Spacious panoramas over the Tarna valley

Itinerary

• From the center of Sirok, we follow the P marker across the hills to Bükkzsék.
• In Bükkzsék, we take a short detour to the hilltop above the bath following the P▲ marker, then walk along the unmarked Béke road, finally along Hársfa street.
• Between the unmarked Hársfa street and Akácos street, then along Akácos street and Béke road, we return to the center of Bükkzsék.
• From the center of Bükkzsék, the Z marker leads us to Terpes.

Detailed description of the route

Panoramic route on the hills above Tarna

Starting from the center of Sirok, under the ruins of the castle guarding the Tarna valley, we head north following the P marker. In the Middle Ages, Sirok functioned as an advanced bastion of the Eger castle; although strengthened during the Turkish era, after the defeat of the War of Independence, the Habsburgs ordered its walls to be demolished, and later the locals took away the stones. The fortress carved into the rock, with a few remaining walls and towers, is still an interesting and spectacular feature of the region. We walk up the Tarna valley along the Terpes road to the end of Sirok, where behind the last house the tourist path turns right into the joining Szalokma valley. We follow a long meadow on the forest management road, penetrating deep into the hills for more than 2 kilometers. We bypass a hill covered with pine forest above the valley split, and on its backside, on a steep meadow dotted with groups of trees, we start our climb to the top of the hills. A longer ascent follows, but our effort is rewarded by the unfolding panorama, as with every meter we get a better view of the surrounding hills, lined with grassy and wooded ridges.

An interesting feature here is that besides the deciduous tree species typical of our hills, there are large juniper bushes growing in a special cup shape, because herbivores nibble on the smaller shoots in winter up to about 1.5 meters high, so the bushes can only expand above that. The open area framed by trees is a typical scene of the local extensive grazing, where animals live and graze freely for most of the year.

We climb along the undulating ridge to a large road junction, where we make a sharp left turn onto the ridge forming the central axis of the hills, and the ascent eases considerably. Fortunately, the open, park-like character continues, so we can enjoy the increasingly complete panorama along the way. Here the Mátra mountains also “say hello” with the flat ridge crowned by the tower on Kékes peak; we see its interestingly curved northern escarpment from the side. The gently rolling landscape around us is built of sandstone, forming noticeably gentler shapes compared to the steeper volcanoes to the west and south.

At the hilltop, we make a sharp right turn to the highest outcrop, from where besides the Mátra mountains, we can also spot the wooded waves of the Vajdavári mountains in the continuation of the hills bending north. Although slightly hidden by trees, the western foothills of Bükk peek out to the east. It is worth enjoying the panorama here, and if the weather is good, resting and picnicking on the spacious hilltop, as from here we descend through a wooded area into Bükkzsék’s houses. We enter an oak forest in a steep hairpin turn, and descend with increasing steepness along a forest management road cutting through the woods. We bypass a pine forest, and upon reaching the usual edge of the village acacia stand, the proximity of the settlement becomes noticeable. Among farmstead-type clusters of houses, we reach the village at the flood protection dam, and walk through old houses along Rákóczi street back to the center.

In the areas around Bükkzsék and Szajla

In the village, we can eat and drink; there is a restaurant and a shop in the center, and we can also visit the bath, where in summer a beach and buffet are open, offering many different recharge options to interrupt the route in Bükkzsék. The educational trail with P▲ markings leads to the bath, showing the Bükkzsék oil field discovered in the early days of domestic oil production, its partial exploitation, and the stations of the Virgin Mary's suffering in the park opposite the Holy Spirit church.

The bath building standing above the spacious parking lot was renovated in 2012, although the pools and changing cabins still reflect the atmosphere of the pre-war facility. The saltwater long known by locals was bottled as Salvus water, which can still be purchased, for example at the bath building. Although it has a high dissolved mineral substance content of 22,000 mg/l and should be used cautiously, it is effective for stomach ailments if consumed in moderation. The same water is recommended for baths for musculoskeletal complaints and gynecological problems. During the 2012 renovation, the old facility was expanded with a wellness area, sauna, and beach.

Even if we do not take advantage of the excellent opportunity to bathe in the thermal water or cool down at the beach, it is worth climbing to the viewing terrace above the bath, from which we can overlook the village and the surrounding wooded hills. The gravel road descending from the hilltop back to the village center runs along Akácfa street and Béke road. If we skip this detour, we can shorten the route by 2 kilometers, but we can also spend more time enjoying the services of the holiday village or return to the starting point. Although the 4-kilometer section after Bükkzsék has minimal elevation gain to the neighboring settlement.

After the Bükkzsék detour, we proceed south along the main road from the center following the Z marker along Dobó István street, and leaving the village on Bem József street continuing straight. A comfortable walk follows through meadows by the Bükkzsék stream and winding along a road fitting the hillside forests, leading us to the bank of the stream, where a sign draws attention to the diligent inhabitants of the watercourse. The stream is dammed by beaver dams, which topple their main food source swimming to the bank trees. We can also spot a few beaver-chewed trees and dams along the riverbed, and continue walking through a willow grove.

After crossing one last meadow, we reach the Tarna valley and the road between Sirok and Terpes, crossing the Bükkzsék stream at its edge to enter nearby Terpes. Our route ends by the Szajla community house. The naming duality is because Terpes and Szajla-Újtelep have merged, whereas the originally separate Szajla old village remains another village. Unlike Bükkzsék, there are not many services here, but bus transport to Sirok is the densest from here, making it the easiest place to return to the starting point.