Viewing Rocks above Miskolc

Itinerary:

• From Majális Park, we follow the Z signs across Gulicska to the top of Fehérkő-lápa.
• We walk out to Fehér-kő along the Z▲ signs.
• A few meters back from Fehér-kő, we walk back along the Z▲ signs.
• At the junction, we turn right downhill onto the Z+ signs, which connect to the Z signs.
• Returning to the Z signs, we walk downhill to the edge of Lillafüred.
• We reach the narrow-gauge railway station along the P signs.

Detailed description of the hike:

Climbing in the northern forests

We start our hike at the bus terminus of Majális Park on the eastern edge of Bükk. The wooden building behind the parking lot is indeed named the Gate of Bükk; behind it lies the Herman Ottó Memorial Park showcasing the characteristic tree communities of the mountain range. We set off along the Z signs in the forest under the narrow-gauge railway near the Szinva stream. The gravel path along the stream is a comfortable start to the increasingly steep climb to the summit. Following the stream that plays with the riverside trees, the comfortable gravel path reaches a footbridge after a few hundred meters, beyond which we leave the small farm and enter the Bükk wilderness.

Across the narrow-gauge railway, two old oak trees greet us in what was once an oak forest. Such old trees in sparse forests are usually legacy or seed trees ensuring natural regeneration after clearcutting. At our starting point, before the Majális Park stop, near the end of Diósgyőr, stands a paper factory with a long tradition that consumed the Bükk forests for centuries. Even today, paper used for banknotes is produced here with the utmost care.

The forestry road gently climbs through a single-species forest. After a few hundred meters, we cross another narrow-gauge railway track; this line still operates toward Lillafüred-Garadna. Originally, the timber transport railways were used for passenger service by the mid-20th century, bringing tourists to popular destinations: Lillafüred, the Old Blast Furnace, the Trout Stream, and the Garadna loading terminus. Until the mid-20th century, the narrow-gauge railway ran from Miskolc city center, near the St. Anne Church, into the Bükk; after tram line construction, the lower terminus was relocated to Diósgyőr.

After a couple of hundred meters, we arrive at a forestry road through a gentle, monotonous oak forest where an old, dried-up beech greets us at the border of a new forest section. Beyond the forestry road, we enter the old beech forest of Bánya-bükk valley. The beeches in the northern side valleys, adapted to colder conditions, stand out in the drier local climate with their gray trunks shining in the shaded forest like steel pillars supporting an emerald roof. The path becomes steeper as we ascend the valley in Bánya-bükk — fallen thick beech trunks also complicate progress. We enter a naturally regenerated young forest, edged with old, steel-gray beeches at the valley’s edge. Maple, ash, wild cherry, and elder trees mix with the main tree species, forming a true mixed forest, typical for clearings. The tallest beech eventually dominates the area where conditions suit it, while other mixed trees remain in the lower canopy layers.

We sidestep right from the steep valley to the Tűzköves saddle, cross a forestry road, and climb further along the Gulicska ridge through mixed forest. Here, on the sunnier, wide ridge, the mixed forest is ideal, though the uniform age of trees indicates former clearcutting. Near the ridge, the extra sunlight supports thorn, hawthorn, and sloe bushes, representing the rich shrub layer typical of karst scrub forest on rocky slopes.

On the white rocks of the Bükk edge

The hiking path snakes in wide curves on the upper part of Bánya-bükk; the sparse forest on the western edge of the ridge becomes increasingly visible. We bypass the summit widely from the east, then reach a clearing observation point in the thinning forest. Here it is worth walking a few meters down a wide, unmarked path to the rocks standing at Gulicska’s western cliff; from here opens the most beautiful and complete panorama.

From the worn white rocks, you can see the northeastern escarpment of Bükk, the greater part of the Kis-fennsík plateau with the deeply incised Garadna valley. Far below lies the deeply sunken Mély valley; in the distance, the white viewing rocks of inner Bükk stand out: Magos-kő, Sólyom-kő, and Köpűs-kő, above which the sparse beeches of Örvény-kő delineate the arc of the Kis-fennsík top. Below, the sinkhole of the Szinva valley is only visible by hint, but the white rocks of Hámori and in winter the smoke columns reveal the settlement. Behind them to the north stretches a series of mountain chains descending into the Sajó valley and rising up again beyond Gömörország to the Tatras. On clear winter and spring days, from the jagged High Tatras to the long ridge of the Low Tatras and as far as the mountains above Banská Bystrica, the snowy peaks of the Tatras sparkle.

The route follows the sparse side below the ridge, close to contour, through the sparse karst scrub forest. We cut through the Devil’s Furrow, a rocky terrain furrowed along its layers, below Gulicska. We cross a charming small hollow, then in the Vadalmás slope among thorns, hawthorns, and wild roses, on a rocky path twisting around ankles, we descend to the upper hollow of the Mély valley gorge. At the valley head, the K+ marks coming from Hámor join from the right; together we climb up to the forest edge guarded by old beeches. Among thick trunks and rows of wild cherries, we step out to the former hay meadow, the long clearing of Hegyes-rét. On the right are remains of a windmill, beside which we cross straight to the other side of the meadow.

Entering bushy forest, we cross a forestry road, then on the next upper road turn right, circling the northern side of Nagy-hegy at contour. At a crossroads, we reach the Fehérkőlápa tourist house. Its entrance on the south side welcomes hungry and tired hikers. It is definitely a good opportunity for rest, shelter, and refreshment at this forest house, located at the highest point of the hike. If we do not want to enter or the building is closed, a hundred meters south along the P signs springs the St. Stephen Spring, where we can wash our face and take water for the next part of the route. The house was built in 1930 with the same function it has today and was destroyed twice in its history: once in World War II, and again by a fire in 1997. After that, the new (and current) owner rebuilt it himself.

West of the house, a forestry road winds through clearings where we follow the Z signs out to the Fehérkő-lápa saddle; here we switch from the Z to Z▲ signs. We walk among old beeches on an increasingly rocky and steep slope; near a small rocky ridge, the path passes a collapsed cavity. On the sparser, lighter side, we turn onto the last rocky outcrop and reach the striated surface viewpoint of Fehér-kő between rocky pinnacles. The sudden opening depth below the 20-meter-tall vertical rock is breathtaking.

Far below, the tectonically incised Szinva valley lies about two hundred meters beneath, while the eastern escarpment of the Bükk plateau towers like a cliff on the opposite side. Fehér-kő, with its tectonically tilted layers and mirror-like smooth limestone slabs, is one of Hungary’s most impressive scenery rocks and one of the most special rock climbing spots—especially in winter, when the sunlit walls have a unique microclimate due to the reflected sunlight.

Descent to Lillafüred

From Fehér-kő, we walk back along the side path, continuing from the hole-in-the-rock along the descending branch of the Z+ signs. In the hall-like, tall beeches, we cross the other side of the hollow and join the Z path on the forestry road. We descend through a steep hollow with eroded, soft clay shale bedrock between Fehér-kő and the neighboring ridge, winding between two ridges. Around halfway, the serpentine curves lead out to a gentler ridge where a small rest place and a rock ledge with limited views await.

After countless bends, the hollow flows into the Szinva valley. We also join the flat promenade, continuing along the Z signs. This walkway was cut into the rocky hillside when Lillafüred was constructed. A Maria statue framed by a tufa arch greets us at the valley floor continuation of the Fehér-kő range. It is clear that the tilted limestone slabs protrude from the hillside on the opposite side as well. A small tunnel carved into the rock leads further along the atmospheric promenade, winding between the rocks down to the valley floor.

The Z signs cross in front of the Lillafüred buffet parking lot, leading to the other side of the restaurants, which can be convenient if we get hungry during the hike. However, the P signs follow a more beautiful route on the right side of the stream, passing rocky cliffs and small waterfalls along the promenade. We cross the old embankment of the railway climbing the Szinva valley and enter the tourist park planted with ornamental trees via a small bridge. Near the romantically connected wooden narrow-gauge railway station building, we arrive next to a restaurant with a tilted roof called “Alpine.”