Ipolytarnóc’s Highlights: Following the Traces of 17 Million-Year-Old Animals and Trees

Itinerary:

• The route follows the inner, rarely marked paths of the Ipolytarnóc Fossils Nature Conservation Area.
• From the visitor center, you can reach the geological trail on a paved road or through the Miocene Park. It is worth joining the guided tour of the geological trail.
• From here, we join the biological trail and head back along it (counterclockwise).
• With a short, unmarked connector, we reach the Northern Green Z trail and head north.
• At the Slovak border, we turn right onto the Z\ trail, which leads to the Mucsény Cave.
• We return along the same route to the biological trail, which we follow further counterclockwise (north, then west) back to the visitor center.

Detailed route description

Our hike starts from the visitor center of the Ipolytarnóc Fossils Nature Conservation Area and mostly follows the park's thematic trails. These use the park's own markings for orientation, not traditional hiking signs. Next to the reception building, there is a playground and a buffet. Those interested not only in the park's highlights but also wish to complete this 7 km circular route should start early, as the trails can only be accessed during opening hours with a purchased ticket (check the website for opening hours). With the ticket, you can visit the exhibition in the visitor center, the hall showing the fossils of the 7 million-year-old swamp cypresses and giant sequoias from Bükkábrány, the Miocene forest, and the biological and Kőszikla trails. The Canopy Trail can be visited with a separate ticket; beneath it are enlarged replicas of various animal shelters—bird nests, bat cavities, and fox dens—where children can crawl inside and try living in such a burrow at their own scale (these are accessible without tickets).

It is worth booking the guided tour of the geological trail, as the park’s main sights can only be visited this way. During the tour, all age groups can learn fascinating information about the area's geological past in an engaging manner. The tours last about 1 hour. Morning tours are recommended so you can comfortably complete the rest of the hike before the demonstration area closes.

Prehistoric Pompeii

The geological countdown begins! As a geological warm-up, enter the hall in front of the reception building showcasing the fossils of 7 million-year-old swamp cypresses and giant sequoias. These were uncovered in 2007 during an open-pit mining in Bükkábrány and unfortunately are continuously deteriorating because they were exposed outdoors for a long time and even under shelter have difficulty surviving heating-free winter months.

Leaving the visitor center behind, on the right side of the asphalt road behind it is the entrance to the 4-hectare Miocene forest. This arboretum houses wetlands and shows the modern descendants of the plant species that died out 17 million years ago. Most originate from the American continent and the Far East; some giant sequoias and swamp cypresses can grow up to 100 meters tall and develop huge trunk diameters. A greenhouse recreates flora typical of the warmer Tertiary period. The plastic representatives of prehistoric animals also hide in the forest, which children enjoy climbing on.

At the far end of the Miocene forest, returning to the asphalt road, we soon reach the entrance to the Borókás Ditch geological trail. If we do not join the guided tour, turn right, cross the wooden bridge over the nettle-covered stream, and then head uphill on the biological trail.

The geological trail demonstrates the “struggle” characteristic of the whole Karancs region, showing how volcanic processes broke through and settled on sediments deposited in the Pannon Sea and river deltas. Heading uphill alongside Borókás Creek, we encounter clay shale, shallow sea, river inflow, rain, and riverbed sediments, sand, and sandstone. These contain the footprints of long-extinct animals. Above these rocks bearing traces of ancient rhinos, deer, crocodiles, bear dogs, and other predators, the Tasnádi Kubacska Hall was built in 1985 for the Geological World Congress. Opposite it appear traces of a volcanic disaster dated to 17.5 million years ago by radiocarbon method. The huge explosion was followed by a debris avalanche, then ash falls that covered the sediments in layers of rhyolite tuff preserving horzkő fragments, charred trunks, and leaf imprints formed in ash. Occasionally, basalt rocks from lava flows are visible. Due to these well-preserved remains, Ipolytarnóc is also called Prehistoric Pompeii.

Walking further, in a small building lie the remains of a huge fossilized trunk of a 5-needle pine of genus Pinus; its wood was solidified by solutions seeping through volcanic ash. The building was constructed in 1866 from public donations around the originally 2 m diameter fossilized trunk, as locals had scattered parts of it for construction materials, gravestones, and garden decorations. Its original height is estimated at 100 meters; living relatives now grow “only” up to 60 meters.

The Mucsény Cave

At the end of the guided tour, turn left to join the biological trail, which leads uphill on a dirt road. Note that our route follows a poorly marked path established decades ago, against its original direction. The path is well traceable, but at junctions it is advisable to use the Természetjáró app for guidance. After the first ascent, we pass a well and some mossy benches, then, at a house group, sharply turn right uphill. At the end of the ascent, a small post with a red wooden arrow pointing left marks the point from which we detour to the fossil tree cave.

Continue straight to the Northern Green Z mark on a meadow and a dirt road crossing the meadow edge until the beginning of a tree line, where we find the sign. Here, turn left and follow border stones until near two huge oaks and information boards we find the Slovak hiking trail marked Z\ leading to the cave. We walk for a while on the ridge, then 300 meters further turn left off it. We descend through a beech forest parallel to a streambed growing deeper on our left. Creative markings are visible on the path, made of differently colored plastic box lids cut into sign shapes and layered, promoting recycling. To the left, a narrow path protected by a wooden railing curves into the gorge and leads to the cave. The cave formed about 20 million years ago when volcanic ash buried a one and a half meter diameter charred tree trunk exposed by the stream after it cut through the rhyodacitic tuff preserving the trunk. Subsequently, the cave enlarged through weathering, currently measuring 2.5 m wide, 1.60 m high, and 10 m long. According to the information board, charred wood debris and leaf imprints can be found nearby. Tables and benches at the entrance serve those wishing to rest.

The Biological Trail

We return along the same route to the junction at the border, then follow the Z mark back, again on the biological trail, which turns right through mixed forest on the left side of the ridge. In spring, the path is full of large grey-black naked snails. Most people, especially gardeners, do not like them, and few know that in many parts of the world (Europe, North America), folk medicine uses their mucus to treat wounds, ulcers, warts, and eczema. For sore throats, naked snails and sugar are layered in a jar; after a day, the sugar absorbs the mucus (which the animals do not survive), and the filtered liquid was used as a throat gargle. This bizarre remedy has a scientific basis. Snails secrete antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral substances to protect their always moist, protein-rich skin from microbial attacks.

Half a kilometer from the junction, we encounter the first, long-worn information board on the trail, telling about wild boar signs. At the clearing on the right, the path leads to a resting place near a huge tree observation tower now in dangerous condition. It is not worth climbing it as the surrounding trees have grown taller since its construction. After resting, at the junction, take the less traveled, steeply descending path on the right. As on nearly the whole route, we walk in mixed plantation forest rich in Scots pine—the toughest and most undemanding pine naturally occurring in Hungary, from Western and Southern Transdanubia to Southern Somogy and Zselic, and in the Transdanubian Mountains up to the Fenyőfő–Bakonyszentlászló line. The pine forests form species-rich protected communities on the acidic soils of Southwest Transdanubia. This is not true for the very rare native larch, planted poplar pine, and the drought-tolerant black pine introduced from Corsica. Forests densely planted with these species suffer from acidifying pine needle litter, killing undergrowth and creating barren biological deserts due to forestry demands.

We pass further signs along the “disorderly” looking forest. Numerous broken and cut branches lie in piles, overgrown with blackberries, but contrary to appearances, these are very important for small mammals and birds foraging in the undergrowth. In these places, we often encounter the wren, popularly called the “stinging nettle clacker.” This small brown bird holds its short tail upright and searches for insects in branch piles and ground holes. After another kilometer, the trail forks. Here, turn right because the straight branch descends back to the geological trail entrance. We circle the open-pit mine working from the 19th century until 1969, invisible from the trail, where stones were manually cut and transported by horse cart for local construction. Toward the end of our route, we reach a valley head, where the steep valley slope cuts ever deeper. It is worth looking carefully as one can observe layered sedimentary deposits of different grain sizes. At the valley end, the biological trail finishes together with the Kőszikla trail ending here. From here, the buffet behind the reception building, the picnic-fireplace area, and the playground, the end of our hike, are visible.