Wandering in the Archbishopric's forests

Itinerary:

• From the visitor center, we walk on an unmarked path to the final stop of the forest railway.
• On the K trail, we pass through the wildlife park and traverse beneath the Tiba well at the foot of the mountains.
• The K● trail leads up to the Tiba well, from where we continue on the P● trail to the saddle below Eged Hill.
• We take a short detour on the P▲ trail to the Great Eged viewpoint.
• From the saddle, we return on the P trail through the Várkút tourist house to the Vasbánya saddle.
• We descend towards Felsőtárkány on the Zsérci road following the K/ trail to the village boundary, then climb up to the rocky outcrop above Felsőtárkány Lake, then return to our starting point.

Detailed tour description:

At the border of Felsőtárkány, on the contour path of the Tárkány Valley edge

Setting out from the edge of Felsőtárkány facing the mountain, from the Kő-köz leading into the depths of the Bükk, from the shore of Felsőtárkány Lake, beside the Bükk National Park Western Gate Visitor Center, we head in the exact opposite direction to the Bükk center. On the unmarked Ifjúság road, we head west along the tracks of the forestry railway. At the current terminus, we can see a piece of industrial history of the 20th century mechanized forestry, which once connected the tracks climbing into the mountains with the broad-gauge state railways in the Eger stream valley.

Though we only touch the narrow-gauge railway track at the very beginning of our route, it is interesting why the track, which otherwise descends towards Felnémét, climbs the hillside here. The original narrow-gauge railway cut through Felsőtárkány into the southern Bükk wilderness to facilitate efficient wood transportation, but the local population displeased by the disruptive train removed the rails one night. To calm things down, a new track was built that avoided the village along the hillside. Later, a branch was built to a dolomite mine operating on the side of Vár Hill, which kept the railway transport, displaced by trucks, alive until it ceased before the regime change. Nowadays the former railway embankment is used by a bike path, which joins the Bükk Blue K trail. This will guide the first section of our tour.

We safely bypass the village sports field on the K trail, then entering the forest on the far side, we leave the railway cut on a gently ascending oak path. Soon we reach the hilltop among majestic oak trees, crossing the old railway cut climbing the dolomite quarry. Above us towers Vár Hill and the block of Nagy-Oltár bordered by steep slopes. On the gentler terrain lies the site of the bishop's game reserve, testified now only by the map and the rich wildlife preserved in the forest reserve. On the edge of strictly protected oak forests, along a grader road running close to the contour between the cliff and the gentle foothill slopes, we skirt the mountain. On the return, we pass by the Várkút tourist house near the edge of the forest reserve on Vár Hill.

We cross a small valley, on the far side of which once stood the local nature walking association's tourist house—now lost without a trace. Here, the contour path becomes especially winding: we circle the projections of the parallel ridges of Kis- and Nagy-Tiba hills towering above us, then after over a kilometer of winding, we leave it, abandon the Bükk Blue trail, and ascend on the K● trail up the next small valley to the Tiba well.

At the Great Eged viewpoint, the southwestern guard post of the Bükk

At the end of a water erosion, a small stone structure marks the well, now filled with debris. Over the clogged well, a ruined bench recalls better times. From here, we continue on the P● trail along the back of the Great Eged in the gentle forest. Under the protection of dense oak canopy, we overcome most of the ascent. In the saddle behind the Great Eged, we meet the P trail, which we will follow back, but we take a short side trip to the summit on the P▲ trail branching off to the right from the saddle. Here the forest thins, and the rocky summit is home to a shrub-rich oak community. After a resting place on the summit, we reach the ruined lookout tower erected at the highest point. From a clearing widening at the edge of the summit, a panorama unfolds over the town sprawling at the mountain foot, the Eger stream valley, and the surrounding hills and vineyards. Beyond the hills, the dark volcanoes of the Mátra rise, with Hungary's highest point at the center. Northwest on clear days, the Karancs-Medves volcanic area appears, while to the south, the forested hills of the Southern Bükk descend into the misty infinity of the Great Plains. Looking north from the summit's meadow, we see the Bükk plateau, which shows itself most completely from here at the southern edge of the mountain range. The white line of the viewing rocks can be followed from Hármakő to the truncated Bél-kő, clearly showing the highest Tar-kő and the rockiest Pes-kő.

On the Turkish road, at the edge of the Várhegy forest reserve

Our return follows the P trail from the saddle below Great Eged. On the P▲ trail, we retrace our steps, taking a few steps on the P● marks, then continue on the P trail along the ridge, following the summits with gentle undulations. Our path leads through pleasant oak forests; sometimes glimpses emerge through the foliage of the surrounding, lower landscape. We follow a special, long southwestern projection of the Bükk range here; to the northwest lies the wide valley of the Tárkány stream, to the south the rolling foothill hills blend into the Great Plains.

We bypass the summit of Bikk-bérc from the west, then the path turns north, and after a small saddle begins climbing the block of Vár Hill. Climbing to the Bükkös-peak saddle, we step among ancient beech trees entering the protective zone of the Várhegy forest reserve. From here to the border of Felsőtárkány, we continue within the protective zone of the reserve. The forest visibly loses its previous monotony, where beech and oak dominate according to the mountain slope's orientation. We mostly walk through mixed forest here, supported by some ancient specimens. A few forest huts and summer houses appear on the steep side as we connect with the road climbing from Noszvaj; cottages multiply along the gravel strip. At the road's end, a small clearing welcomes us, edged by the Várkút tourist house.

Idyllic surroundings at the edge of the wild Várhegy reserve, a sun-drenched forest clearing where the Várkút tourist house welcomes nature lovers. During the season, it provides accommodation and refreshments; on weekends, the house is more likely open. On the far side of the meadow is the source of the Vár Hill block's highest spring, the Vár-kút; next to it, a resting place and a shelter attract under the shade of oak ancient trees. A Virgin Mary shrine also stands here at the upper end of the clearing for protection of workers on the mountain.

After the Várkút clearing, we continue climbing on the steep eastern side of Vár Hill. Fortunately, the route clever and gently ascends following the gentlest terrain. This route dates back to the Middle Ages: it was the path of raiding troops from the Eger center that served as an Ottoman Empire outpost castle. Accordingly, it remained remembered as the Turkish road, which follows the southern ridge across the Bükk plateau and overlooks the northern side of the Bükk region. On the highest point of our tour, the Várhegy section of the Turkish road, we bypass a rocky ridge where the canopy opens southeast in the rocky forest. This is the Kövesdi lookout, where indeed we can see towards Mezőkövesd, although especially clear weather is necessary to spot the matyó capital. However, we can watch the villages nestled at the edge of the Southern Bükk forest: below are the houses of Noszvaj, Bükkzsérc, and Szomolya. The forested ridges of the southern Bükk ripple extensively towards the Great Plains.

After the rocky viewpoint, we start descending through a gnarly mossy oak forest. Here we follow the edge of the reserve from Vár Hill through the Vasbánya saddle to the northern side of Csáki-pilis. The Vasbánya saddle welcomes us with a small rest area, where we join the Zsérci road, though in the opposite direction towards Felsőtárkány on the diagonal P+ and K trails.

From the Vasbánya saddle, we gradually climb on an increasingly steep road northward. At the Kőbánya marsh, at the northern foot of Csák-pilis, the wagon road cuts deeply into the hillside. We still descend on the edge of the forest reserve, visible by the size of the old trees lining the road. Below the northern scarp, the trail merges into a wide grader road, where soon on the right we reach the area of the old pioneer camp. From here, we pass buildings serving tourism. Below the Táltos restaurant, we already walk on asphalt leading back to the village sports field.

However, it is worth leaving this route: just above the conference center, a path enters the oak forest, guided further by the K diagonal trail. As a final attraction, the K diagonal trail winds up onto the rock above Felsőtárkány Lake, offering excellent views of the village and the lake, exactly towards the sunset direction. This small detour crowns the string of views collected during our tour. We descend from the rock along the K diagonal trail to Felsőtárkány Lake, completing our circular route.