Pilgrimage to the glorious stronghold of Regéc

Itinerary:

• From Mogyoróska we reach the foot of the castle on the K trail.
• The Regéc castle is reached by the KL trail with a short, steep climb.
• Downwards we follow the Z cyclist trail. 
• At the foot of Várhegy, turning left on the K trail leads us to Regéc.

Detailed description of the hike:

From Mogyoróska to Várhegy

We start from the center of Mogyoróska, from the western slopes of Várhegy rising boldly to the sky, following the K trail. From here the castle shows its most impressive image: acting as a sentry, it dominates the village and the surrounding area. The settlement was originally inhabited by the population serving the castle, then after the devastation of the Turkish times, it was revived in the 18th century by the settlement of Ruthenians. The iconostasis of the Greek Catholic church built in the village center is worth visiting.

We climb up the asphalt street among renovated peasant houses and holiday homes. There are fewer and fewer permanent residents in the village; mostly families from the lowlands and beyond the border rest here, embraced by the mountain range. After leaving the old stone houses, we pass some recently built holiday homes surrounded by wooded gardens, but with the altitude we increasingly blend into the forest of the Tokaj Mountains. From the village border, we continue on a wide gravel road scattered with coarse stones, and soon enter a natural forest.

At a small meadow, the unrealistically close and high castle appears, to the right the original rock outcrop, while to the left the newly built old tower stretches above the treetops. The hillside here is now highly protected; warm-loving herbaceous plants grow on the meadows, while the increasingly old, dense oak forest forms a continuous wilderness for several tens of kilometers through the central area to Erdőbénye and Tolcsva. The region is famously good for mushroom foraging. Besides the usual game, wolves and lynxes, eagles and falcons also live in the rarely frequented forest.

At Regéc castle

The gravel road passes by a small clearing, where we can catch our breath under a covered rain shelter before the steep castle assault. The gravel cart road soon arrives at the saddle, where it drops down to the opposite slope. From here the KL trail starts left on a well-worn path down the steep slope. With one last effort, we climb up on a winding trail between the gnarled roots of old oaks, and join the cobbled road circling Várhegy.

Whether the lords and their serfs who lived here through the centuries, we arrive at the castle walls on the old cart road, which we bypass from the north, approaching the gate along the western battlement corridor. The castle buffet is also currently located here. With one final effort, we climb the steps of the old tower to earn our worthy reward from its top: the most complete panorama opening onto the region, offered for the central area of the mountain range.

The castle was not built here by accident: we see a narrow slice of the Hernád and Bodrog valleys as well, although these generally vanish in the misty distance. However, we can panoramic sweep the entire central area of the Tokaj Mountains. To the west, the huge, rounded dome of Gergely Hill dominates the landscape, towering over the Hernád valley and the Regéc basin spread out before us. East of it, a series of volcanic mountains undulate with decreasing average height down to the Bodrog floodplain. On the eastern edge, the characteristically truncated cones of the Sátoros Mountains break the monotony of the flattened volcanic ridges. The valley of the Tolcsva stream, hiding the glass manufacturing fame of Háromhuta, stretches long. To our south, countless peaks and summits vanish into the misty horizon, these closed off above Mogyoróska by the pyramid with the Magoska tower.

By the way, the castle houses a very interesting military history exhibition, which is worth visiting while filled with the mountain range's view. It's also recommended to look at the southern part of the wall ruins; from here a similarly charming view opens up, crowned only by the newly built tower. We can also glimpse the hidden corners of the castle along the way.

Descent to the village

Downwards it is worth taking advantage of the relative comfort offered by the cart road leading to the castle: instead of the steep path, we bypass the Várhegy with a full loop on the gentle gravel road, guided by the Z cyclist trail. At the widening used as a parking lot, we turn left downwards, now following the K signs. After a couple of hundred meters, the path turns onto a smaller road, then onto a forest trail. Carefully follow the signs and don't be misled by the crowds arriving by car!

The small trail arrives at a long clearing, at the bottom of which appears Regéc's long, striped little village. It's worth looking back too, because Várhegy shows its impressive face on its mountain throne similar to the view from Mogyoróska. The path lined with fruit trees connects at the end of the meadow to a cart road, crossing the pastures and shortly reaching Regéc. In the village center - during opening hours - it's worth visiting the castle visitor center, which offers a shop and a buffet.