Under the Csitár Hills – the treasures of Northern Börzsöny

Itinerary

• From the parking lot, we follow the Nógrád green trails Z marking to reach the Hont Gorge.

• From the Hont Gorge, we return on the Nógrád green trails Z marking back to the parking lot, then continue following it through the village of Hont and over Vár Hill to Csitárpuszta.

• From Csitárpuszta, follow the P+ marking to reach Tábor Hill below Drégely Castle.
• From Tábor Hill, take a detour on the KL marking to Drégely Castle, then descend back there.
• From Tábor Hill, follow the K marking through Dragon Pass to Dobogó Hill.
• At Dobogó Hill, switch to the K+ marking heading right, which we follow until the junction of Z and K+.
• From the junction of Z and K+, descend on the Z marking back to the parking lot.

Detailed description of the route

The depth of the past

Starting from the parking lot on the western edge of Hont, we first admire the Hont Gorge. After a few meters on the main road, a small wooden sign and the Nógrád green trails Z marking show the way; turning onto the path, we soon reach the entrance to the valley, greeted by benches and an information board marking the start of the nature trail. We cross a small stream; the rich humus accumulated in the gorge provides nutrients for lush vegetation: fast-growing nettle, elderberry, and blackberry. Stairs make the short but wild path easier to navigate in the more exposed, slippery sections. After another rest, we soon reach the path's end, where we can admire a few-meter waterfall in the shade of the walls. It’s worth visiting here after snowmelt or rainfalls because the view becomes truly impressive with a higher water flow.

In the 1700s, the Zátori Stream “decided” after a huge downpour to shorten its path to the Ipoly River. The water carved deeper into the sandy clay marl, reaching harder calcareous clay, thus exposing the pre-volcanic rocks of the mountain range. In these layers, fingerprints of shells, snails, and corals can be found: memories of a 20-million-year-old shallow sea that once waved here.

Through Hont

After our time travel in the gorge ends, we return along the same path to the main road, then after crossing it, continue following the Nógrád green trails Z marking. Walking along Ipoly Street, we glimpse into the quiet village life of Hont and admire its neat houses. At first glance, the seemingly insignificant village has a long and rich history: settlement signs date back to the Paleolithic. In the Bronze Age, an earth fort stood here, and in the Middle Ages, it was the seat of Hont County, the ancient estate of the Hontpázmány clan. Difficult times came during Turkish rule; historical records say the village heads were massacred due to tax refusal to the Nógrád Bey. Its population lost many men even in World War I, and later being a border village and the closure of the railroad passing through did not encourage its development. In 2024, its population was 517.

The chapel of Csitár

Leaving the post office, the marking branches: right, we go onto an unnamed path leading to the main road, crossing it again and turning straight onto a slightly neglected dirt road running among black locust trees. We ascend slowly – the path is dotted with animal tracks and shows a muddy spot where few tread. At the top of Vár Hill, oak trees appear, and after crossing a meadow, we start descending again among acacias. Soon some buildings appear, then a well and a chapel nestled among pines: we arrive at Csitárpuszta, to the “miracle-working” Kutyika spring and the adjacent pilgrimage site. According to the story, a shepherd prayed for healing for his blind son, and after washing the boy’s eyes with the spring water, he regained his sight. The holy spring’s fame spread in the area, several miraculous healings happened, and more and more pilgrims started visiting the well. At the sanctuary, a chapel was built, a Lourdes cave was created in honor of the Virgin Mary, and the bronze statue of the shepherd boy was placed. It’s no surprise the place became popular: idyllic, soul-refreshing landscapes with far-reaching meadows and friendly animals await visitors.

The Szondi tunnel

We leave Csitárpuszta on the P+ marking, which briefly follows a dirt road then turns left onto a path crossing a small bridge over the Csitár stream. Crossing the riverside meadow, we reach the Szondi Tunnel: where the forest begins, we see a cavity carved into the hillside, once closed by an iron gate, now fallen and freely accessible. This underground passage is still surrounded by legend, and has not been fully explored as cleaning filled-in passages would be costly. Local folklore strongly holds that the tunnel was connected to Drégely Castle, and through this secret route, the castle inhabitants went to pray at the Csitár chapel. It is certain that human hands carved the tunnels, 80-100 cm wide and originally human height, meant truly for passage without rooms or storage widenings. The explored part of the system branches several times, but its main direction goes towards the castle. However, it should cover a great distance: the castle is more than three kilometers away, and the elevation difference is significant, so it is presumed that it was actually a mining exploratory tunnel.

Continuing on the P+ marking, we walk across a narrow mowing meadow by the Csitár stream. Underfoot is water mint, with alder trees rising at the sides. After about 500 meters, we climb a dam embankment; behind it lies the beautiful Csitár reservoir lake, operated also as a fishing pond. Continuing straight along a sandy forest road, we pass a forest edge, then a smaller field; a sign at a bend indicates entering a national park area. Turning left, we find the Kútberek tourist house, which currently serves as both a hiker’s accommodation and a nomad camp site.

Szondi castle

Next to the tourist house, a forest road climbs steadily through oak-hornbeam woods, lending a truly meditative mood to the next section of our trip. Following the P+ marking, we turn left onto the northern hillside contour line, where cooler microclimate allows beech trees to appear. Turning right we step again onto a climbing, somewhat more remote forest road, then after a short steeper section, the road bends gently left, continuing comfortably along the hillside. At one point, we reach a grove of oaks, and a view opens: we can see the far-stretching Ipoly valley and beyond, the Slovak side, the Korpona hills. We tackle a steep ascent to the ridge and, “weaving” with the K marking arriving at the Drégely castle saddle and the P marking arriving from Deszkáspuszta. A sign marks the trace of Lake Varga, which once served as a watering place and, according to legend, got its name because Ali Pasha threw the skinned leather of the castle’s betraying shoemaker here after filling him with promised gold. Walking about 200 m further on the K marking, we reach Tábor Hill – named after the besiegers who camped here – up to the junction of the KL marking leading to Drégely Castle, where we climb up to the castle standing at 444m. We get to the highest part of the ruins by stone stairs and a short tunnel, from where a breathtaking panorama opens up over the dense surrounding forests, Börzsöny, and far away we can see beyond Slovakia and Cserhát in the direction of Mátra.

The Drégely Castle was built by the Hontpázmány clan after the Tatar invasion, ordered by King Béla IV. After Buda fell into Ottoman hands in 1541, it became part of the new line of fortresses alongside Eger, Visegrád, and Nógrád. Although intended, the castle was never modernized militarily and remained outdated. In July 1552, during the Northern Hungary Turkish campaign, Ali Pasha’s army from Buda arrived here. The appointed captain, György Szondi, faced overwhelming forces: 10-12 thousand attackers against 146 defenders, who nonetheless held the castle for three days, then broke out instead of surrendering, fighting heroically to the death. This dramatic story was sung by several Hungarian poets such as Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos, Ferenc Kölcsey, and most famously, János Arany.

Descent

From the castle, we descend back to the saddle and continue along the K marking, which mostly runs straight on the ridge or its side. We walk on gentle terrain, sometimes in oak groves or along blackberry bushes bordering clearing edges. Soon we reach Dragon Pass, where we get a little outlook on the central block of Börzsöny. On the left, at the junction with the KΩ marking, we can reach the Oszlai trench, which according to the word of mouth, was the hideout of the outlaw Sisa Pista. We continue straight ahead, climbing to Kőkapu hill, the highest point of our tour at 460 m. The marking turns northwest, changing to a path – initially, we can stay on the forest road, which is a more comfortable alternative compared to the sometimes untrodden, rocky marked path. Upon reaching Dobogó Hill, we switch to the K+ marking, which soon starts descending and crosses the Zátori stream admired as a waterfall at the beginning of the tour.

Reaching above Hont Gorge, a small path branches off, from where we can look down into the gorge from above. On the left, the Z marking joins, and shortly, the K+ marking turns left – on this and the branching K▲ markings, we can take a detour to the Kukucska Hill lookout. The Z marking returns us to the parking lot cutting across the hillside on a somewhat less-used path.