Walk to the top of Zselic

Itinerary

• From the end of the parking lot, follow the K sign (straight, not left) to the next junction.
• At a sign standing on the left, turn to the K▲ mark, which leads to the Hollófészek observation tower.
• From the observation tower, descend back to the K mark, which we follow to the parking lot.
• From the parking lot, follow the K◼ mark to the asphalt road branching off to the right.
• On the asphalt, then on unmarked paths, we walk around the Nagymáté hunting lodge park.
• Under the pavilion, we join the K● mark, on which we walk a few meters to the left.
• On the K◼ mark, we turn left and walk back to the parking lot.

Detailed description of the route

On the ridge of Zselic

At the end of the parking lot, at a corner of a game field, we step onto the slightly rising branch of the South Transdanubian Blue Trail marked with K, continuing straight, not to the left. Crossing the wave next to the field, then through an oak forest, after another short climb, we arrive at the sign on the left which attracts attention to the Hollófészek observation tower. We can reach the summit in 1-2 minutes on the K▲ mark.

The observation tower, built in 2023, breaks through the tall oak canopy, thus "raising" the 358-meter hilltop by 28 meters. At the base of the wooden tower is a covered resting place. From the viewing level, we can see the wooded waves of the Zselic and the entire Mecsek range to the east. In less humid weather, to the northwest, a few of the Balaton Uplands' witness hills (e.g., Badacsony) also appear, and the Keszthely Mountains can be seen, while to the south, beyond the Dráva plain, is the long mountainous chain of Papuk in Croatia. In the first half of the 20th century, an observation shelter already stood on the peak; this was replaced by the structure originally intended for Zengő by folk artist Győző Szatyor.

Herb garden in the forest

Turning back, we follow the K mark, and after the game field, on the K◼ mark, we head straight to visit the settlement around the Nagymáté hunting lodge. After leaving the parking lot, turn right onto the unmarked asphalt road, passing beautiful clearings and arriving at the hunting lodge next to the herb garden. In front of the small but attractive building in the green environment stands a bust of István Fekete, a deer statue, and if we enter the botanical garden, we can see a collection mainly of conifers along the short section of the István Fekete memorial trail.

The writer served as an assistant officer on the Majláth estate in Bakóca; his wife was also from there, and they married in the village. The autobiographical novel Ballagó idő immortalizes the years he spent in the area, and the boards of the educational trail mostly contain stories or excerpts written by István Fekete.

The hunting lodge was built roughly 10 years after the shrubs were planted, in the late 1970s, and today it operates as accommodation. It is worth taking a walk around the park surrounding the building, where a covered pavilion can also be found further down. Behind it, turning left on the K● mark, after a few meters, we reconnect with the K◼ mark (to the left). The sparsely inhabited settlement started its "career" as the estate farm of György Majláth, from which the small population settlement, Györgymajor, also gets its name. Walking around the houses, we reach the parking lot again on the wide road.