The highlights of the Gaja Gorge

Itinerary:

• We start from the parking lot on the K+ trail, then switch to the K trail, which leads us through the Gaja Gorge to its northwestern end, then turns up the hillside.
• We continue on the K+ trail along the edge of the gorge, from where, via a short branch, we make a detour on the K▲ trail to the Károlyi Lookout.
• The K+ trail flows into the P trail, which we follow from the Alba Regia Spring toward Öreg Hill.
• At the end of the hike, from Öreg Hill we return to the southern entrance of the gorge on the K▲ trail.

Detailed information about the hike:

Gaja Valley Landscape Center

Starting from the parking lot next to the road to Fehérvárcsurgó, at the entrance of the Gaja Valley Landscape Center, we set off in the valley on the K+ trail. The landscape center was developed by the area's manager, Vadex Forest and Wildlife Management Ltd., with rest areas, service buildings, and informational boards throughout the valley and back along the ridge, showcasing the area's natural and historical values, as well as the functioning of the forest community. Essentially, we also stop at these stations during the hike, so by the end of the route, we get to know many interesting facts about the surrounding region.

Initially, we walk uphill in the valley on a wide bulldozed road, away from the creek, in a dense ash-oak forest. On the drier, steeper slopes, black pine has been planted in many places here in the Bakony, as a tree species that thrives well in barren areas. In the sunny slopes, a pleasant resin scent spreads in summer.

After about a narrow kilometer, the gravel road reaches the center of the landscape center, a charming meadow around the Trout Lake and the guesthouse building. Here, toilets, a buffet, and a covered picnic area are available for the convenience of visitors outdoors. Additionally, here we can see an exhibition about the area used as a game reserve under the Károlyi family. Even for our first kings, this idyllic, wooded landscape was a favored hunting ground, although hunting meant something different then than it does today.

In the wilderness gorge

After the lake, we enter the narrow gorge, where we experience up close the playfully winding creek, the rocks carved by water, and the shady, old forest preserved in the valley. Crossing the bridge, we switch to the K trail. We walk uphill on a tourist path squeezed between the creek and the steep hillside in the valley. From here, we hike in the gorge's wild adventure park among the creek's pools and ripples, and the protruding rocky ridges. Behind a rocky protrusion, we reach a small meadow, where once stood two ancient oaks, the Adam and Eve tree. Nowadays, only Adam’s fallen, dried trunk offers an excellent playground for children hiking in the gorge.

The winding gorge valley snakes uphill for nearly two kilometers, accompanied all along by a wide tourist path alongside the creek lined with old tree roots. The Gaja creek is the largest watercourse in East Bakony; its cleanliness is evidenced by the trout that live here, so we may even see fishermen by the creek bed.

At the upper end of the gorge, at a board presenting the area's geology, you can find the Sobri Jóska Cave on top of the rock above the sign. You can reach it via a barely noticeable path a few tens of meters higher from the creek valley. The steep and exposed rocky path can only be walked with sure steps — it is no coincidence that the famous Bakony outlaw hid here from the law.

Panoramas here and there

At the very end of the gorge, behind the Varjúvár Guesthouse, the K trail turns back on the hillside and climbs up the steep slope on a rocky path. From the sparse, rocky edge, several times, there is a great view of the gorge incision and the forest canopy rippling in the valley bottom. However, the most beautiful landscape is from the Károlyi Lookout, created on a rocky outcrop on the plateau. To reach it, after the K trail branches off, we continue on the K+ trail and then a few hundred meters down the branching K▲ trail. From up there, the entire Gaja Gorge unfolds as it winds downward through rocky ridges in the plateau's incision. At the upper end, the houses of Balinka are visible, while to the south, the mirror of the Fehérvárcsurgó reservoir shines in the distance.

Returning to the K+ trail, we proceed southeast. Soon, we reach the Alba Regia Spring, renamed from the former Haja well. In a shaded forest, at a neatly arranged resting place, we can refresh ourselves with cool water and rest in the forest idyll. If we've had enough climbing, or if the weather worsens, we can comfortably descend back to the Gaja Gorge on the K+ trail, which leads to the Adam and Eve tree.

However, it is worth continuing the hike on the P trail, which leads to nearby prehistoric burial mounds. This place was admired even by our ancient ancestors. Presumably, the leaders of the population living here were buried in the nine burial mounds around the 6th century BC. Unfortunately, much of the graves has been disturbed, but archaeologists managed to excavate a few, where beneath the earth and stone heap, they found a wooden-structured tomb with the buried ruler and iron objects (sword, axe, horsegear) together.

After the burial mounds, from the bulldozed road descending from Öreg Hill, a small path branches off after climbing over the fence ladder, which we also follow on the K▲ trail. The winding path runs along the edge of a planted pine forest with limited views of the nearby Fehérvárcsurgó reservoir, which dams the water of the Gaja creek. The path descends northwest to the paved road, crossing the Gaja creek, returning to the parking lot, the starting point of our hike.