Marshes and stone seas on the northern side of Kékes

Itinerary

• From the Kékestető, Mátrai Gyógyintézet bus stop, take the tourist trail marked P up to the Kékes Summit.
• From Kékes, head east on the trail marked K to the Sötét-lápa Saddle.
• From the Sötét-lápa Saddle, follow the K+ signs to the Pisztrángos Lake.
• From the Pisztrángos Lake, proceed west along the trail marked P+ to the S● junction.
• From the S● junction, continue on the trail marked S● to the S trail.
• From the intersection, follow the S marked tourist trail south and continue until you reach the destination.

Detailed description of the hike

Kékestető

We start our hike from the Kékestető parking lot or – if arriving by public transport – from the nearby bus stop. In both cases, we have to climb a short incline to the top of Kékes, where we can see the iconic summit stone, browse the market row, or even enjoy a hot meal at the Kékesi Guesthouse. The main attraction on the mountain top is of course the television tower, which we could already spot from the vehicle window on the way here. Construction started at the end of the 1970s and was completed in 1981 using 500 tons of steel and 1300 cubic meters of reinforced concrete. The originally 176 m high tower underwent a full renovation between 2014 and 2018, during which a nearly 30-meter section was removed from the central steel structure, making unnecessary the supporting cables that stabilised the tower, which were heavily iced in winter and hazardous due to falling ice chunks. The tower is only partially open to visitors: there is a lift to a 45-meter-high open viewing platform offering a panoramic view, and one level below there is a closed coffeehouse where you can enjoy one of the country's most spectacular coffee experiences.

Meanwhile, we can also visit the eight-story antenna tower of the Telecommunications Research Institute, built in 1958 – although it was never accessible as a viewing tower for everyone, even though for more than twenty years it was the highest building on the Kékes summit. If you skip visiting the television tower, you can enjoy a wonderful view northward over the landscape from the top of the ski slope at its base.

In the fairy-tale beech forest

Once you have enjoyed the view from the country's highest point, start heading east along the Blue Trail! The hustle and bustle of popular Kékestető is soon left behind, replaced by wilderness and dense beech forest where initially the path gently descends, then steepens along the K trail. By the time we reach the Sötét-lápa Saddle, we are already 140 meters below the summit about 1 kilometer ahead. Those coming from the opposite direction may envy us, but the descent is not easy either: the ground is uneven and can be very slippery when wet.

At the fork in the saddle, leave the K trail and turn north onto the K+ trail. On the northern side of the Kékes massif, we continue our descent through a fairy-tale beech forest interspersed with patches of pine forest.

Gabi's story in the primeval forest

At an altitude of 772 meters, we arrive at a small stone cairn with a cross, dedicated to "Gabi's death." According to the officially accepted story, Gabi was a lumberjack from Parádsasvár whose horse went mad, causing Gabi and his timber load to fall into a ravine where he perished. Another version differs slightly: it says that the horse itself was named Gabi. Whatever the truth, the cross was certainly already standing in 1930, thus reminding forest walkers of Gabi for almost 100 years. This site is also a notable junction: our hike continues along the K+ trail, but here we can turn off towards Parádsasvár and Parádfürdő, or to the Ilona Waterfall via the Kis Rákóczi tourist trail marked S+. Earlier, hiking was possible on a previously marked trail turning left at the junction, but in 2024 the S+ hiking route was moved to avoid the core area of the Kékes northern forest reserve. The forestry no longer removes fallen trees along the earlier route, aiming to preserve the natural state. The beech forest was included in the EU Primary Forests of Europe database in 2016, which lists European forests free from human intervention. The Kékes forest reserve was classified as a "Long Untouched Forest."

Stone seas

Although between the Sötét-lápa Saddle and Gabi's death the number of smaller and larger rocks along the path increases, after passing Gabi’s death we encounter extensive stone seas. The formation of these stone seas is mainly linked to frost weathering during the Pleistocene. Water seeping into cracks in the Kékes andesite froze and thawed repeatedly due to fluctuating temperatures around the freezing point, causing continual volume changes that gradually fractured the rock from inside — creating the bare, rubble-covered slopes common across the mountain. On the northern side of the Mátra, tectonic tilting brought andesite layers to the surface, which also intensified frost weathering, as the exposed rock surfaces facilitated this process. Although frost weathering has slowed down — due to warmer climate compared to two million years ago — the stones still shift to varying extents today. We can infer the speed of this movement from the vegetation cover: some stones are covered only by soft moss cushions, while others already support the growth of trees. The 12-13 million-year-old active volcano’s formation has been deeply reshaped during the Pleistocene, creating the landforms that we find not only on this hike but in many parts of the mountain.

Marshland at the foot of Kékes

Shortly after, on the K+ marked trail, we reach another resting spot. First, we cross a wetter meadow fed by the Nagy-forrás spring, then arrive at a short branching trail marked K● that leads to a nameless spring. Its water flows through a uniquely constructed wooden channel system suitable for water collection, eventually reaching the nearby Pisztrángos Lake. The humid, cool habitat is a favorite for amphibians, so don’t be surprised if young forest frogs are hopping around or spotted salamanders suspiciously watch our activities!

Nearby lies the already mentioned artificially created Pisztrángos Lake, whose marshy water surface is visible even from the spring. The lake shore has a weather shelter, benches, tables, and informational boards describing the habitat’s characteristics.

Towards Mátraháza

The Pisztrángos Lake is also an important trail junction. The K+ trail ends here, and we continue the hike turning left onto the P+ marked tourist trail. The previously wild path is replaced by a wider forestry road, enhanced by the comfort of a level route: from here to Mátraháza, there are no ascents or steeper descents. Walking along the southern edge of the forest reserve at the flattened foot of Kékes, the only noteworthy sight is the Kőris Marsh, a wetland habitat similar to Pisztrángos Lake, although it formed naturally rather than artificially. Landslides on the Mátra slopes have created numerous basins without outlets, where surface waters have collected. These so-called "hepetavak" are valuable habitats with distinct plant and animal life. Although the water surface of the Kőris Marsh is rarely visible, the reeds clearly indicate the presence of a wetland here.

After the marsh, our path forks and we take the left branch along the trail marked S●. After roughly 1 km, we reach the S marked path descending from the steep northwestern slope of Kékes; we follow this trail from the opposite direction at the intersection. The S trail crosses the main road 24, then runs roughly parallel to it, leading into Mátraháza, the end point of our hike.