On the wild eastern edge of Milic

Itinerary:

• We start from the center of Füzér on the K+ trail towards Pusztafalu.
• On the way, we take an out-and-back detour to the Mejeszke lookout point on the S▲ and then S◼ markings.
• We continue our way to Pusztafalu, then follow the Main Street for a short unmarked section.
• Earlier, the K◼ marking leads through Pusztafalu, which we follow to the edge of the settlement.
• On the P▲ trail we get from Pusztafalu to the Csataréti forester's lodge, touching the border.
• From the forester's lodge, we descend back to Füzér on the K trail, touching Senyánszki meadow and the Castle spring.
• We reach the bus stop on the K+ trail.

Detailed description of the route:

In the attraction of Füzér castle

Under the protection of the proud citadel of Füzér, we start from the houses clustered around the Catholic church heading east on the K+ trail. Following Rákóczi Street and then a transverse gravel road on the southern side, our view follows the southern rocky side of Castle Hill and the castle adorned with spectacular towers. From this perspective, the rock and castle wall rising sharply from the southern slopes form an organic unity in the strategic defense fortification.

The castle itself is one of our first stone castles; during its excavation, coins from before the Tatar invasion were found in its courtyard, so it is assumed to be of older origin. It was built by the Aba genus that dominated the area, although later it had several royal owners. The most famous were the Perényi family who sheltered the Holy Crown here for a year during the troubled times after the Battle of Mohács. The castle’s last owner was the Károlyi family, who paid little attention to the increasingly dilapidated building from their castle in Füzérradvány, although they financed maintenance reinforcements at the start of the 20th century. In the early 21st century, state commissions rebuilt the brightly whitewashed walls in their medieval splendor.

On the Nyakvágó side, we touch a rain shelter, after which we say goodbye to the impressive fortress view. Under the mossy rocks, a cart road leads sideways into the oak forests at the foot of the mountain. At the edge of a small meadow with a view of Hegyköz, we climb to the saddle between Füzér and Pusztafalu, from where we take a short but rich detour to Mejeszke. We climb the forested ridge on the S▲ trail, switching to the S◼ marking on the southern edge, arriving at pine groves and a sparse rocky cliff. From the steeply sloping rocky grass lookout towards the village, we have a perfect view of Pusztafalu, the border areas, and the eastern part of Hegyköz. The mountain range’s central block ends with its characteristic "tent-shaped" mountains on the southern horizon, behind which the Great Plain spreading over the Bodrog floodplain stretches to infinity. Beyond Pusztafalu, behind the hills of the Zemplén Hills, the broad valleys of the Ronyva and Ondava rivers are visible; in clear weather, the Vihorlát, a sibling of the Tokaj-Eperjes mountain range, also appears.

In the foothills basin of Pusztafalu

Filled with the view, we descend back to the K+ marking, which gently slopes down the valley basin into Pusztafalu. The settlement has been inhabited since the Árpád era, though it has often become depopulated, hence it has been called Pusztafalu since the Middle Ages. The village, located in the natural passage between the villages of Hegyköz and the Zemplén Hills, was cut off from its livelihood by the Trianon border, leading a significant part of the population to emigrate. Those who remained in the Milic-protected dead-end village preserve the traditions of old times in their daily lives, in their attire, in the customs of celebrated days, as well as in cultivating small gardens and fields around the village.

Walking along the quiet, traffic-free main street of one of our northernmost settlements, one truly feels as if time has stopped. Leaving our trail, we walk to the center — the road leads over the ridge above the village into Slovakia, to Kolbása (Brezina) village and the city of Tőketerebes (Trebisov); here the K◼ marks accompany our steps. From the village square, north of the lookout known as the wooden structure, we turn toward the rocky block of Milic on the P▲ marking.

Starting next to the village gardens and meadows, we tackle an intimidatingly steep slope. The deeply incised path bypasses the steep terrain and curves arched in the oak forest below the cliffs to the Sólyom-kő side. This area is highly protected; do not leave the marked path!

The eastern cliff of Milic, the wild green border

A bulldozer road weaving around wild landforms leads to the ridge through dense forest. We pass a cliff on the left, then on flatter terrain turn back right to the saddle behind Tolvaj Hill. The narrow clearing along the ridge is the state border, clearly marked by the white-red border stones. Borders have been mostly aligned with railway lines built before the World War. In ethnically diverse areas, such as the Tokaj Mountains, even though Hungarians were in majority, if the railway ran through a Hungarian-inhabited area, it almost certainly ended up on the other side of the border. This is how the Sátoraljaújhely railway station was separated from the city, and similarly, the border runs through the Milic block because of the railway line crossing Szalánc towards Kassa (Košice).

The border line was also adapted to administrative borders, which mostly follow watershed ridges, so of course, ease of access was not the criterion. It is therefore not surprising that rocky, exposed ridge edges alternate with gentler saddles along the hiking trail. From a clearing, we see the neighboring slope: in the ring of gently sloping hills below the steep terrain, the round Izra Lake glistens, framed by forests. The lake formed in a hollow blocked by landslides and rock blocks on steep mountainsides and is the largest natural standing water of the mountain range. Before the drawing of Trianon borders, it belonged to Pusztafalu; since then it has been part of the Slovak administrative territory of Szalánchuta (Slanská Huta), with weekend houses and catering facilities built to exploit the forest bathing area.

We follow the ridge for only about a kilometer. As the surface becomes steeper, a forestry access road arrives at the gentle saddle, where the P▲ marking leads off sideways from the wild area. From the pass called Vaskapu, we proceed almost level and circle widely around Bükkös Hill. Below us, the source area of the Falu Stream crossing Pusztafalu awaits deep among volcanic mountains. As the valley floor nears the road level and the sound of water becomes audible, the forest around us thins out, and with its bushy, grove-like clearings, the grassy patch of Csata meadow opens up. By the stream stands a cozy forest hut and resting place: the Csataréti forester's lodge, charmingly set under centuries-old beech canopies. The meadow’s name probably recalls the memory of the skirmishes between Kuruc rebels hiding around the area and imperial raiders.

Back to Füzér

We leave the forestry access road — which also leads to Füzér but by a much more winding route. If we choose the bulldozer road, halfway to Senyánszki meadow, there is a fine lookout with a small shelter and log room on its lower level. However, the hiking trail runs partly along the stream in the valley and then sideways up to Senyánszki meadow on a bulldozer road. We follow this route, descending all the way to Füzér on the K marking.

In the saddle of Senyánszki meadow stands a traditional woodcutter's hut. The refuge, made of logs laid on the ground and stone foundations, is just enough for a few woodcutters to dry off in bad weather. Several forestry roads meet here, and this junction was formed as a log-loading site from which harvested timber was transported further.

Crossing the beech forest of the saddle, we continue on the bulldozer road leading down to Füzér, where the K marking suddenly diverts, shortening the bends. Within a few hundred meters, we arrive at the Castle Well below Füzér castle. The springs are characterized by protective areas dense with old trees, where the trees have the chance to age. Around the Castle Spring, similar old beech woods surround it, radiating a timeless atmosphere with their gray, massive trunks. With a little imagination, one might even glimpse women coming from the castle carrying water, placing their jugs before the stone-constructed spring enclosure.

Exiting the beech woods, we reach asphalt, which flows into a spacious parking lot at the Füzér castle visitor center. Here we can take the former cart road leading to the renovated fortress or simply descend on the asphalt to the center of Füzér, our starting point (the last meters to the bus stop are accompanied by the K+ marking).