Óhuta Experience Loop

Itinerary

• We start upwards from the Óhuta café along the sparse red T markers.
• At the upper end of the Forrás-rét, we join a forest road on the trail behind the Emőke-rest area.
• From the forest road, we immediately take a detour to the left to the Fox rest area following the red Z markers, then we descend back.
• On the forest road, the very rare red T markers lead down all the way to the stream valley.
• Crossing the stream, we turn left onto the P◼ marker, which we follow to the Zabarla summit.
• We take a detour on an unmarked path to the Little Zabarla summit.
• Heading back, from the Zabarla summit a barely visible red Z marker descends, leading to the asphalt road.
• We follow the asphalt road to the right, then take the first left fork, following an unmarked wheel track up to the Teardrop Lake.
• From the Teardrop Lake, the P+ markers show the way to the junction at the top of the ascent.
• At the junction we take a detour left on the P▲ marker to the Friend rest area, then return.
• Following the P+ marker, we reach the Little King’s peak, then descend to the King’s Well stream.
• Crossing the stream, on the forest road on the opposite side we turn right to return to the edge of Óhuta.
• Along Óhuta street, we follow the Z↺ marker back to the café.

Detailed description of the hike

The south side meadows and pine forests

In the center of Óhuta, there is a forest school and café (which also serves as a shop), with steep forested mountain slopes framing the village behind the buildings. The rarely and faintly marked red T markers guide us into the forest beside the front side of the café, where a short but exhausting climb begins on a narrow trail. Along the way, we pass the Rejtek meadow, marked with a sign, after the top of which the trail turns right and, crossing a scree slope, we emerge beside Babuka Lake at the Forrás meadow. Though the small lake, edged by ferns and pines, feeds on a spring, the spring water no longer flows out through the outlet pipe. On the top of the opposite side of the meadow, under an old beech tree, stands the Emőke rest area (with the Trianon memorial behind it), offering a viewpoint from its bench. Above the pine treetops, the valley of the hut villages stretches out, lined by tall mountains. This alpine atmosphere site was named by Gábor Bődi, who created nearby tourist paths and rest areas and mowed the meadow for many years, after his own daughter.

The path leads out behind the rest area, among the trees, onto a forest road, from which the barely noticeable red K marker immediately calls left – the branching trail can be recognized by a nearby handmade railing. Following a steep climb, we reach the Fox rest area, a small meadow along a mossy scree slope with soil washed away by wild animal tracks on the steep mountain side. The view here is the same as from the Forrás meadow, only from higher up, and the peaks of the central mountain range appear more impressive.

Descending, the sparse red T markers continue on a forest level path along the side of Rókás hill – the pictograms are barely visible, but the path is unmistakable. We walk through a wild mixed forest, partly dark, partly covered with sunlight patches, mostly beech woods, earlier seeming as if we had stumbled onto the trails of the Low Tatras, where huge, lush spruce trees stand guard beside the green road clearing.

The diversity and freshness of this forest developed due to the history of local land use: the beech forests around Regéc were burned down from the end of the 17th century in the first glassworks of the mountain range, in today’s Háromhuta area. The glass melting operation ceased after two centuries, then in the 1920s the Waldbott estate owner built a small railway from Vámosújfalu to the valley and began drastic forestry, often breaking contemporary rules. The forest only survived where the Waldbotts organized hunting for their noble guests, such as near Újhuta. In the 1950s, pines were planted on many cleared mountain slopes, making the nearby forest mosaic and much more entertaining than the national average.

Finally, we turn into the pine forest, whose path, dotted occasionally with fallen trunks and stones, cuts a dark path along a stream ditch into the forest. We descend for a long while, crossing a clearing; the pines only linger lower, but the Carpathian atmosphere remains unbroken. From an overgrown, level path, the trail bends uphill, circling a long pasture with a house at its bottom. On the other side we descend into the valley, where the Mély stream must be crossed by a ford.

Among abandoned pastures

On the far side of the stream, we turn left to the P◼ marker, targeting the Zabarla summit along a steep, narrow trail. We ascend through an old, charming oak forest with centuries-old legacy trees to a former fenced pasture, which has become somewhat wild but still offers vistas to the surrounding mountains. Ahead, the Regéc castle sits atop a great cone, the sight rewarding the climb to the broad, flat mountain top. The Little Zabarla "summit trail" pierces the meadow’s highest point among the trees; it is unmarked but easy to follow. After a short climb among moss-covered boulders, we reach the rocky peak, from which we see surrounding heights from Gergely Hill to Sólyom-bérc, with the meadow of Teardrop Lake opposite. (The name Zabarla may have two origins: from zabola meaning bridled or from the Slavic zabar meaning "beyond the pine forest.")

Our route diverges from the ascending trail shortly after the initial edge of the clearing—watch the phone map carefully as the red Z marker is barely visible. However, the trail shows in the tall grass, as well as the long valley of villages on the right from a new angle. Finally, we descend into the valley and turn right onto the main road. Shortly before, an unmarked cart road forks to the left; turn onto it.

After a short climb, we reach the wide meadow beside Teardrop Lake and the abundant Pálos spring next to it. Benches, tables, and a hammock stand by the lake, creating an idyllic setting worth resting in. Historically, the area was used as a clearing meadow, as animals could be driven here from the narrow valley, and old fruit trees remain here and there. At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, monks who lived in a monastery established nearby dammed the spring to farm fish in the pond. (Though the current lake was created by a local resident and mayor.) The monks lived here in total isolation since the valley’s villages only arose after the monastery’s destruction. King Ferdinand’s army commander restored the building complex in the mid-16th century, though the monks briefly returned later. The ruins of the "Regéc Pálos monastery" were obscured until the early 21st century as the stones likely built into nearby houses. Vegetation covered the remains, thus agriculture avoided the site, and the growing trees outlined the former monastery’s location, helping find the building.

Views of the north side

The P+ signs guide us across the pasture, calling left upon reaching the mountainside. A longer climb begins until we can turn left to the P▲ marker. This detour of about five minutes leads to the Friend rest area equipped with benches overlooking Teardrop Lake. The western edge peaks of the mountain range and Regéc castle dominate the view in the background of the Huta valley. Returning to the P+ marker, we soon reach the narrowing ridge of Little King’s Peak, where another viewpoint awaits. From the shaded bench atop the rocky outcrop, we can admire the meeting of the Huta valley and Tolcsva stream valley and the steep mountain slopes watching over them. This is one of the most beautiful panoramic points of the hike, situated high above the valleys in a secluded spot, with Regéc castle visible at the end.

The path snakes down through an old oak forest, then reaches the valley of King’s Well stream along a forest road. Though signs here would guide right, the clearing in front of a house in the forest is private land despite the missing fence. Therefore, we follow the forest road to the nearby ford, where it is easy to cross the small low-flow narrow stream. On the other side, we walk back to the edge of Óhuta on a wide gravel road (to the right). Here, a statue and a model of a glassworks hut show the village’s origin and its industrial history. Háromhuta was founded at the end of the 17th century by glassmakers settled from Poland, who worked in woodworking after the glassworks closed. The hard-to-reach, remote village chain received little attention in the 20th century – as proven by the fact that in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county it was the last "petroleum lamp village," meaning the last settlement to get electricity, which arrived nearly 100 years after the country began electrification, in 1962, reaching the Tolcsa stream valley.

We can walk back to the café along the asphalt road (Z↺ marker) in 5-10 minutes.