless, some remaining wetlands, short oxbows, and small lakes that still illustrate the flourishing former waterside plant communities can be found here. One of these oxbows is pointed out by the educational trail sign, but to peek into this densely overgrown environment, you almost have to fight a jungle battle. The easiest way is, standing opposite the sign, to try to approach the oxbow from the wagon road branching to the right.

As the rural way of life has changed, thickets quickly appeared on former pastures and meadows. The thorny blackthorn, hawthorn, and prickly wild rose are only frightening to us: they are attractive habitats for numerous members of the animal kingdom. In spring and summer, the shrubbery is noisy with goldfinches, nightingales, thrushes, and shrike fledglings. In autumn, their fruit provides a banquet for winged travelers who gather strength here for the long journey. The thorny thicket also offers shelter to hares, deer, pheasants, and smaller birds, some of which we are likely to encounter during our hike.

Part of the uniqueness of the Ipoly valley is the many types of steppe plant communities. Around Dejtár, on wind-shaped mounds formed by river sediment, we can admire the burgundy-silvery flowers of the black pasqueflower, but we can also see small yellow-flowered sand pink, field sage, Hungarian carnation, and fragrant thyme; in summer, the steppe feather grass and steppe fescue make waving patches in the wind.

It feels as if we are walking in the Great Hungarian Plain, but it is not only the plants that remind us of the largest flatland in our country. Insect specialties such as the helmet grasshopper, relatives of which feed on withered grass in the sand dunes between the Danube and Tisza, also occur here.

View from the Dejtár tower

At the northern border of Dejtár, we arrive at the largest contiguous reed bed in the Ipoly valley, which offers nesting and feeding grounds to several protected birds: next to the Big Lake, from another wooden tower, we can observe the landscape and the airspace, in which we may spot heron species flying with bent necks and the great egret nesting here. Some of the hiding species reveal their presence only by their characteristic sounds, such as the far-off call of the bittern, reminiscent of a ship's horn. Unlike many other birds of prey, the marsh harrier also nests in the reed bed. If we see a bird hovering gently over the plain, maneuvering with airy agility, often staying in one place, then it is highly likely we are lucky to observe it.

Continuing from the lookout tower along the cart road toward Dejtár, the shrubs and acacia forests gradually enclose the space around us. Once, there were pastures here too, but with the decline of animal husbandry, afforestation has taken place in the area. Around the early 1940s in Dejtár, the herd counted over 1,500 cattle – today, we meet much smaller herds.

We arrive in Dejtár, known for its folk costume, at the 17th kilometer of the route. We can leave Dejtár by bus or train, but it is worth knowing that the railway station of the settlement is located about 2 kilometers east of the village.