The Szelce Valley, the jewel of the karst

Itinerary

• We start the route on the S sign turning onto Rákóczi Ferenc Street.
• We continue straight on the connecting K sign, and follow it all the way to Szelcepuszta, to the Borz-Alom tourist hostel.
• On the way back, the P sign leads through the Szelce Valley all the way to Jósvafő.
• The last meters on the main street to the bus stop are done again on the S sign.

Detailed description of the tour

Village of Karst Waters

Walking through the streets of Jósvafő, cool, sparkling clear, abundant karst streams cross our way in every direction. The reason is that the surrounding huge limestone mass absorbed rainwater here in the valley basin, where it resurfaces. Locals have, of course, tried to utilize the water beyond the forest, with a hammer mill and hemp breaker operating on the streams until the early 20th century. One former mill building now houses a restaurant – nearby, next to the Pap-palló, a symbolic mini wheel turns in the water. It is worth making a detour at the beginning or end of the tour here, to the old village, where we can stroll among beautifully renovated traditional farmhouses.

We walk a few meters from the bus stop beside the pub and turn right on the S sign. On the left, the old barn foot of the Jósva stream licks the bank where a few benches are lined up. We reach a crossroads where not only streets meet but streams too: the water spreads out in a wide, shallow, icy puddle, cars can cross on a ford.

The atmospheric village scene slowly disappears with the houses, but there is no reason to be deceived in the forest either. We are already on the K sign when the darkness of the canopy covers us in a narrow valley. A few meters ahead, a clearing blinds with its light, the stream cascades over a waterworks on the right. Behind it, in a retaining wall recess, the barred mouth of the Kossuth Cave exhales cold air. The water of the approximately 1400-meter cave system is 11 °C at high discharge, 15 °C at low – warmer than the nearby springs, as it mixes with the lukewarm water of the deep karst. It is worth visiting after snowmelt: then the karst stream bursts out with elemental force. Regarding its name, it is worth noting that although few know, Lajos Kossuth also studied natural sciences in depth; in the mid-19th century, he visited the Baradla Cave and timed dripping stalagmites with his watch. Based on this, he calculated the rate of dripstone formation, thus studying this question in Hungary for the first time scientifically. (He also sometimes contributed to local research in his own papers; hence it is not surprising that a marble plaque near the Baradla entrance in Aggtelek commemorates his visit.)

The tourist trail then leads into the short, narrow gorge of the Tohonya stream. At the bottom of the moss-covered valley edged with rocks, the stream tumbles in a narrow bed forced by the cart road, sometimes forming steps of precipitated limestone. The fast-flowing Tohonya used to flow across the Jósvafő Plateau (our next destination), but as it slowly rose, the stream gradually cut into the surface. The zigzag bends of the gorge suggest that at the beginning of this process, the water found its way deep into structural fault lines. The forest slowly opens up; we cross a long, ridge-like pasture and finally turn right among the trees. A short, but especially steep climb leads out of the valley – also slippery due to the clay soil.

Visiting the Carpathian Pony

Upon reaching the top, a wild west-like view unfolds: vast, undulating pastures stretch all around, forested mountains rise on their edges, and horses gallop on the lush grass. This sturdy horse breed, the Hucul, was once called the “Carpathian pony” because its strong musculature and small size allowed it to work even in the hard-to-reach forests. Nearly extinct in Hungary, since the 1980s the national park has been breeding and caring for the herd. Beyond the backs, our eyes catch the barren karst scrub forest and rocky slope of Nagy-oldal. This mountain hosts the highest point of the Aggtelek Karst, Fertős Ridge (604 m). Visiting is not allowed for nature conservation reasons; no hiking trail penetrates the mountainous areas to the north-northeast. In the undisturbed forest, splendid predators like lynxes and wolves have been multiplying for decades.

We cross the spacious Jósvafő Plateau, and ahead we see the entrance to the Szelce Valley (through which we will return). Around, wavering ridges stretch hesitantly in all directions. This deeply situated plateau rose slower than its surroundings; streams fed by springs from the high mountain frame flowed through it, cutting valleys (such as the earlier-mentioned Tohonya). Water dissolving limestone with its carbonic acid deepened sinkholes and dolines on the surface - this explains the gently undulating landscape. The solitary trees, smaller bushes, and wind-rustled grass with forested, sometimes rocky horizons together create a true Carpathian atmosphere. The opening of the open space is also a mountain tradition: people living among the ridges usually set their pastures on gentle foothills (few here) or plateaus after clearing the groves. To keep the area open and prevent woody plants from reclaiming it, not only grazing and trampling by animals but also mowing for winter fodder supply takes care of it. When at the edge of the open field, from the corner called Kuriszlány, the K sign calls again under the trees; we pass by a former hay barn. This plank-framed structure was a typical feature of the Upper Hungarian landscape for a long time, and even today we can come across it here and there.

Traces of mountain people

We ascend in an oak forest in a shallow groove. We leave behind the temporarily active (built entrance) Kuriszlány sinkhole, which carries the spring water a few meters away down into the depths – according to examinations, feeding the Kossuth Cave stream, which is fed from the huge area. Walking further, we notice a deep pit beside the road: the home industry of charcoal burning, which ceased in the second half of the 1900s, provided an important source of income for mountain residents for centuries. The harvested trees (mainly beech and hornbeam) were cut into long planks and stacked. They covered the pile with earth and left the wood to ignite slowly for about 1-2 weeks in oxygen-poor surroundings. Finally, the fire went out, the earth was removed, and valuable charcoal was obtained as a product. These regular, small but deep pits are found throughout our mountainous forests.

The easy climb doesn’t last long: suddenly, we come out among the trees and step onto a partly abandoned orchard rural road. Earlier, vineyards dominated here (a few cellar press houses can be seen further down), and villagers also supplemented the mountain’s income by mowing grass between sparsely planted fruit trees. It’s worth walking further for the view, but if we stay on the K sign, a few minutes later, the landscape opens through a fence of a holiday house: below us, the Jósva Valley deepens, beyond rise the rolling hills of Galyaság. Meadows, shrubby pastures, and large forest patches alternate on them. The meaning of the word galya is grassy hilltop, indicating that animals have been driven to the heights since ancient times, after gaining pasture from forest logging. Careful observation may even spot the stone heraldic animal of the Aggtelek National Park, the spotted salamander, on the far slope.

Land of wolves

The K sign enters the forest; at first through a chain of small, reforesting clearings, then cutting across varied, peaceful groves. On the right and left, the gentle arched slopes bend upwards or downwards, and the terrain is perforated by dolines. Sometimes the rustling of pines draws attention to a planted evergreen patch, fortunately no logging is seen anywhere. From the far side of Szelce Valley rises the plateau of Fertős Ridge. From the surroundings of it, large predators avoiding humans, the lynxes and wolves also pass here. The former is a solitary predator except during rearing, while the latter hunts in packs. They share the fact that during their ranging, they circle huge areas (and regularly cross the border), and are particularly sensitive to human disturbance, so their presence is proof of the undisturbed nature and natural conditions of the forest. It is also a guarantee as, with sufficient numbers, they keep the red deer population in check, and catch weaker or sometimes sick individuals. They perform a “maintenance job” that hunters, foresters, and the food-poor winter together accomplish in game-free forests. Of course, the currently low number (only a few lynxes and about one wolf family) have only a limited appetite. Since the 2010s, with the strengthening of the Slovak population, bears have also wandered increasingly into the Aggtelek Karst. As hikers, we need not fear any of them because their refined senses keep them away from people, and whenever possible, they avoid frequently used hiking trails.

Szelcepuszta

At a left bend, the S sign arrives from Szinpetri, and we walk up a gentle incline to Szelcepuszta’s ample meadow. The Szelce Valley starts on the left, but before yielding to temptation, we follow the K sign onto the concrete road! It is not uncommon to scare deer or roe deer; the unusual light-colored fallow deer come from the nearby wildlife park. Local experts have noticed an interesting phenomenon: in the wolf-inhabited area, the rutting calls are almost silent and unusually quiet so that animals do not betray their presence to the excellent-hearing predators. Szelcepuszta is otherwise a soothing, peaceful, and idyllic place. Rolling waves cover the meadow, and on the right, at a fork, is the Borz-Alom Forest School, which sadly only has an unfortunate name; the building itself is a first-class (unmanned) tourist hostel. (After prior arrangement, we can also spend a night there.)

To the left, among the trees, at the end of the concrete road, we find the castle hotel. Miklós Horthy’s favorite hunting ground was here; he used the predecessor of the building and also introduced bears to the forest. The Medve-kerti spring in the Ménes Valley still preserves this memory, as above it in the Sárog Garden, an enclosed pen was built (with the help of the communities of Derenk and Szögliget) into which two pairs of bears (allegedly from Poland) were relocated. Some recollections say that formerly, tamed animals accustomed to humans were brought, so they could not be released freely; local hunters and foresters cared for their feeding (with fruits, corn, and sometimes horse meat). By the 1940s, their descendants numbered more than twenty; many were released, and some were rarely seen in nearby villages (e.g., near beehives, orchards), but except for one case, no record was kept of hunting conflicts. (Also necessary due to bees turning wild after their beehives were overturned.) Then in 1944, as the front approached, the animals kept in the garden were released, and their traces still appeared in the karst for decades. (Horthy shot a bear only once, near Szin.)

From the castle starts a hunting trail that crosses the rugged, steep slope of Nagy-oldal, also touching the collapse of the Oltár-kő. (Since it lies in a strictly protected area and is unmarked, it is forbidden to enter today.) The stalking route allowed access to the highest point of the Hungarian side of the karst, Fertős Ridge, where a lookout offered views of the limestone region with the High Tatras in the background. Of course, Horthy was not the first to discover Szelcepuszta; some local place names recall “ironworkers” from the Árpád era: Verő-oldal, Verő-tető, Patkós-oldal, Bánya-hegy. Today it is an excellent accommodation; it is worthwhile spending a night here in the heart of the karst.

The Szelce Valley, the jewel of the national park

The section ahead is characterized by relentless heat in summer, and due to its deep location, we cannot count on fresh breezes. The red clayey soil is accompanied by an electric line along the cart track (P sign), but this does not diminish the view: we walk in a picturesque grassy pasture, surrounded on one side by steep and on the other by gentle forested slopes that form a green screen around us. Tourist crowds mostly avoid this somewhat barren yet friendly natural environment, so we are likely to be alone. The Szelce Valley follows a structural line, and the small stream with low flow etched its way through the depression of this. Then it infiltrated the ground and finally disappeared, ending the valley’s deepening. Neighboring plateaus also rose, resulting in this unique and wide-bottomed, sharply winding mountain corridor.

After a big left bend, we hike under a barren slope; on the left, hunting stands and feeders stand at the forest edge. According to 19th-century historian Frigyes Pesty, today’s Jósvafő might have been in the valley – fragments of pottery and foundations have occasionally appeared, and one elevation may have been the remains of a church hill. However, the community moved to the currently used basin due to lack of water. For this reason, it does not seem likely that a village really stood here, and supporting research has not been done. As we proceed, the valley floor becomes narrower and shrubber, making it less visible until the sparse brushwood connects and then disappears again, and from a new corner compared to before, the Gergés marsh, or the Jósvafő Plateau, unfolds before us.

Staying on the P sign, we cross the large doline again and bid a final farewell to the uniquely atmospheric landscape breeze. Slowly, the mountain ridge disappears from sight, and smaller limestone blocks are thrown out from the earth at our feet. We enter the forest and cross the tiny, rocky cordon of Kő Valley. The cart road takes a left bend, avoiding a rock protrusion – climbing it offers a magnificent view of Jósvafő. The village houses fill the basin formed at the meeting of valleys "wall to wall," with a smoke blanket settling over them in winter. A few more minutes and we join the S sign, which leads us back to the village center. (We can find a restaurant in the old village.)