The heart of the Zala forests, the Vétyemi primeval beech forest

Itinerary:

• P▲ trail takes you up to the "vineyard hill" of Tormafölde.
• On a short section, reach the P trail via an unmarked gravel road.
• On the P trail, we make a large loop around Csörötnek, Páka, and Vétyem-puszta, with a short detour at the beginning to the Mároki chapel via the P+ trail.
• Above the Vétyemi primeval beech forest, we return to Tormafölde on the P◼ trail.

Detailed description of the hike

Above Tormafölde, on Saint John's Hill

Starting from the Catholic church at the upper end of the settlement, head northwest on the P▲ trail to Saint John's Hill. Tormafölde is a characteristic South Zala settlement nestled on the hillside above the marshy plain of the Kerka valley. The area of cultivation was the hilltop covered with orchards and vineyards beside the valley floor fields, where the clay soil provided an opportunity to supplement the meager livelihood with resilient fruit varieties. The extensive forests spreading along the eastern boundary of the settlement provided one of the main employment opportunities besides day labor jobs. Before the outbreak of World War II, a mineral oil reserve was discovered on the northern border, near Lovászi, which revitalized the area. The initially American-owned mining company tied its operation to the employment of the local population, thus providing profitable work opportunities here. Nationalization could not stop this, but the depleting reserves and economically extractable oil wealth did.

After a short forest walk, houses and gardens appear along the flattening ridge. Educational trail signs explain the local wildlife. At one station, a monument-like grape press is exhibited, commemorating the area's viticultural heritage. The particularly robust, oak-beam carved, lever-arm design increased pressing force when squeezing grapes. Nowadays, orchards prevail on the south-facing ridge. Near the hilltop, the path passes by a fig orchard, which well demonstrates the Mediterranean climate influence and the kinship of the nearby Balkan fruit culture. Next to the fig plantation, a lookout platform was built, from which you can see the Croatian hills and the steep peaks of the Ivaneci range towering more than 1000 meters above the plains of the Mura and Drava rivers.

Hilltop bend above the Kerka, Cserta, and Válicka valleys

Leaving the orchards, we step into a pleasant oak wood on the hill ridge, walking along the border between Tormafölde and Szécsisziget. The P▲ trail is only marked until the gravel road leading to Szécsisziget; from here we continue for a short stretch on the well-followed gravel road without markings. The Szécsisziget lookout is also touched, from which the Kerka valley runs below us with Szécsisziget and the local center of oil mining, Lovászi, on the opposite side. The floodplain area of the Kerka river, originating in Slovenia, offers a pleasant mosaic landscape sprinkled with forests, fields, and pastures. The Kerka valley naturally connects to the confluence of the Mura and Drava rivers, towards Croatia and Slovenia, but its source area can be found above the Slovenian city of Lendva.

After the Szécsisziget lookout, we find the P trail, which climbs steeply from Szécsisziget to the ridge and continues along the smoothly bending spine. From this point, we follow the P signs for most of our hike, only diverting a few hundred meters to the nearby Mároki chapel via the P+ trail towards Iklódbördőce. It is worth taking this short detour because the chapel's resting place, a grove-covered hilltop, is an intimate corner of our hike. At the resting place equipped with covered benches and tables, it's worth taking a break roughly one-third along our route.

The intimate chapel was built in the Árpád era by the inhabitants of the now disappeared village of Petróc. The village was abandoned during the Turkish invasions and was not resettled; only its church was used by neighboring villages. The Szapáry family rebuilt it at the end of the 18th century, and the people of Iklódbördőce used the consecrated ground of the chapel for burial purposes until the end of World War II. Its surroundings are still particularly well arranged, and a few remaining tombstones stand around it. The lime-washed walls still show its former Romanesque character. Interesting features include the loess-like window above the entrance and the side sloping windows.

Returning to the P trail, we turn eastward on the hilltop vineyard road. Winding among gardens, old cane-walled wine cellars and newer weekend houses, we get a glimpse of the rolling Zala landscape and the Cserta valley below. In clear weather, it is worth searching for panoramas here, as we pass the highest points during our hike, where with luck, the ranges of the Alps appear on the western horizon.

At the Háromszenteki chapel, on the border of Vétyem-puszta

Our hilltop wander ends by touching the highest point. Passing a building equipped with relay towers, we walk past the beautifully landscaped Háromszenteki chapel. Surrounded by forest and orchards, this distinctive vineyard hill sanctuary was first built from wood by Peter Serafin after the closure of the glassworks at Vétyem-puszta, and was rebuilt in stone in the 1920s. It was extended in the 1960s by raising a new chapel around the old dilapidated one, which was then demolished. The chapel's name comes from the statues of Jesus, Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph set up at the altar. The wooden bell tower next to it is now rung by a timing mechanism. Nearby is an exhibition of traditional folk tools, and water can be drawn from a occasionally opened well. Next to the chapel, a pleasant rest area has been created, from where the Zalaegerszeg TV tower and the Kőszeg Hills can be seen on clear days.

Making a right turn behind the hilltop, where two roads run parallel, the P trail switches to the right path. Leaving a clearance with a wildlife protection fence, the road descends steeply and starts to wind down the deeply incised hillside. The atmospheric forest walk is first broken by a small clearing at the junction of a minor side valley, then we enter a larger valley opened with pasture and the asphalt road running through it leads to Vétyem-puszta. Along a plane-tree alley, we arrive at the former settlement, which still bears the name of its medieval predecessor. The glassworks operating here was built next to the abandoned village from the Turkish era at the beginning of the 19th century, using the local forest resources, where more than a hundred people lived over time. The produced glass, mainly bulbous bottles and flat window glass, was marketed through Tormafölde in the counties of Zala, Vas, and Somogy. Among the surrounding glassworks, the one at Vétyem-puszta operated the longest; it closed in 1877, and its residents migrated away. Currently, only a few houses remain here, most of which serve as forestry storage buildings.

In the Vétyemi primeval beech forest

After the last buildings, the P trail descends from the asphalt road and crosses the nearby forest through the meadow. From afar, the tall, spreading canopies show that a significant stand of trees makes up the forest—a carved wooden sign at the edge announces entrance into the forest reserve, the Vétyemi primeval beech forest. This stand of beech trees, which has remained since the ice age retreated, occupies a cool climate compared to the wet, low-lying area in the shadows of the Alps and Dinaric Mountains. Humans continuously disturbed and cut this tree population. Fortunately, instead of clear-cutting, in 1976 the forestry profession recommended protecting a part of the forest to preserve the old, healthy trees, and later it received increased protection. In the 1990s, it became part of the forest reserve, where only research activities are allowed, allowing examination of the forest's dynamic and self-regulating life.

We immediately step into the core area of the forest reserve. From the direction of Vétyem-puszta, there is no transitional protection zone, unlike in the surrounding directions. While the road goes between an old hornbeam and a giant oak, most of the forest stand consists of the famous beech trees of Zala. Huge, column-like trunks emerge as we get deeper into the forest, although in several places only decayed, fallen trunks are found. This is the essence of the forest's dynamic: the material of fallen old trees feeds the emerging stand and does not serve human benefit as in managed forests. A few notable trees stand by the road, accessible by a short detour with a sign announcing their size and fantasy names. Thus, we learn that the tallest tree in the area, the two "Ancient Brothers," reaches over 50 meters; the "Ancient Mother" has the largest trunk circumference at nearly 4.5 meters, while the "Ancient Leader" is the most massive, with a height close to 50 meters and 45 cubic meters of wood mass. We indeed walk among giant living beings if we consider the weight and extent the roots and canopy represent. Like natural solar panels, they convert sunlight into vital nutrients. Their roots gripping the earth form a huge energy funnel connecting heaven and earth. If we step carefully among the elders, we are touched by the reverence emanating from this temple of nature.

The small details are also worth discovering in the forest: how new generations sprout with kidney-shaped cotyledons; how many mushrooms, insects, and beetles live in the forest soil; cavity-nesting birds and bats shelter deep in the old trunks. The herb layer is poor in beech forests, but here the Mediterranean character prevails among the herbaceous plants. Arriving at the ridge, the difference in the stand between the managed protective forest and the core area is striking. The forestry has created a neat resting place here at the edge of the reserve where we can take a third break and have a snack in the covered facility during our walk.

Return to Tormafölde on the oily loop road

We leave the path for a forestry road connecting to the asphalt road leading along the ridge. The visibly good quality pavement conveniently connects the two most significant oil deposits in the area: Bázakerettye (Budafapuszta) and the Lovászi oil fields by the shortest route. While the P trail continues towards Budafapuszta, we turn right on the P◼ trail and return to Tormafölde on the wavy road among the hills. We descend gently with winding curves towards the Centrálé part of the settlement, which consists of only a few houses and a planned but unfinished gas power plant building in its walls. Between the two oil fields, a gas power plant was to be operated here, powered by burning the accompanying gases of crude oil. The power plant never started, but the houses of the housing estate served well in an idyllic environment on the forest edge for residents moving out from the industrial environment.

We leave the houses behind, and after the confluence of the valley coming from Vétyem-puszta, climbing a small hilltop, we already see the houses of Tormafölde. Our circular route, forming a heart shape, closes under the village church.