The large loop of the Kőszikla Gorge

Itinerary

• From the bus stop, follow the S↺ mark to the Forester's Lookout.
• On the right side of the playground, following the K stamp mark, you will soon reach the K mark.
• From the Chestnut Hut, continue on the K+ mark.
• From the Esperanto Springs, we return on the K mark to the dirt road, where we turn left on the K▲ mark, which leads through the Kőszikla Gorge.
• At the corner of the hayfield, upon reaching the K mark, turn right.
• Reaching the asphalt road, start towards the TV tower on the K+ mark.
• Following the P mark, we pass by the reed bed.
• Turn right at the P▲ mark.
• At the fork after the hunter's lodge, continue right on the K mark, touching the Saint Christopher Chapel.
• Turn left at the K● mark.
• Turn right at the Z mark, which leads past the Saint Michael Church.
• Take a 200 m detour at the Z● mark to a nameless tapped spring.
• Returning to the Z mark, you will reach the starting point.

About the tour in detail

From Zalakaros to the Chestnut Hut

From the bus stop, follow the S↺ mark heading southwest. Our first stop is the Forester's Lookout, built in 2018 by Zalaerdő Zrt. from its own spring. The 23 m tall oak tower, although famous as Zalakaros', actually belongs administratively to Zalamerenye. On clear days, you can admire the Keszthely Mountains and the Balaton Uplands' iconic hills from the top.

From here, follow the K stamp mark along the right side of the playground until you reach the K mark, where exiting the forest, a cross erected in 1914 offers a beautiful panorama towards Badacsony. Turn left and continue on the road between fields and cellars. Soon the mountain huts disappear. At a short ditch, turn sharply right, then pass by the Könczöl Cross arriving at the border of Zalaújlak. The settlement is the birthplace of József Egry, the "Painter of the Balaton." About 700 m further, a narrow path leads to another lookout towards the Keszthely Mountains and the iconic hills. Our next stop is the Chestnut Hut, situated on the edge of the Kan-beech forest, where a little farther on, more wonderful Balaton panoramas await.

Arrival at Nagybakónak

Continue on the K+ mark from the hut, which after a short forest section leads over the fields of Farkas Hill. At the back, the Újudvar TV tower dominates the view. After the plots, vineyards follow as we approach Joseph Hill. Here, at the Ivan Cross erected in 1916, our path descends right to the village. Next to the wayside shrine stands the bell cage, erected by the vineyard owners of Joseph, Kürtös, Imre, and Farkas Hills. The bell, consecrated in 1926, was made at the Seltenhofer bell foundry in Sopron; it rang three times daily and at funerals when the owners of the hills passed away.

Nagybakónak

A small settlement developed here as early as the Neolithic age in the Szálkai-dülő. The Antal Hill houses a nearly 400 m long Copper Age site; the Dávori alji, Puszta, and Ugora fields bear Bronze Age remains, while the last two also have Iron Age pottery fragments, illustrating the area's long habitation. Roman period remains were uncovered at the Cemetery alja site, and Avar or early Carolingian period (9th century) artifacts were found in Ugora fields. The Principális canal (formerly Kanizsa stream) marshy valley was used as a border line in the Árpád period, and the village area was inhabited then, too.

Local tradition explains the name with the following tale: During the reign of King Kálmán Könyves, a stream flowed so large between Bakónak and Zalaújlak that Bakó the miller could build a mill on it. Once, when the king traveled towards Dalmatia, his carriage wheel broke in front of the mill. The miller repaired the wheel and treated the king and his escort well, for whom the lady of Bakó cooked a good lunch. After the work and the lunch, King Kálmán looked around and said: "Let us give this entire area to Bakó for his work and hospitality." The border area is still called Bakómona by locals. The current official view is that 'bakó' means a beech forest, similar to our word 'Bakony.'

The first written record from 1256 notes the village as partly inhabited by serfs of the Zala castle, with the other part noble possession. These were burned during the Turkish invasions in 1600 and 1664. The fleeing inhabitants rebuilt their homes 2-3 km south from the two medieval villages. The new settlement split into Nemes- and Alsó-Bakónak, flourishing from the mid-18th century. At the end of the Turkish occupation, mostly Lutherans lived here, later Catholics who consecrated the today visible Baroque St. Stephen Church in 1782.

At that time, Bakónak consisted of Alsószer and Felsőszer parts. The eastern end of the former extended to the forest edge of that time, now the 'American' cross (Main Street 62), the latter ended near today's Main Street 123. The two settlement parts, Bakónak and Száká, were separated by a swamp formed along the Bakónaki stream, and Száká inhabitants only reached the Bakónaki church by boat until the area was drained after the 1848–49 revolution. The Bakónaki stream, collecting water from depressions, feeds the Csónakázó lake in Nagykanizsa, then flows through the Principális canal into the Mura at Légrád. After water regulation (1892), the connected two parts took the name Nagybakónak. Since multiple springs still emerge on the Száká side, that area is called 'Kútvölgy.' South of the village, along the stream, lies the Barátca forest section, where a Pauline church once stood.

Leaving the inner area of the village at a wayside shrine without inscription, at the end of the fields on the left we take a short detour to Nagybakónak's famous springs.

Springs

The Nagykanizsa Nature Friends Association recorded two springs here at the beginning of the last century, whose surroundings in the 1930s were regularly used as a camp site by the Nagykanizsa 75th Árpád scout troop (the team of the Civil Boys’ School); in 1934 they named the springs Árpád. The name Esperanto Springs appeared in 1980 in honor of the two famous Esperantists Gyula Baghy and Kálmán Kalocsay, making them important memorials of the Esperanto movement in Zala. The place still has a magical atmosphere, likely contributed to by the Saint George lines passing through the area. Of these, two cross each other at the iron table serving as outdoor mass altar. One passes through the valley touching the memorial spring, the second passes through the right-side spring, and the third crosses the former from beside the information board over a small pond.

The Kőszikla Gorge

Returning to the road, we soon turn right again at the K▲ mark. From the former grassland overgrown with tall goldenrod, touching an old sweet chestnut, we reach the forest. This species, with its main domestic production area in Zala County, has the oldest specimens in the Nagybakónak Southern Hill area, estimated to be 300-350 years old.

Soon we reach the information board marking the entrance of the gorge, locally called "Kicikla." The valley walls reveal a Miocene age marine fissure filled with sediment layers of Pannon age. In the gorge's entrance, varying colored clay and silt layers depending on the sediment basin’s depth and oxygen supply are found, then upwards, sand and sandstone layers dominate, indicating the former water level's decline and closer proximity to the shore. With the retreat of Lake Pannon, the area became a diverse surface river delta plain. Its traces are found in the rock wall layers sealing the gorge, deposited in horizontally stratified layers indicating flowing water and lake/peatland conditions, sometimes very thin layers with carbon deposits. The gorge side's eroded layers have water-retaining clay layers with downward seeping soil water creating wet, sometimes dripping, seeping patches, known as "weeping walls."

Heading west in the valley, a gradient in microclimate and vegetation is observed due to the valley’s morphology. At the entrance, the valley is broader and warmer with fresh oak-hornbeam forests hosting species like hollow spring crowfoot, lungwort, goutweed, wild garlic, and spring lady's tresses in the undergrowth. The steep western parts have a permanently humid and cool microclimate, featuring plants frequent in wells such as adder's tongue fern, bladder fern, forest cyclamen, and various liverwort species. Pioneer tree species like mountain maple and small- and large-leaved lime trees form the forest, under which a small saproxylic, green-veined orchid and common bird's-nest also hide.

The stream bed, embellished with small waterfalls, carved itself through the soft rock layers during the Quaternary, ascending until the sandstone wall closing the gorge, which is climbed with ladders to leave the valley.

The Újudvar TV Tower

Exiting the gorge, heading left by the Kerülő Hill hayfield, we continue where the TV tower atop Tukora Hill becomes clearly visible. Approaching it on the K and then K+ marks along the asphalt road, we bypass the wayside shrine erected in 1932 by the Újudvar Czinki family once living on the hill. On the other side of the road, a short detour leads to a viewpoint offering beautiful panoramas of Zala hills and Principális valley. On clear days, the distant mountains near Zagreb, Ivanscsica, and several ranges of the Austrian Alps can be seen.

The TV tower, built at 313 m in 1972-73, is 206 m tall, and is the second highest freestanding structure without guy wires in Hungary, after the tower in Pécs, but is closed to visitors.

Over the Pupi Hill

Following the P mark, crossing long rows of fields and the Pupi Hill, we pass a reed bed planted for biomass energy use. Soon we turn right at the P▲ mark. Leading through young acacia on a water-washed path, we reach a clearing, where passing under a large willow and a mud patch, we arrive at Öröm Hill. The trail is not well trodden in places, so watch the markings! The grasslands of old vineyards harbor several rare and protected plant species like Adriatic larkspur, bee orchid, viper's bugloss, and hairy flax. After the hunter's lodge and a ruined cellar, we reach the K mark and continue right.

At the crossroads is a small Saint Christopher chapel, featuring an image carved by wood sculptor Ferenc Németh, representing the patron saint of tourists and travelers. A bell cage once stood here, with its bell now in Orosztony. Nearby is a cross erected in 1906 by vineyard owners of Öröm Hill, and across the road lies the Rockenbauer Pál memorial site. His portrait is hung between two K marks, below which a wreath commemorates the outstanding figure of Hungarian nature walkers.

Descent to Zalamerenye

Passing through the oak forest without acorns, after about 400 m, we reach the K● mark. Continuing, we take a pleasant forest section that eventually leads into the Z mark. Turning right, we cross the forest and beautiful panoramic fields, turning sharply left at the hunter's lodge and soon crossing the Garabonci Mill canal bridge, finally entering Zalamerenye along a 16-hectare flood control reservoir at the village border.

The settlement is mentioned in 11th-century forged deeds, but undoubtedly was inhabited earlier. At its border, the Gyöp site yielded a 9th-century settlement’s remains. Its name is traced back to the Croatian personal name Mrena. The first authentic record dates from 1203, when Bishop Kalenda of Veszprém, at King Imre's request, sent ispán Cumpurdinus to survey property owned by the Saint Michael cathedral of Veszprém extending to the Zala river's former branch. At that time, the small village lay on Magyarós Hill. Conflicts over fertile vineyards continued until the 16th century between Veszprém chapter and various noble families, with the village burned by Turks in 1548 and 1566. The villagers fled to nearby marshy and wooded areas, returning only after Kanizsa was recaptured in 1690. The chapter attracted serfs by offering three years of tax exemption. A plague struck in 1711, so population growth was slow. From its first mention until 1945, the village remained ecclesiastical property.

The village's first notable sight is the beautiful Turul statue commemorating the 1848-1849 revolutionary victims from Zalamerenye with an inscription. In the village center near the bus stop is a monument for local residents who fell in World Wars I and II. The pedestal features Virgin Mary holding a scepter with a crown on her head and the little Jesus holding the orb in her left arm. From here, Saint Michael Church is visible; we ascend stairs behind the parsonage to reach it. József Egry (1883-1951), the "Painter of the Balaton," was baptized here. The church's pastors are known since 1333; its parish was restored in 1722 after the Turkish invasion. The current Baroque building was built between 1757-60 by the Veszprém chapter. Its interior and furnishings also bear Baroque features. Beautiful stained glass windows were created in the 1930s and in 1941 based on plans by Kopp Ferenc and Perjés Prasser Miklós. Nearby is the Szovics Cross erected in 1864 and the cemetery.

Arrival in Zalakaros

From the church, winding through Csikó-Tilos, we return to the border of Zalakaros, where a 200 m detour on the Z● mark lets us visit another unnamed tapped spring. Returning to the Z mark, a final ascent leads to outer Zalakaros houses, from where there is another view eastwards. Among the houses, we again spot the block of the Keszthely Mountains and the Balaton Uplands' iconic hills, as at the tour’s start from the Forester's Lookout. Turning right near the small chapel built by the Goór family in 2008, we reach the tour endpoint at the bus stop.