On the forest trails of Tokaj Hill

Itinerary:

• From Tokaj railway station, follow the Z mark towards the city center.
• From the end of the row of cellars, cross the historic downtown following the P mark.
• From the Heart of Jesus Church, follow the Z mark to the saddle of Szeles Hill.
• From the saddle, turn right on the P mark.
• At a junction, turn left and climb up to the summit on the P▲ marks.
• Descend back to the junction on the P▲ then P marks.
• From the saddle, turn right and walk back to the railway station on the Z mark.

Detailed description of the tour:

In the historic downtown of Tokaj

Starting opposite the railway station building, head towards the downtown on the Z mark, which leads through the Szerelmi cellar row. From its end, the P mark guides us into the center. At the roundabout by the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, we find the ancient crossing place, the Tisza Bridge named after Queen Elisabeth. It's worth walking a little on the bridge and reflecting that about one-third of the waters flowing inward from the arc of the Carpathians run beneath us. The Bodrog collects the waters of the Tapoly, Ung, Latorca, and Laborc rivers from the northern mountains of Eastern Slovakia and Transcarpathia, while the Tisza here already carries the waters of the Szamos, uniting the remaining Transcarpathian and northern Transylvanian rivers. Accordingly, we can sometimes see the Tisza or Bodrog in flood, depending on where in the Carpathians persistent rain has fallen or snow has melted.

At the meeting point of important transport routes and playing the role of a historic crossing place, Tokaj's downtown is rich with built heritage complexes. After the roundabout, we reach the charming Rákóczi pedestrian street, winding among cafes, restaurants, and bars. We reach the central Kossuth Square, where the statue of Bacchus sitting on a barrel raises a glass toward the opposite Catholic church. Behind the statue is the entrance to the Rákóczi cellar, which contains 1.5 kilometers of underground passages. According to legend, in 1526, a meeting was held in the cellar's central room where John Szapolyai's election as king was decided – thus we can taste the area's most expensive wine in a place full of tradition.

After the square, continuing on the Z mark along Bethlen Gábor Street, we pass the Tokaj Museum, where historical relics up to the middle of last century have been collected. At the end of the street, we turn left toward the mountain, heading in the direction of a former quarry carved into the cliff face.

Along the Aranyos Valley

We leave the town northwestwards; our path passes between the former festival venue turned quarry and the Tarmag mine, wedged into the mountain's northeast side. The walls clearly show the volcanic rock of the Tokaj Hill in rusty gray, topped by a golden loess layer covering the lower regions of the hill. This duality underpins the Tokaj Hill and Hegyalja viticulture: the grapevine roots reach deep down from the nutrient-rich loess layer to the residue of acidic volcanic rock.

Along the Aranyos Valley, we climb gradually on a densely vegetated path. Sometimes you can clearly see the loess layer washed in from the side as the path cuts through bright yellow, crumbly sediment. If the material feels hard but crumbly to the touch, or if fine shimmering yellow dust remains on your hand that preserves your fingerprints, then it's loess. On the loess road at the valley bottom, bypassing the Hideg side, on the final stretch through a fully wooded area with dacite scree, under high-voltage lines, we reach a saddle. From there, we traverse a few hundred meters among abandoned, overgrown vineyards and arrive at the P mark junction to Szeles Hill.

Up Tokaj Hill

We take a few kilometers detour to the summit of Tokaj Hill (also called Nagy-Kopasz), then return to the same point afterward. Turning right on the P mark, we hike through older mixed forest. Unfortunately, alien pines and acacias—widely used for vineyard stakes in Hegyalja—dominate the hill. Planted forests have pushed back valuable steppe meadows that originally provided habitat for the hill's thermophilic herbaceous plants and animals. We meet remnants of those only in patches along the trail to the summit and directly at the summit.

In the last few hundred meters of the summit area, we follow the P▲ summit mark to the very top of the hill. This eminence has the most atmospheric forest: in the upper part of Tokaj Hill are natural stands dominated by native tree species intertwined with each other. The path winds in the shade of old lime trees, elms, hornbeams, ashes, and oaks.

Just before the summit, the trail joins the asphalt road leading to the TV tower, so the final meters are taken in the shadow of antennas. Unfortunately, the best viewpoint is occupied by the building and its closed area, but opposite the entrance there is a broad field from which we can see the southern foot of the hill and the Taktaköz region. Below us, the ancient (pre-river regulation) Tisza shows countless oxbows sparkling, blending into the endless plain.

We descend to the junction on the same path, now continuing the walk on the ridge for a few hundred meters on the jointly marked P and Z paths. Deep grooves cut by rainwater cross the loess path, and some of the hard rocky surface has also eroded in places, so proceed cautiously. The washing away of loess from the hill is the Achilles' heel of Tokaj vineyard cultivation. In the past, pits were dug along the roads to catch sediment, which was then carried back to the vineyards by horse carts. Many deeply incised paths can be seen in the loess soil.

From the saddle between Szeles Hill and the slightly raised continuation Tehéntánc Hill, we have excellent views of Tokaj and the Bodrogzug from a wide, bushy meadow. Below us, in the steep rocky basin called Palota, the medieval core of the town sits like in the palm of the hill, while the ruins of the former castle are on the opposite side of the Bodrog river marked by a tree line (in the small floodplain forest).

In the saddle, a cozy resting place awaits in an oak grove, which hikers coming from the shortest and steepest road up the hill via the cemetery behind the P mark always use. Ahead of us is only a comfortable, gentle descent on the Z mark through the Lencsés Valley.

Among the vineyards at the hill foot

From the saddle turn right onto a gently descending cart road on the southern slope marked with Z. We pass several abandoned quarries which formerly provided another important product of Tokaj Hill. On the one hand, many retaining walls were built from volcanic rock on steep slopes for vineyard terraces, and on the other hand, the proximity of the Tisza offered excellent transport opportunities toward the raw-material-poor Great Plain.

In the acacia and bushy bottom of the Lencsés Valley we pass an old, abandoned vineyard, the edge of which is marked with a high retaining wall made of stones. At the end of the shady valley, at a larger quarry, we enter among the vines, and our path climbs gently left. From here, there is a great view of the summit of Tokaj Hill and the vineyards lined up at its foot.

The opposite hillside is called Hétszőlő and due to its excellent location, protection, and slope angle, it is one of the best and most valuable parts of the hill. The post-WWII era was characterized by letting these vineyards deteriorate and die out: the highly regarded southern slopes lay fallow. Fortunately, now we see beautifully planted and cared-for vines across the entire slope.

At the base of the hill, we reach a gravel cart road and turn left toward the railway station. At the Szerelmi cellar row, we arrive at the end point of our route, the Trianon memorial, located on a terrace of the hillside with a panorama to Kistokaj. From here, the opposite railway station is already visible.