On the border of the Mátraalja landscape

Itinerary:

• From Szurdokpüspöki, we head north on the Z trail, then leave the village towards the east through the wine cellar lane.
• At the intersection below János Castle, we turn onto the S+ trail and hike through the Havas peak to Fajzatpuszta.
• From Fajzat, we follow the Z+ signs and wander to the Kisdombi forester's house.
• After a right turn, the Z▲ signs guide us to the center of Gyöngyöstarján.

Detailed tour description:

Szurdokpüspöki 

We start our walk north from the center of Szurdokpüspöki, from Szabadság Square, on the Z trail. We bypass the base of the National Flag, then the hexagonal, ornate decorative fountain, after which we turn right into Békе Street. From the school building, we can detour to the baroque historic church and the Hanák Kolos Memorial House below it - the creator of Mátra tourism was born in the village in 1851. He made invaluable contributions to the organization of domestic hiking as the highly active president of the Mátra Society. He wrote the first guidebook of the mountain range and actively participated in establishing hiking infrastructure. His name is preserved by a challenge hike and an association.

As we leave the outer houses of the village, a junction opens a view southward towards the Nagy-Hársas massif. Under the former volcano crowned by the geodetic measurement tower flows the Szurdok Stream, from which the village also takes its name. If we detour this way, we can visit the 150-year-old Maria shrine, the Káponka; those interested in the tradition of shamans can go a bit further to the Holy Cross Well on the eastern edge of the village. The environment of this ancient cultic spring was renovated and rebuilt in 2008.

Walking through the wine cellar lane, we can recall the village’s significant winemaking history. For many centuries, the Western Mátra's fertile volcanic foothills, which gradually merge into the Zagyva plain, have produced wine. Vineyards have adorned the slopes along the settlements by the upper section of the river since the Middle Ages, although the cultivated area is now much smaller. We start ascending into the Mátra by the cellar village’s vintner’s houses. Here, we find several public wells where we can refill our water bottles for the hike. Leaving the village, we wind along a wide road among vineyards, orchards, and arable fields, whose surface is covered by loess deposited during the ice ages. Looking back, the church tower bids farewell in the foreground of the Zagyva valley and the slopes of the Cserhát.

Rolling terrain on the Mátra foothills

Soon, we step from the open area into an oak forest and begin entering the Mátra mountains along the Diós Stream. Parallel to the rocky riverbed, we arrive at Delelőkút, a shelter covered by a wooden roof, where there is also a resting bench. The name of the spring refers to a southern watering place for animals driven out to pasture. Leaving the trickle, we soon move away from the stream and start climbing out of the valley towards Tilalmas Hill, to enter the gorge of the Rédei-Nagy Stream on the ridge’s other side. On the uphill path along the hillside, the forests of Kis and Nagy-Koncsúr appear on the left side, with a trail leading to Muzsla along the ridge.

The open, grassy saddle below Tilalmas Hill reveals for the first time the typical two-faced panorama, which we will see several times during our hike. From a bird's-eye view, we can examine the villages of the cultural landscape of Mátraalja, which flattens towards the Great Plain, as well as the vineyards, orchards, and arable lands belonging to them. However, at the edge of the plain, the landscape becomes more vivid: as advanced bastions of the Mátra, the southernmost peaks rise, dominated by the massive block of Havas Hill at 599 meters. The pyramid-shaped volcanic mountain is part of our route, and we will soon get acquainted with it up close. We continue on a wide gravel road, then at an orchard fence, turn onto a trail and descend through a park-like oak grove into the Rédei-Nagy Stream valley.

The environment narrows and changes radically. The stream bed is filled with tree branches and rounded stones washed down by floods, and the hillside is covered with fallen, decaying trunks knocked down by storms. We cross the stream and switch to the S+ trail, panting upward on a steep, loose stone path along the side of János Castle. We pass through a young oak forest along large lava pads from the former volcanic activity. Approaching the peak from the north on a leveling path that becomes more comfortable, we get a view of the surrounding area. Opposite, behind the wide ridge of Galagonyás, the Muzsla ridge stretches out, while on the other side rises the top of Nagy-Hársas marked by a concrete tower. Although the name János Castle implies a fortress, no historical data or finds have emerged to support this.

In the crosshairs, the Havas

On gentler terrain, walking on moss-covered boulders of periglacial origin, continuing through a beautiful oak forest. We touch a fenced coppice and a game feeder, then suddenly find ourselves among slender pine trees from the leafy grove with grassy undergrowth. The resin-scented section is the upper edge of Mély Valley on the southern side of the mountain, popular among mineral collectors because many beautiful opals, chalcedony, and quartzite can be found in the lower part. After passing through another oak forest, we arrive at the spacious meadows above Gyöngyöspata, which were previously used for viticulture. Our next goal, the Havas block, now fairly close, is invitingly frosted. We pass by a building in a bushy-grassy area, then enter a forest where we can quench our thirst with the slightly sulfurous water of the Puskaporos spring. The site is also an excellent resting place to gather strength before the biggest ascent of our hike.

Crossing the ford of the Danka Stream, we climb up a rocky hillside to cross another clearing and continue our way towards the towering Havas above us. After another stream crossing, we start about a 250-meter elevation climb on the forested slope of the mountain. Walking through a boulder field under oaks and ashes, we reach the first lookout point, from where we get a panorama beyond the Zagyva valley towards the Cserhát and Börzsöny Mountains.

The 599-meter mountain top provides no view, but if we walk a bit further, excellent viewing spots can be found to the right of the hiking trail. It is worth walking out onto the grassy, lava-stone covered hillside from the trail, as the area unfolds most impressively from here.

From the rocky grassland, with the view of the foothill villages and the town of Gyöngyös, the reservoirs at the boundary of Gyöngyöspata and Gyöngyöstarján sparkle in the sunlight, behind which the Great Plain, fading into mist, draws our gaze. The mosaics of various agricultural areas spreading at the meeting point of Mátraalja and the plain are clearly outlined: vineyards, orchards, arable lands, pastures, and forest patches alternate. To the east rises the ridge of Sár Hill, and behind the dolomite mines around Kis Hill, the cooling towers of the Mátra Power Plant stand smoking.

Through Fajzatpuszta to Gyöngyöstarján

Descending from the mountain, from another point, we can see the interior region of the Mátra: the impressive block of Kékes rises skyward. We wind down the Havas by alternating footpaths and wide forestry roads through a soothing oak grove. At Kanász Meadow, briefly detouring left, we look at another viewpoint offering a lower perspective on our country’s highest region, and here the tent-roofed building of the Fajzatpuszta guesthouse also appears.

Passing by the ruined, abandoned group of buildings at Visztra Farm, we cross the Kalinka Stream and, crossing another brook, can take water at the outlet of the Katinka Spring. Leaving the forest, we arrive at a narrow asphalt road among fenced vineyard plots, where turning right, we continue walking on the Z+ trail. Opposite, beyond the forest belt is the Fajzatpuszta nature reserve. The reason for protection is that on the place inhabited since the Middle Ages, at the end of the 18th century, the Almásy family built a one-story manor and established an English park around it. They also dammed two lakes and planted rare plants in the park.

A few minutes later, we turn left from the tarmac and crossing the ford of the Más Stream, winding through forest patches and cleared hunting meadows with hunting stands, we undulate along with the Mátraalja hill range. We cross the clearing of Nagy-Lénia, then join the path of the Z▲ signs. Here, turning right, we cross the narrow clearing of Nagy-Állás, then after the Kisdombi forester’s house building, we leave the Mátra forests behind us. In our direction we can see the area around Gyöngyös towards the Great Plain, looking back, the volcanic peak of Világos Hill peaks. Locals know the elevation as Kopasz, referring vividly to the treeless, bare patch on the summit. According to the hill’s legend, an evil giant lived in the area, whom the locals fed with oxen and goats. After the animals were gone, the hungry monster demanded human flesh. However, when it fell asleep, the villagers dug a huge pit into which the giant then fell and perished. Kopasz’s head can still be seen today in the shape of the mountain.

We descend among vineyards and orchards to the wide industrial road of Füledugó Mine. Andesite is mined in the quarry, its yard is also a valuable place for mineral enthusiasts. We soon reach the corner of the cemetery in Gyöngyöstarján; here, turning right, we step onto the asphalt road leading into the village. Before entering among the houses, we can bid farewell to the Mátra landscape with the view of Kékes rising beyond the rolling vineyards. Following the Z▲ signs, after 1 km we arrive at the center of Gyöngyöstarján, where the grocery store, café, and bus stop are easily found.