On the back of the gold-producing mountains, a loop hike to Kojsói-havas

Itinerary

• We start from the Zlatá Idka, pošta (Aranyida, posta) bus stop on the K trail (to the left) to the Golgota junction.
• From Golgota, to the left, we follow the P trail up to the saddle below Kojsói-havas (Kojšovská hoľa, sedlo).
• From the saddle, we ascend on the S trail to the peak (Kojšovská hoľa).
• From the Kojsói-havas peak, we take a short detour on the P trail to the viewpoints on the northern side.
• Just below the peak, we turn left onto an unmarked asphalt road.
• We join the S trail leading to the Chata Erika mountain hotel.
• From Chata Erika, we follow the ridge west along the P trail to the Spálenica junction.
• From Spálenica, we descend back on the Z trail to Aranyida (Zlatá Idka).

Detailed route description

Climbing the ridge of the Gömör-Szepes Ore Mountains, from Aranyida to Kojsói-havas

We start from the post office located in the upper part of Aranyida (Zlatá Idka), following the K trail northwest to conquer Kojsói-havas (Kojšovská hoľa). The current settlement is mainly inhabited by descendants of Slovak lumberjacks, although as the name suggests, significant noble metal deposits were mined here by German miners settled in the Middle Ages. The old mine galleries can still be found near the source area of the Ida stream (Ida potok). Since the 14th century, gold, silver, antimony, and later copper have been mined in the surroundings. Initially, gold was washed from the debris of the Ida stream, with pits still recognizable along the watercourse today. After a halt due to the Turkish threat, mining resumed and flourished in the 19th century, producing an average of 2.5 tons of silver per year, smelted at the below-village foundry in today's Rieka settlement. From 1923, a smelter operated for nearly a century, employing 700 people, but mining declined early in the 20th century. Production ended with post-war mine closures, prompting two-thirds of the village population to emigrate overseas.

We soon leave the settlement houses on a traversing path along the mountainside, branching off into a forest trail. At a clearing, the Z and K trails split — if arriving by car, this is the most convenient place to join the hike. At the upper end of the clearing, the actual ascent begins on the K trail, partly along a dozer road, a short section on the asphalt road leading to Chata Erika, and finally following a long ski slope. (For an easier ascent, the mountain can also be climbed descending, following the Z trail as described.)

After 100 meters of elevation gain, we connect with the asphalt road to Chata Erika for nearly one kilometer, which gently diagonalizes the increasingly steep slope. We turn onto a path into a beech forest mixed with fir trees and join the uniformly sloping ski slope coming from the ridge. We have now reached the peak area, above 1000 meters altitude.

On the ridge, we join the Jakubinus pilgrimage trail towards Lőcse and Besztercebánya and the Slovak National Uprising trail (SNP), marked with P, running from the Dukla Pass to the Danube at Devín, passing notable sites of partisan activity involved in independence. The long-distance trail crossing the Northwestern Carpathians is essentially the local equivalent of Hungary’s Blue Trail and popular among backpack hikers; thus, in summer, encountering hikers carrying large backpacks is common. Originally, the Hungarian army established this route during World War II for easier troop movements. The ridge is also reached by chairlifts to the ski slopes, which have been out of operation since the late 2010s. The ski slope clearings in the forest offer views in all directions, allowing sight towards the Ida stream and Hernád valley as well as the main mass of the Gömör-Szepes Ore Mountains and our destination, Kojsói-havas.

We continue the hike on the ridge trail alongside the ski slopes, between groups of firs dominant in the summit region, turning left on the P trail. Kojsói-havas (Kojšovská hoľa), branching off the main mountain ridge, is connected through a wide saddle (Kojšovská hoľa, sedlo junction). On its summit block, we ascend on the right on the S trail through a sparse fir grove.

Due to the extreme weather on the ridge, instead of continuous forest, isolated or small groups of lower-growing firs dominate here. Thanks to precipitation crossing the ridge, mild summer climate, and strong winds during fronts, alpine plant communities exist around the peak. The half-sided firs shaped like flags indicate prevailing wind directions as only sparse branches develop on the wind-exposed side. Around us, dwarf blueberry bushes increasingly dominate the open terrain. In late summer, we can enjoy the slightly tart berries, although local blueberry pickers regularly harvest them.

A classic mountain hotel awaits at the Kojsói-havas summit

We shortly shift from the asphalt onto the S trail path cutting through blueberry bushes. The dome-shaped radar station on the summit grows closer, and the mountain’s highest point is marked south of the building with a pole, summit register, and commemorative stone. The panorama from Kojsói-havas is stunning; below us, fir groves adorn gently rounded peaks that descend into forested valleys, offering excellent 360° views. To the northwest, wild Carpathian landscapes gradually tame around us, while to the southeast, the increasingly lower mountains surrounding the Hernád valley extend our view to the flat Great Hungarian Plain. We see the ridge continuing east, bordered by the volcanic range of the Eperjes-Tokaj Hills beyond the river plains shaped by the Hernád. Facing us is the characteristic main peak, the half-sided Simonka (Šimonka), while to the southeast, the trapezoidal block of Sátor-hegy near Abaújszántó closes the volcanic series. In clear weather, the flat-topped, isolated Bükk island is visible on the southern horizon, while to the west, the wooded ridges of Torna and Gömör continue. The radar station disturbs the full panorama, but behind the building, viewing points facing north can be easily reached.

To visit these, it is worth following the asphalt road a few hundred meters downhill along the P trail. Behind the radar station, past the last transmitter tower, a side path leads to a northern viewpoint with a fully mountainous view revealing the watersheds of the Gőlnic and Hernád rivers, as well as the crown of the Carpathians—the jagged ridge of the High Tatras—in good weather.

Following the asphalt road, we descend unmarked for a while and then the familiar S trail turns right into a fir grove, cutting across a bend on the asphalt road and soon entering the northern side of Ida-havas (Zlatoidská hora). Here we have an excellent opportunity to recharge, rest, or even spend the night at the renovated Chata Erika mountain hotel, which also serves as a shelter in bad weather. The original house was built in the early 20th century by tourists from Gőlnic. The shelter hut opened in 1926 was expanded a few years later, but due to border changes in the late 1930s, it became part of Hungary, thus belonging to Kassai nature walkers. During World War II, it was also a partisan base, commemorated with a living celebration every August 22. The house burned down in late-war battles but was rebuilt starting the following year and reopened to the public in 1949.

After leaving the mountain hotel, we walk on level asphalt (P trail), then continue west along a wide dozer road on the ridge. We walk a long way beside a forest clearing, which offers great views of the northern forested mountains. Directly above the dozer road junction on a small elevation lies the Apáthy rest area (Apáthiho oddych), easily reachable by a short detour, from which we can admire the panoramic views revealed in the clearings so far. It is named after a former Gőlnic forestry director who enjoyed observing the landscape here. After the shelter, we follow this pleasant ridge path for over a kilometer, then turn left onto the Z trail at the Spálenica junction, switching to the increasingly steep southern slope.

In the shadow of the past, descending into the forested Ida valley

After a landscape dotted with meadows, clearings, and groves, we close the loop on a shaded forest path. The steep slope hosts Kárpáti atmosphere in an old beech forest mixed with firs, descending in stair-like fashion near the Ida stream (Ida potok) source area. Numerous small streams and forming valleys cross the dozer road cut into the mountainside, providing multiple drinking water sources. Numerous mine galleries open at the valley bottoms, from which ore containing noble metals was brought up. Generally, the surrounding mountains are composed of strongly fractured and transformed rocks shaped by mountain-building forces, from whose ascending fluids gold, silver, and antimony-containing minerals developed. Mining of these deposits started in the 14th century; during King Matthias's era, coins made from Aranyida metals were minted at the Kassa mint. Later, due to Turkish occupation and devastating military campaigns, mining was halted but resumed in the 19th century with newly built galleries. At its peak, mining opened 24 deposits over 63 galleries totaling 60 km of tunnels. Their remains can still be found in the mountains around the stream.

The route descends to the Aranyida (Zlatá Idka) border with variable steepness and rhythmic turns. At the last big bend, we reach an abandoned, decaying building. The post-war recreational center built as a hotel and the Vatra children's camp cabins now lie empty and crumbling on the open meadow. At the edge of the clearing runs the once-ridge-leading lift, whose cables and hanging seats we pass under, reaching a colorful lift station standing surreal in the forest environment. Several worn mountain huts bring the depressing abandonment close, but we soon leave the ski resort of better days behind in the old beech forest.

We return with slight elevation to the asphalt road leading to Chata Erika, where we can descend to the parking lot or return to Aranyida (Zlatá Idka) on the combined Z and K trails along the section already traveled.