Panoramas, villages, rocks - the middle section of the Mátra-bérc

Itinerary

• From the stone marking the country's highest point, we follow the K trail to the Tető restaurant.
• Before the restaurant, turn left onto the S trail.
• Take a detour on the S▲ trail to a viewpoint.
• Follow the S trail up to the Som saddle.
• Continue straight on the S◼ trail to the junction next to the Vörösmarty tourist house.
• Climb up on the K trail to Galyatető to the lookout.
• On the K trail, visit Mátraszentlászló, then Mátraszentistván.
• Follow the K signs of the Blue Trail to the Newton Rock junction.
• On the K▲ trail, we cross the Ágasvár summit and arrive at the gate of the Ágasvári tourist house.
• The last few meters are covered on the K trail.

Detailed description of the route

Kékes-tető

As everyone knows, Kékes, at 1014 meters, is the highest point of Hungary, and due to this and its good accessibility, it attracts large crowds to the mountains. However, before the Trianon border changes, the Mátra and its main peaks, which have modest conditions compared to the Tatras, were unknown, secluded terrains on a national scale. Although the Mátra Department of the Carpathian Association built a wooden lookout in 1889 at a rocky, forested spot close to the 1011-meter summit, only a negligible number of tourists visited the mountain area. Then, tourism in Mátra boosted in the '20s, with visible developments: by the end of the '30s, connecting roads, luxury hotels, shelter houses, ski slopes were built on Kékes, and regular bus lines improved accessibility. The hotel was converted into a sanatorium in 1951, and ten years later, the construction of the TV broadcast building and the dark andesite tower began. The 178-meter high TV tower was completed in 1980. Due to its exhibition and panorama, visiting its restaurant is recommended.

We start our hike from the tricolor stone marking the country's highest point. On the slightly bazaar-like, neglected Kékes summit, a ski slope operates (the "southern"), but the best view opens to the north: on its terrace in clear weather, we can spot the High Tatras, and thanks to the steep northern slopes of the mountain range, the altitude difference compared to neighboring areas is well perceptible. Next to the Tető restaurant, we leave the bustle on the S trail and enter a quiet, dark beech forest. We bypass a young forest on the left, and in places, rocks emerge from the soil. At a meadow, a few minutes detour on the S▲ trail invites us - let's not miss it! Crossing a beautiful pine forest, we arrive at another clearing from the edge of which we look out towards the Bükk Mountains. Let's return to the S trail!

Primeval forest beneath the crowded summit

We descend through rocky forest soil; a steep cliff guards on the right, and a gentle slope on the left. Suddenly, the forest opens, and from a small clearing, we overlook the low central part of Mátra, behind it the Great Plain. We have to cross rocky terrain steps; the twisting root networks make movement difficult. Due to trampling and washout, a bare, gravelly path section follows; lower down, mossy stone sea patches a pine forest floor. We wade through a magical landscape reminiscent of the higher ranges of the Carpathians, which will not change for a good while.

Gyula Károlyi established a game reserve in the 1870s on his nearby estate, ranging from Parádtó to Kékes-tető. No logging was carried out there, so no major interventions occurred in the vast beech forests of the northern slopes until World War II. Unfortunately, logging began later in the lower part of the primeval forest, but the strip near the summit, narrow and hard to access, was declared a protected forest, preserving its original state. The reserve is used for observing and researching the natural processes of the forest; no human interventions are allowed. Interestingly, the mouflon imported from Corsica also spread in the Mátra from the Károlyi game reserve, as a few individuals were introduced there in 1924.

In the forest reserve, the age of trees varies. On the sites of fallen individuals, regeneration grows, so the texture of the forest is diverse, and its canopy is sometimes open. The soil sheltered by dead wood favors wildlife - the appearance differs significantly from the uniform age forests widespread in our country. Huge rocks, thick roots, fallen trunks line the path, which on steeper sections truly tests our stepping technique. At Som saddle, we switch to the S◼ trail (continue straight) and say farewell to the primeval forest.

Around Mátra saddle

It feels like arriving at a tree plantation: the natural forest is replaced by forest with economic utilization, dense young forests, and mosaic patches of partially regenerating forest. The forest road passes by the remains of an abandoned buffet, soon joining the asphalt. The nearby Vörösmarty tourist house's name keeps the memory of the poet's nearby walk and was built in 1958 to expand Mátraháza's accommodation capacity.

Turning north, we set off along the National Blue Trail towards Mátra saddle. The low pass between the huge massifs of Kékes and Galya has long been an important route, the only easy crossing possibility on the west-east towering mountain range. We only accompany the busy road for a short time when we cross it; then a long and exhausting climb begins. Attacking Csór Mountain, a clearcut opens a panorama of Kékes's angular massif - below the summit, the reserve forest can be easily delimited, whose "holey" texture clearly differs from neighboring uniform forest patches.

On the top of Csór Mountain stood a lance-shaped wooden lookout named after Károly Kós from 1984 for ten years. The Transylvanian writer and architect's monument erected for the 100th anniversary of his birth had warped beams and rotted, and fires built on the lookout level plus wood cut from the structure also contributed to declaring the building dangerous. Although this did not deter everyone, it was finally knocked down. To the right in the dark beech forest, light penetrates through a huge clearcut patch until dense young forest is reached. On the short ascent, we can notice the outcropping rock surface and shortly before, at Bagoly Rock, we can stand on the glacially carved cliff edge - from which we overlook Parádsasvár.

On the panoramic ridge

The ridge breaking off to the right, on its northern side, is cut by clearcuts, which we can be grateful for many panoramic views. We find the most beautiful section on the slope of Vércverés Árválnya. Parádsasvár lies almost at our feet; in the distance, the Bükk plateau rises - we can unusually intensely experience the feeling of altitude. According to legend, the nightmares, or lidércek, watched and tormented the everyday life of the honest villagers from here, whom Virgin Mary finally freed from the harmful beings after seeing their persistent prayers. Her victorious intervention, "Vércverés," lives on in the name of the ridge.

Skipping the confirmation point of the National Blue Trail, we descend briefly, but some time later, at Nagy-Lápafő, we are forced to a sweat-inducing climb again. The springs of Parád-Tarna cut into the northern wall of the hard rock ridge with small, niche-like valley heads, so from some places, we can still admire the eastern side of Mátra with Kékes and the distant Bükk massif. Through a closed forest corridor, we reach Galyatető, where from the parking lot, the thinned beech forest and the stretching lookout above it are already visible.

Galyatető

Although in 1894, the Mátra Association opened a timber shelter at Galya-tető (which did not operate for long), together with Mátra, its second highest massif was insignificant, scarcely visited terrain. This is illustrated by the case of Kálmán Mikszáth, who at the turn of the century asked his fellow representatives if they knew where Galya-tető was, but even his colleague from Gyöngyös had no idea. Then, after the Trianon border changes, Hungarian nature hikers discovered the suddenly famous mountain, and in 1924, a new 100-bed tourist house (the "University Men’s Hostel") was built, later followed by the lookout. Vivid ski life took place in the area, ski slopes (the longest ran to Mátraalmás) and cross-country ski trails were made; even a ski jump was built. The Nagyszálló was handed over in 1939. The war destroyed almost everything; the decades of socialism were characterized by an increasing number of company and private holiday resorts. The Galyatető Tourist Center opened in 2014 (on the site of the old hostel where previously the construction office of the Nagyszálló operated). The Blue Trail passes by the entrance and leads towards the lookout on Péter Hill. (Since access to the tower requires a 200-forint coin, change money if needed!)

Because of its architectural values, the award-winning building offers 3 rentable bivouac rooms, and from its roof, the most beautiful panoramic view of Mátra opens - perhaps among the most beautiful in the country. From Börzsöny to Bükk, on clear days even the Aggtelek karst can be scanned - closest is the elephant-shaped massif of Karancs. We can observe the undulating ridge of Eastern Mátra, and in full size, from sole to summit, Kékes is visible. The valleys of Western Mátra are hidden by the elevated, flat roofs, but in the background of the dense forests, the ridge of Muzsla still emerges.

Across Upper Mátra

A varied section, the most beautiful part of our route lies ahead. The K trail invites westward under huge beeches on a wide promenade, sometimes also wild pine forest patches enliven the landscape. We cross the service road of the Piszkés-tető observatory and descend on the abandoned, overgrown Piszkés meadow. The residents of Mátraszentlászló once herded their livestock here; however, in the '60s, grazing was banned around the village - towards the end of the 2010s, the possibility of using it as a ski slope also emerged. At one point, a small path leads beyond the brushwood; from the pleasant viewpoint, we can see the western Mátra region rich in flat shapes up to Muzsla.

We arrive in shrubby, young forest to Mátraszentlászló, where cows graze in summer on the ski slope. The small village was called Fiskalitáshuta by Slovaks who settled after the Turkish era - they originally lived down in the valley, where the glassworks and mills operated. Later, following logging, they moved higher up in the creek valley. On the flat roofs, there was enough place for potato fields and pastures. At the beginning of the 20th century, tourists were so rare here that according to contemporary tourist guides, the villagers gathered and celebrated the rare event with music when newcomers appeared. The names of the Upper Mátra villages were changed in 1938 on the 900th anniversary of the death of Saint Stephen.

The ridge path

The hiking trail leads through Mátraszentistván (formerly Upperhut before 1938), whose history roughly matches that of its neighbor. We walk out of the village among new buildings with Alpine atmosphere. In the early 2010s, there was still a nice panorama from the dirt road to the ski park slopes, but since then the buildings have occupied the hillside. Rocks dot the forest, and after crossing a forestry road, unforgettable kilometers follow - unveiling yet another face of the Mátra-bérc hike. On a narrow path, we follow the Strémina ridge, and as the Slavic meaning ("steep") indicates, we walk a ridge bordered by serious slopes. In the beautiful grassy-floor oak forest, we notice an unusually large amount of ground-covering dead wood, which is no coincidence: we are again in a forest reserve, this time protecting the valley of Csörgő Creek. In the barely disturbed, natural forest, rare and disturbance-sensitive species appear, like the wildcat and lynx. The area is quite diverse habitat-wise, with alder riparian forest, beech, and oak standing close side by side.

The oak forest is patched by smaller clearings and rocky slope steppe meadows; however, the pleasant section changes again after Newton Rock. Here we turn right onto the K▲ trail (those not willing to take the exhausting climb to Ágasvár can visit the shelter by continuing on the K trail along the contour). The ridge narrows completely, and grim rocks rise out of it. The name Newton Rock comes from an unknown inscription visible on its surface - from the top, there is a beautiful view of the steep northern cliff of Mátra-bérc and the extensive forests of the hillside plains. Heading the other way, the threatening mace-shaped rock blocks our path: the trail passes under the Szamár Rock block. The huge formation is visibly two-part: its volcanic-sedimentary lower part, the "base," is narrower than the upper unit, which widens out like a mace at the top, built from lava-cemented debris (breccia). Selective erosion stripped the rock by wearing away softer rocks, then undermined its less resistant base - hence the mace shape. The process continues; at some point, the heavy, harder, slowly eroding top part will no longer be supported by the thinning neck beneath, and the huge rock will roll down the steep slope with a great crash.

Ágasvár

We climb a wild, rocky staircase terrain, using our hands as well. From a terrace at the top of the climb, we overlook the valley of Csörgő Creek. We admire the creek valley lengthwise; in the background, the flat roofs of Upper Mátra close the view. Our unique, magical ridge path's bottom sometimes reveals the bedrock, and behind the trees, Ágasvár's huge massif appears. Overcoming a strenuous, sweat-inducing steep slope, we reach the 789-meter summit, from which there is a limited panorama of the Zagyva valley. Only a few remnants of ramparts remain from the former fortress, and little is known of its history. Built after the Tatar invasion, it is told that when Austrian and Czech troops marched against it, 300 Croatian soldiers arrived for defense. Their commander attacked the castle captain's wife, who fled, and his servant stabbed the mercenary leader. The Croatians were sent home; the defending army withdrew, and the castle was destroyed. The 13th-century Ágasvár document mentions it as a restored castle - afterward, it deteriorated under the management of the Tari family and perished by the 15th century. Slightly earlier on the mountain is a side peak, to which the trail also leads. From the pine-adorned, rocky, Mediterranean atmosphere summit, there is a great view over the Zagyva valley and across to the long, forested ridge of Tepke in the Cserhát Mountains. (Interestingly, geologically it belongs to Mátra but is separated by a river.)

We swing over rocks at the start of the descent, which, as usual, is harder downhill: it begins with huge stone steps and continues with gravelly, worn terrain in a reversed calvary walk. Only slow, skillful stepping technique can prevent falling, but as exhausting as the progress is, the challenge ends quickly. Following the K trail, we enter through a gate and arrive at Foton meadow, at the Ágasvár shelter exuding pleasant food aromas. Baron Endre Hatvany, the area's owner, expanded his hunting lodge in 1925 and made it available to tourists - the host was the Pannonia Tourist Association. (Around this time, attention turned to Mátra following the Trianon peace treaty.) Later, a dining room was added, and the large hotel building was completed only in 1961. If the house gate is locked, we can reach the other side via a detour path to the right.

Our hike ends here - the nearest possible destination is Mátrakeresztes, but it's worth continuing the journey on the Muzsla ridge, thus covering the entire unique route of Mátra-bérc.