Tekeres-kúti meander

Itinerary

• From in front of the hotel, head west on the K+ trail.
• After Birka Hill, where the K+ turns right, continue straight on the unmarked path until it joins the S trail.
• From there, follow the S trail to the Tekeres-kúti ditch.
• At the Tekeres-kúti ditch, turn right onto the wide gravel road starting with the S● trail.
• Returning to the intersection, continue northwest on the KΩ trail.
• From the lookout tower, head steeply downhill northeast on the K trail.
• (After the Kisszépalma intersection, continuing on the paved road, a short detour to the Bödön-well can be made on the right via the Z● trail.)
• Return to Szépalmapuszta on the K trail.
• At the border, switch to the S trail to return to the starting point.

Detailed description of the hike

Szépalmapuszta

Szépalmapuszta, belonging to Porva (formerly known as Nagyförtés), was known already in the 11th century for its later depleted sulfur spring. In the years after the foundation of the state, it was mainly royal property, also referred to as a praedium or manor. At one time, several Hungarian aristocratic families owned it. Its name derives from the fact that in 1526 it came into the possession of the Török family from Enying, whose members planted apple orchards in the area. In 1622, it became the property of Miklós Esterházy, Palatine, whose family owned the area until the pre-World War II years. In 1907, Count Endre Pejácsevich-Mikó, who had estates in northern Hungary and Somogy, married into the family and moved to Szépalmapuszta with his family in 1935, where he lived until his death. His son, younger Count Endre, emigrated to the USA in 1945. The Szépalmapuszta stud farm became part of the Bábolna State Farm in 1962. The highest quality horses' memorials from 1919 to 1940 can be found in the arboretum. The stud farm, in a rather deteriorated state, was acquired by Swiss owners in 1994; Szépalmapuszta was reborn within a few years. On the large estate housing the hotel live magnificent horses alongside Hungarian grey cattle.

From Szépalma to Százhalom

From the hotel, head west on the K+ trail. After the buildings and a small pond, reach the grassy top of Birka Hill, offering a beautiful view of Kőris-hegy and Parajos Peak. Where the K+ trail turns right, continue straight, then at the end of the meadow turn left into a dense undergrowth beech forest and join the S trail, soon walking on the left branch of the Y junction. After the spruce trees, a hunting stand stands on the clearing, and a few smaller burial mounds appear in the forest, hinting at the nearby large burial site. Crossing a wooden bridge, reach the forestry road built in 1957, where turn left and meander for 1.3 km. At the Tekeres-kúti ditch, turn right onto the wide gravel road marked with S●. Pass a large game feeder, then after a hay rack a tall game fence follows on the left. A few hundred meters ahead, a small path leads left into the forest to the Százhalom burial ground—the largest burial site of the tumulus culture in Central Europe.

Estimated to be 3200 years old, the burial ground consists of 226 tumuli (burial mounds). The ethnic affiliation and language of its builders are unknown—possibly belonging to the Illyrian group. Based on their burial customs, historians call them the tumulus culture. Archaeologist Gábor Ilon found in a similar burial mound in Ugod-Katonavágás remains of a 10-30 cm thick charcoal pyre beneath which the soil was red from the fire that consumed the body. Grave goods found at a depth of 100-110 cm include pottery shards above skeletal remains and bronze bracelets, pins, rings, dagger, and spearhead fragments deformed by heat.

Up to the summit!

After leaving the burial mounds, before the gravel road sharply turns left, the trail turns right. The marker is on an old beech tree, partly covered by its foliage. Cross the ditch and on a narrow, atmospheric path through the beech forest soon reach the enclosed spring of Tekeres-kút. Water drips from the plant-covered enclosure even in summer droughts, flowing southwards in the Tekeres-kúti ditch towards Száraz-Gerence. From here, past an artificial mud bath, return to the intersection, then head northwest on the KΩ trail. Walk about 1 km uphill along the edge of a young beech forest from a small clearing, then briefly follow an asphalt road, where the trail soon turns right to lead through the wild beech forest of Márvány Valley, becoming steeper and steeper on a short, demanding path to the Ördög-lik (Devil's Hole) of Kőris-hegy. Be cautious on the slippery, rocky section!

The cave near the summit of Kőris-hegy is probably one of the oldest in Bakony. Formed about 200 million years ago in the Kardosrét Limestone, at the junction of two nearly perpendicular rock fissures, created by corrosion mixing at the karst water level of that era, the presumably closed cavity was raised to its current elevation with the uplift of the mountain range. Stalactite formations can be found in both shafts of the now inactive cave, including beautiful white dripstones in the lower part. The two-level, 64 m long, 34 m deep shaft entrance is divided into two parts by a wedged rock.

Turning left at the steep slope edge above the cave, a short detour leads to the abandoned "marble quarry" of Márvány Valley, where from the late 18th century dense Jurassic limestone was quarried for the Esterházy estate in Pápa. From this typical hard rock were carved the baroque lions of the Pápa castle and many church and castle decorations built by the estate.

Along this short section of the KΩ trail to the Kőris-hegy summit, rusty, firestone-lentil limestone rocks can be observed here and there. Near the Vajda Péter lookout, benches invite resting from the hardships of the steep terrain.

The three-story Vajda Péter lookout was first erected in 1920, replaced in 1962, and last renovated in 2002. From its top, the ancient pine forest of Fenyőfő and the village's church tower are clearly visible, with Bakonyalja and the Little Hungarian Plain behind. The distinctive shape of Somló and the massive white building of the Pannonhalma Abbey stand out, almost glowing in the sunlight. To the east, Borzavár, Porva, and Zirc appear. The Tési Plateau is also clearly visible. To the south, the forest partially obstructs the panorama, but the antenna-studded Kab-hegy is still clearly seen. On clear days, the easternmost two-thousanders of the Alps, the Rax and Schneeberg, are also visible. About 50 m from the lookout, a radar station with a protective grid spoils the view.

Down to the Kisszépalmapuszta intersection

From the lookout, head steeply downhill northeast on the K trail through terrain that later becomes tamer. At the fork with the P trail, going right, continue a while through beechwoods. At a logged area, a pleasant view opens over Szépalmapuszta and Zirc above growing beech saplings. With increasingly dry and warm climate, the beech habitat gradually retreats. Forests favoring cool, humid habitats weaken in warmer, drier climates, making them more vulnerable primarily to new pests and pathogens coming from the Mediterranean. The increasingly frequent, successive dry years weaken trees’ immune systems, rendering them unable to resist, forcing forestry to harvest stands sometimes before maturity.

Passing an old walnut tree and a bench underneath, reach the forestry road, turn left, then right at the intersection, and after 300 m turn left following the trail. Continuing on the road, a short detour to the Bödön-well is possible on the right via the Z● trail. The term Bödön- or Bodonkút refers to a type of well lined with a hollowed wooden trunk.

Among Slavonian oaks back to Szépalmapuszta

Follow the K trail through hornbeam-oak forest. Among the trees are some slender Slavonian oaks, a subspecies of pedunculate oak characteristic of plains, warm-demanding and water-loving. Not native to Bakony, they were planted for their good shape and wood quality. Its potential is well demonstrated by a 64 m³ log with 260 cm diameter at breast height exhibited at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition. Throughout the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, railway sleepers made of Slavonian oak were prized for durability and load-bearing capacity, and it was also a premier material for shipbuilding, housing—especially beam cellars—and cooperage products, even used in the interior architectural works of the Hungarian Parliament and the Museum of Fine Arts. Today, a large 53-hectare continuous Slavonian oak forest exists only in the Prašnik Forest Reserve between Nova Gradiška and Okučani in Slavonia, with trees aged 150–300 years.

From the forest, passing fences around pastures for horses and grey cattle, return to the entrance of the Szépalmapuszta manor. The right-branching S trail leads back to the starting point.