Through woods and meadows in South Zala, home of the primeval beeches

 Itinerary:

• We cross on the K+ trail from Kistolmács railway station to the Budafai arboretum.
• We continue on an unmarked asphalt road further on the country road leading towards Kiscsehi, Lipseszentadorján to the junction.
• Along the way, we join the P trail and continue straight to the ridge.
• On the forestry asphalt road along the ridge, we follow the P+ and then the P trails north towards the Vétyem primeval beech forest, further to Vétyem-puszta and the Háromszenteki Chapel.
• We descend to the edge of Páka on the P+ trail, then touch the Cserta Valley bunkers on an unmarked asphalt road and arrive at Csömödér.

Detailed description of the hike

From the narrow-gauge train to the oil

We start between Kistolmács and Bázakerettye, from the Kistolmács Lake near the Kistolmács railway station on the K+ trail. The railway line, mainly used for passenger transport during the hiking season, was extended in the early 2020s, so today we no longer start from the terminus. At the southern end of the meadow beside the railway station, we find the lake and its source, the Kozár Spring, where a pleasant picnic spot has been created. The trail passes across the meadow without hesitation into the surrounding undulating forests. We cover the first few kilometers of our hike through continuous pleasant beech and oak woods. Winding through gently rolling hills with twisting routes and leveling between ridges and valleys. Upon reaching the first large valley basin, our path crosses a reservoir dam; we touch the small forest-edge lake named Zajki game watering place. On the other side, we descend straight over the hilltop to the opposite Budafapuszta, where we join the oil circuit named P trail.

The name is not accidental, as the valley head is home to the cradle of post-Trianon Hungary's oil mining: the Budafapuszta B2 production well, which today is an industrial heritage site. With British and American capital under a five-year research concession, attempts were made to find oil fields in Hungary in the mid-1930s, but shortly before their expiration, there was no significant result. In the already hopeless situation, a sender arriving to stop further capital investments was shown the oil core of the Budafapuszta drilling — and by the end of the year, on November 21, 1937, a high-quality mineral oil-producing well started, producing 55 tons of oil and 35,000 cubic meters of natural gas daily. This day is considered the beginning of domestic oil mining.

From the arboretum to the primeval beech forest

Currently, Budafapuszta is known for the arboretum established next to the Zichy family's hunting lodge, where more than a hundred coniferous and nearly a hundred deciduous tree species can be found. The most spectacular are the giant sequoias and swamp cypresses, but the late spring rhododendron bloom is also popular among tourists. Next to the arboretum stands the hunting lodge used by the Zichy family between the two world wars, nationalized after 1945 and transferred to forestry ownership. Its massive walls overgrown with ivy are a jewel of the area. Our hike just passes the hunting lodge and arboretum, but it is worth buying a ticket to enter and stroll around the garden among the giant tree trunks, where we can reconsider our further plans. The next few kilometers to the next primeval tree garden, the Vétyem primeval beech forest, is a monotonous walk — if we decide, we can easily turn back from the arboretum towards Bázakerettye.

After Budafapuszta begins a long, almost monotonous walk in the valley open with meadows and fields, on the country road leading to Kiscsehi. The P trail here meanders on the deforested hillsides — rather strenuous than scenic, so it is worth quickly completing this crossing section on the country road. At the Kiscsehi junction, we march on the asphalt road crossing opposite and shortly after on the gravel road turning right. Next to a forest house, there's a resting place, to the right we touch an old oak forest, but only an old, dismantled oil well assembly protruding from the ground deserves mention in the deforested valley. The P trail twists in a young forest at the upper end of the valley, then on the hilltop we reach the abandoned asphalt road at the valley bottom. From here, we continue long in a pleasant, old beech forest. Nothing breaks the forest atmosphere; there is little traffic on the road. After a few kilometers, a sign points to the right turning forestry road with the inscription Hármas-forrás (Triple Spring). Here on our way, we find the only natural spring, which, however, requires a few hundred meters detour.

The next junction’s sign already announces the Vétyem primeval beech forest, which we reach a few hundred meters later next to a resting place at the saddle. The beech forest so far is complemented here with serious ancient trunks, but the really large trees are found deep inside the area. Fortunately, special signs show their most important parameters, so we learn that the "Primeval Chief" guards at 49 meters height and three and a half meters circumference with memories of ancient forests, but we can also admire the giant trunk of "Primeval Mother" and the collapsed stump of the "Bracket fungus Tree" near the trail. The forest’s estimated age exceeds 200 years. It was placed under protection by the local foresters in 1976, and has been under increased protection as a natural area since the 1990s. Within the forest reserve program, specialists observe the natural life cycles of the forest without intervention, to compare the properties of managed forests to the natural state and development of climate-native "primeval" forests.

The glassworks, the chapel, and the bunker

We leave the primeval beech forest at the valley bottom with the sight of the giant tree crowns. Among the houses of the valley spreading meadows, we reach the former Vétyem-puszta, currently used by forestry. It was renewed as glassworks in the 19th century, a settlement destroyed during the Turkish era. From locally produced potash, charcoal, and Styrian raw materials, they made window glass and glass bottles for drinks. By the end of the century, glassmaking ceased here, and the settlement gradually became depopulated.

We follow the asphalt road leading through the meadows and valley for a while until at the next valley confluence’s timber loading site, the P trail turns into the forest. With a gentle climb, then serpentine on steeper terrain, we reach the hilltop again, where after a few hundred meters we step out among houses surrounded by orchards and vineyards. The Háromszenteki Chapel first greets us with its small bell tower in a yard equipped with folk life tools, where in summer there is also a water supply. The chapel was initially built of wood by a master who farmed here after the dissolution of the Vétyem-puszta glassworks, then twice renewed in stone with the cooperation of locals. Opposite the chapel, a great campsite has been developed with covered benches and tables, and a fireplace, from where the Zalaegerszeg TV tower and the Kőszeg Mountains can also be seen.

On the next ridge section, among the orchards, a few wattle-wall wine cellars with walls made of knobbly logs appear as heralds of old times. The Göcsej and Őrség typical construction style can be seen in every Zala settlement perched above the gardens, so here in the Páka border as well. At a right fork, we turn onto the P+ trail, which leads down persistently to the meeting of the Cserta and the Lower Vál Valley. Before returning to our starting point along the country road leading to Csömödér in the final section of our route, it is worth turning left into the forest to visit the memorial park of the former bunkers, where we can see the hidden observation posts, trenches, and machine gun nests in the woods. The fortress, built and maintained secretly during the communist regime, was intended to defend against an attack potentially coming from the southwest, from the imperialist states–sympathizing Yugoslavia. According to the description, even the soldiers stationed here in case of war did not know the exact location of the fortress but only practiced on its replica; luckily it was never used in real combat.

We reach Csömödér along the winding country road between arable fields and marshy meadows. At the first crossroads, turning right to the Csömödér narrow-gauge railway station, we come to the end of our long hike, where there is a small shop and public transportation options.