The hinterland of Pécs, the limestone empire of Mecsek

Itinerary

• We follow the K sign through Remete-rét.
• Behind the rain shelter pavilion we switch to the Z+ sign.
• After a sharp turn, we turn right onto the Z▲ sign, which leads through the Sós Hill to the Honfoglalás Monument standing at the road bend.
• From the monument, we walk along the S sign through the Tubes.
• We make a detour to Kis-Tubes on the S▲ sign, whose loop reconnects to the ridge path.
• On the right, we walk along the S sign past Misina, then down to the first junction after the ski slope.
• We turn left onto the S+ signs, which we follow to the ski slope.
• At the edge of the ski slope, we descend on an unmarked path to the first crossroad.
• We turn left onto the P sign, which we follow all the way to the big deep valley Stone Hole cave.
• At the Stone Hole we turn left onto the Z sign, following it through the Jewish Valley, then outwards.
• At a forest junction we turn right onto the K sign and follow this sign by passing the Büdös-kút back to Remete-rét.

Detailed description of the route

In the hills of Pécs

Remete-rét plays an important role as the road connecting Pécs and Orfű passes through here, and from here also branches off the asphalt winding over the ridge of the central part of the mountain range. Additionally, countless hiking trails meet at the busy clearing; basically, any corner of the central Mecsek can be explored starting and returning from here. As our route starting from Remete-rét also shows the attractions of the mountainous area bordering Pécs. The clearing itself is named after Antal Török, one of the friars of the Pauline monastery of Mecsekszentkút, who often came up to pray in the small hayfield. Skipping the characteristic rain shelter on the K sign, behind it we switch to the Z+ signs and enter the dense Mecsek forests, encircling the side of Tubes on a narrow transversal path. After a sharp serpentine, we turn right onto the steady climb on the Z▲ sign, and looking up from the stony path obstacles, the fortress-like lookout of Sós Hill unfolds through the foliage. (Currently undergoing renovation as of July 2021.) Its shape was inspired by the Roman watchtower ruins found at the nearby Castrum (which were removed due to road construction), and from the upper level, we mainly overlook the neighboring Tubes towers and the houses of Pécs. A wide path, adorned with pines and piercing into an oak forest, shows the way until we step onto the Mecsek-asphalt road. At the bend stands the Millennium Monument raised on the 1100th anniversary of the Hungarian conquest, representing the alliance of the seven tribes with the use of the mountain range's seven constituent rocks. Previously, the Lapisi hunting lodge stood on this site, which was demolished by a Soviet tank in 1956. (Further down, you can see the Lapisi cross, which commemorates Gyula Rábay, a forest engineer and forester of Pécs, who as president of the Mecsek Association participated in the establishment of many hiking trails.)

From here, on a wider and rockier forest path, we climb on the S sign to the 611-meter summit of Tubes, which is also the highest point of the western part of the Mecsek. Its name originates from "tuba," meaning pigeon, but it was formerly called Mecsek Peak, along with many other bare peaks above Pécs. It hosts military transmission towers and buildings shared with the János Lookout, built on a civilian initiative and inaugurated in 2001. Its appearance recalls the original panoramic tower designed by János Rauch and built by the Mecsek Association in the early 20th century – however, this was demolished in 1981 due to deterioration and the construction of military towers. In the 2000s, a NATO radar station initially intended for Zengő, but rejected due to civilian resistance, was also planned here, yet strong and persistent protests prevented the construction. From the upper level of the lookout, the panorama is vast; practically the majority of the southern Transdanubia can be observed on clear days. To the south, the Villány Hills and Croatian Papuk dominate the horizon behind Pécs; to the west, the forested back of Jakab Hill rises; to the north, the Orfű Pécsi Lake and the Balaton witness hills (among them the easily identifiable Badacsony) color the horizon. Zengő and Eastern Mecsek are also clearly visible behind the mountain range's lowering, mined middle section.

We leave Tubes on the S sign and stroll on a very comfortable forest road over a gently undulating ridge in the dense and seemingly natural forest over the ridge above Pécs. We pass through a unique association, a canopy forest in which the sun-loving downy oak stands and the species typical of rocky outcrops and shaded ground beeches live together. In this pleasant environment, the S▲ sign invites us to the right at one point, showing an exit from under the foliage. At the cliff meadow's break stands the panoramic terrace of Kis-Tubes, from whose protruding bastion we mainly look down on Pécs and its southern neighborhood. Here the ridge drops relatively steeply, making the elevation well perceptible, and the Misina TV tower is already visible nearby. The loop of the S▲ sign describing the loop returns to the S sign, on which first we cross the Rotary roundabout to the right, then after a short descent, we cross the Misina road and eventually emerge next to a huge building with a tower giant (the visitor center opened in 2023). It is worth taking a short detour to the TV tower and, after purchasing a ticket, visiting the panorama restaurant and observation deck, as in this case we look around from Hungary's tallest (total height 197 meters) building. At the top there has been a lookout since the beginning of the 20th century; next to it, there was a restaurant operating for a time – these functions moved to the new TV tower from the 1970s.

Across the Mecsek ridge

We do not leave the S sign yet, which invites us over a gravel road to the northern side of limestone cliffs. The layers of the Western Mecsek are asymmetrically tilted, so the southern slopes are steeper, while the mountain range smoothly blends into the hilly landscape in the north. However, the Misina-Tubes ridge is separated from the "backbone" by a deep valley; therefore, both sides are quite steep. This topographic feature is also utilized by the ski slope, from the terrace of the ski house we can look down into the Lámási ditches side valley and assess the forested ridges towering before us. The peculiarity of the Mecsek climate is that air masses coming from the Adriatic even in winter mixed with dry, Arctic-origin air frequently reaching the Carpathian Basin lead to intense snowfall. Therefore, for the people of Pécs, ski and sledding slopes have been built since the early 20th century; the current ski slope, utilizing the snow-holding capacity of the northern slope, has served downhill skiers since 1958.

From the gradually descending S sign, we soon turn left onto the S+ signs, which lead us back to the ski slope. Here we leave the sign and descend along the lift to the next path, which carries the P tourist trail. Looking back, we can still say goodbye to the TV tower’s concrete mass, and looking in the opposite direction, we observe the huge terraced mining scars of Karolina open-pit mine. We keep left and after crossing a forest strip, we emerge at the charming small glade of Kis-rét, where rain shelters, campfire sites, and benches provide comfort. The small clearing played a central role in Pécs ski sport’s heyday; not only did ski slopes end here, but also ski jumping hills stood on the neighboring slope. Now we leave the sheltered nook in a dense forest and pass over a slightly ascending service road to the Lámás Valley chapter. It got its name from the legend that charcoal burners attracted locals, who with their lamps ventured out at night to acquire the glowing stone suitable for heating. Here rises the peak carrying Kantavár, where besides ramparts, the remains of a 13th-century residential tower (fortress) lie.

Continuing along the wide road, soon we can turn off to the Kantavári spring, beside which a shelter stood for a long time since the early 20th century: the path we tread already connected Pécs and Mánfa by the late 19th century, and the spring was an important resting point on this route crossing the uninhabited area. On a relatively uneventful forest road, we climb to the former forester’s Rábay tree. Minutes later we reach the mountain ridge carrying the main road, on the other side of which awaits the haze of beeches as we begin our descent into one of the country’s, if not the most beautiful, valleys.

The jewel of Mecsek karst

From the downy oak forest, a hiking trail narrowing to a path leads along the edge of an old clearcut into a young forest, then exiting its dark, tunnel-like cover, we descend in the chapter of the Big Deep Valley. The transversal, partly trampled, and ankle-twisting trail is in a natural state, piercing into a mixed forest where fallen trunks lie scattered on the ground. Evidently, the woods have been undisturbed for a long time, surprisingly partly due to the development of the Komló heavy industry: the city with its suddenly increased population received water from this karst area (as we will see below), and its cleanliness and protection had to be ensured. Therefore, logging avoided the small valley system, resulting in a vigorous, splendidly preserved natural paradise today. The steep valley slopes and the northern aspect, moreover, the abundant karst water springing below, breath a cool climate into the valley, which is also home to interesting wildlife: the Mediterranean-looking, identifiable by its red berries, the spiny Saint John’s wort is peculiar in that its pointed "leaves" are actually only widening stalks yet perform photosynthesis. The few millimeter-long Hungarian water snail is an endemic species occurring exclusively in the cave waters of this valley system. Among many other rarities, if lucky, you may also spot the large yellow-black colored mountain dragonfly, which has been found in Hungary only here and in Őrség.

As we descend to the valley floor, near centuries-old beech roots and the foreground of growing shoots lies the Mariska spring, which is separated from the dense forest by a classic, dilapidated resting place. It almost occupies an island, as deep ditches surround it on all sides (artificially deepened above the Mariska spring to allow the creek to flow), clearly indicating that the karst water here relentlessly forces its way to the surface. The Kánya spring attracts attention by its continuous bubbling, immediately forming a creek – three thick spouts are needed, since after snowmelt up to 500 liters per minute may pour out from it. It is fed underground from the same place as the Mariska spring, and behind it, in a cave drilled into a dark cliff wall, water flows deep. The latter is also worth visiting, as in the distinctly layered, arching limestone rim, a 61-meter long passage starts – according to finds, even prehistoric man settled in the adventurous, protected nook.

From here, the valley’s image is dominated by karst formations in the creek. The freshwater limestone precipitated from the water encrusts many fallen plant obstacles due to the natural forest image and the closing slopes, forming steps, small dams (tetaratas), over which the creek rushes with gurgling and small waterfalls. We fight our way through a bushy section and on our right appear the first tufa steps, with many more visible further on. Where only the creekbed wedges between the valley sides, limestone ribs and stone rolls, as well as blockages of driftwood, also form obstacles. Sometimes we crawl under fallen trunks, and the uniquely wild section ends where the Petnyák Valley joins from the right.

The tightening of the steep slopes does not ease; further on, a wooden bridge arches parallel to the cliff wall, behind which appear the first signs of interventions made for the Komló industry: debris catch thresholds and the water conduit which supplied the city with karst water. The artificially grassy-edged creek ditch is otherwise a scenic sight, and the truly drastic modifications did not take place here, but inside the mountain. At a waterworks and rest area, we reach the Stone Hole cave, whose massive, dark, gaping entrance invites us with a deep rock corridor. After rainfall or snowmelt, on the right side emerges a spectacular waterfall. Next to the grated, natural cave mouth, a door hides the drilled tunnel leading to the Gyula spring inside – its water was piped out by tubes. Since the 1950s, passages were widened with explosions inside, pavements and concrete dams, retaining walls were built, and a 1500 cubic meter reservoir was created for steady supply. However, the truly astonishing solution operated since the 1970s: after painting examinations mapped the water catchment boundaries, the water of the Orfű Vízfő spring was pumped to the neighboring ridge, from where it flowed into a natural sinkhole and discharged into the Stone Hole. When by the late 1980s the importance of the Komló heavy industry diminished, and the city could be supplied from the Danube side, the water intake here ceased. (The cave was formerly known as King's Hole according to a legend.)

From wooded El Dorado to the highway

As many visitors seek the lower section of the Big Deep Valley, the Jewish Valley branching before the cave is deserted and practically unused. The Z sign starts at the resting place but can also be turned onto before the tunnel, climbing up to the grate. A real forest El Dorado leads along the narrow valley bottom path: the primeval-like forest dominated by beeches, fallen and broken trunks lie on slopes and valley floor; their "melting" bodies nourish the new growth stretching for sunlight. Rainwater seeps through the cracks of the dry limestone rock of the ditch, and no larger spring feeds it – however, its sinkholes pass water further to the depths of the Stone Hole, which is why the forest has been spared for many decades. The obstacle-strewn, partly hard-to-pass valley eventually widens, and on a small clearing we step onto a forest road. Here the forest has already been disturbed but sinkholes appear from the right and left. Right where the sinkhole of the creek pumped from Orfű is located on the neighboring ridge, the Z sign turns left and forces a steep climb on an eroded, bushy path.

The route continues on a wide service road for uneventful kilometers. At a junction, we turn right onto the K sign, leading after the previous memorable kilometers through a stimulus-poor forest environment. After some rollercoaster, we arrive at a cross commemorating a lumberjack, from where we descend left into the Büdös-kút basin. A friendly lodge stands over the sloping clearing shaded by pines and old forest (which started its career as a forester’s house), and at its bottom a rain shelter covered pavilion has been created, the attic of which can be used as bivouac accommodation. Büdös-kút has no smell; its name was inspired by a legend in which a warrior defeated a dragon hiding deep in the well, whose body fell back into the depths – this made the water stink. Next to the house, left of the former president of the Mecsek Association’s (Baronek) Jenő’s bridge, it is worth venturing into the small valley, where deep and not only charming environment springs can be found. (The ground here practically sweats water: the spring field owes its existence to the junction of the extensive karst area and a sandstone slab.) Here is also the memorial of the lively Mecsek hiking sport, the Pantheon of the Baranya County Nature Friends.

The Southern Transdanubian Blue Tour turns away from the small basin and follows a short bulldozer road, then changes to a narrow transversal path. Although the noise of the parallel road is continuous, the crossing of the old lush beech forest is a spectacular cooldown of the hike. Barely ascending, avoiding small ditches at places, we return to Remete-rét where the circle closes and we can descend to Pécs or the Orfű lakes from the bus stop.