From Muráň Castle to the untouched wilderness of the Muránska Planina

Itinerary

• The route starts at the center of Muráň (Muráňalja), at the parking lot built next to the mayor's office (Obecný úrad Muráň) (Parkovisko Hrad Muráň) (there is also a bus stop here).
• From the village center, the P trail leads up to the shelter called Chata pod Muránskym hradom.
• On the P trail, we make a detour to the castle (Muránsky hrad) and then descend back down.
• From the shelter, we continue on the K trail to the corner of the Big Meadow (Veľká lúka).
• From the meadow, we follow the P trail to the left towards the Maretkiná forester's lodge.
• From the Maretkiná forester's lodge, we make a detour on the P trail to the left up to the Poludnica viewpoint.
• We continue on the P trail, passing through the Studňa mountain meadow and encounter the Muráň ice cave (Ľadová jama na Muráni), followed by a smaller but also marked viewpoint (Vyhl. Hrdlisko), and then reach the shelter named Útulňa Nižná Kľaková located on the Nižná Kľaková meadow.
• We continue from the meadow on the S trail, descending into the valley of the Hrdzavý stream.
• Returning to the village (Muráňalja/Muráň), the K trail leads back to the center.

Detailed description of the route

The hidden plateau

Heading north from Rimavská Sobota, following the Rima (Rimava) valley, we are increasingly surrounded by mountains, until at Tisovec, we encounter a spectacular 'wall'. This is the southern side of the Muránska Planina (Muráň plateau), which shows its most beautiful face when approaching Muráňalja (Muráň): the winding country road leads through beautiful mountain meadows, and to the left, we see soaring limestone cliffs. When we reach Muráňalja (Muráň), the most well-known and visited site of the mountain range emerges before our eyes, the steep 935-meter-high Cigánka outcrop, though the castle built on the rock is not clearly visible from the road. If we travel north from Tisovec towards Brezno, we cross the atmospheric Betyár Pass (Sedlo Zbojská), where we enjoy a genuine Carpathian landscape surrounded by coniferous forests and alpine meadows, and where one of Europe's last standard gauge cogwheel steam locomotives still operates. Nevertheless, this is not yet the Muránska Planina itself, which does not stand out even from the much higher Low Tatras to the north of the mountain range.

The central part of the Gömör–Szepesi Ore Mountains, also known as the Slovak Ore Mountains (Slovenské rudohorie), was once known for its significant mining history in Tisovec. The Muránska Planina itself remains largely hidden because of the surrounding mountains. Established in 1997, the Muránska Planina National Park protects its most valuable parts, especially the incredibly steep, rocky mountain sides, which provide shelter for endemic species (including the highly precious Muráň rococo flower found only here) and undisturbed forests.

There's no doubt, if we want to taste the wild rocky world of this mountain range and discover its magnificent mountain meadows, we need to put on hiking boots!

In the spacious fortress of Muráň Castle

From Muráňalja (Muráň), the steep P trail leads up to Slovakia's third highest castle. Though in the Upper Hungary region, less ravaged by the Turks, there are surely more spectacular and intact castles, Muráň's fortress will still surprise nature lovers who appreciate historical perspectives. It is not easy to conquer, considering there is a 550-meter elevation difference.

From the pub standing in the saddle, we can approach the castle on a charming cobbled path, with ancient stone steps below the castle gate. At the top, we find something a bit different than expected: scattered remains of the former massive fortress units on a fairly spacious plateau, surrounded by forest. The most famous is the Cigány tower on the southern outcrop, the oldest part of the castle, which also offers a spectacular view. Particularly interesting are the former water tanks, which were filled from a nearby spring and collected rainwater, and the ruins of the former stables, the captain's house, the prisons, and several other buildings can also be seen. An unmissable viewpoint is the bastion on the northern part of the castle, from where we get a magnificent panorama of the tourist shelter area and Murányhuta. The fact that we can walk the castle on a breezy plateau today vividly recalls its former grandeur.

The castle's origins fade into historical obscurity, first mentioned in 1271 in a donation letter of King Stephen V. Sigismund of Luxembourg granted it with its customs to the Bebek family of Pelsőc in 1435, and Muráňalja was established in 1321 as a village belonging to the castle. Ownership passed from hand to hand as often happened in history, reaching its first heyday in the 1600s when events in and with the castle inspired famous writers and poets.

"This nature strengthened it more, / Than the mason's work did, / Around it surrounded by such stone-rock, / The sight of which shatters heads". In István Gyöngyösi’s 1664 narrative poem (Venus of Muráň in company with Mars), we not only read a beautiful description of the castle's location but also learn how Ferenc Wesselényi, then captain of Fülek, took the castle, and how in 1644 he won the hand of the castle widow, Mária Széchy. The notable historical romance was later sung by János Arany and Sándor Petőfi.

"Muráň Castle still stands in virgin condition / On an inaccessible rock top, / Proudly overlooking the valley's flatlands, / Facing the attacking forces of Ferenc Wesselényi," wrote Arany in his poem The Siege of Muráň. The Széchy family, owners of the castle at that time, supported Prince György Rákóczi I of Transylvania, and the 'Venus of Muráň', Mária Széchy, cunningly handed over the fortress to Count Ferenc Wesselényi, castle captain of Fülek, bringing it under Habsburg control. After the Treaty of Szatmár, the castle lost its importance and began to slowly decay. From 1720, Count István Koháry owned the castle until 1816, when it passed to the Coburg family. In the 1840s, they built the tourist shelter (now home to the pub), which was also visited by Sándor Petőfi. The castle had another famous owner, Ferdinand from the Coburg family, who became the Bulgarian tsar in 1887. As a hunter and botanist, he often roamed the Muránska Planina and in 1867 built the charming house still visible near the shelter, originally home to the castle gatekeeper. The tourist shelter (Chata pod Muránskym hradom) now operates as a hostel, but the pub is mainly open on weekends.

The Hucul stud

Another characteristic location of the national park, the Big Meadow (Veľká lúka), which lies north of the castle (though not visible from there), can be reached on the K trail by a pleasant walk. Our path also passes through a forest reserve, of which there are quite a few along steep cliffs, creating a unique atmosphere. The meadow is a polje, the largest closed depression form of karst areas. Though the view of the densely pine-forested meadow is impressive, our attention is surely captured by the famous Muráň stud grazing here throughout the year. The preservation of the Muráň Norik horse breed is carried out here, and the horses also play an important nature conservation role by preventing the afforestation of the meadow, which is home to rare plant species. If the stud is not visible from the trail corner at the meadow's edge, it is worth walking a bit along the asphalt road towards the buildings on the other side.

On the plateau

The southern cliff edge of the mountain range may remind us of the Bükk Mountains, and the parallel of the stud grazing on this magnificent mountain meadow surely strengthens this impression. But the best is yet to come! Following the P trail from the meadow, we reach the Maretkiná forester's lodge after about an hour's walk, from where it is worth making a short few-minute detour to visit the Poludnica viewpoint, offering a dizzying view of the essence of the Muránska Planina, a wild and untouched rocky world built mostly from Triassic limestone.

We soon leave the gravel road leading to the forester's lodge and venture into the forest of the plateau, characterized by an elevation between 900 and 1400 meters above sea level. The similarity to Bükk will be even stronger here, as the plateau features a series of mountain meadows, but surrounded by authentic Carpathian pine forests.

One characteristic example of these meadows is Studňa, where the Muráň ice cave (Ľadová jama na Muráni) also opens. The narrow rock crevice on the cold plateau can preserve ice until mid-summer. The karst plateau topping at Fabova hoľa, 1439 meters high, is about 25 km long and hosts about 150 caves and many other karst formations. The well named after the meadow is located beside the hiking trail, so it's worth filling our supplies there!

From here begins the real adventure route, which with only small elevation differences links up the charming mountain meadows embraced by pine forests, all the way to the Nižná Kľaková clearing (along the way, we also pass another viewpoint much closer to the path - Vyhl. Hrdlisko). Here we find a quite well-maintained shelter, where about 15 people can comfortably spend the night with proper equipment. In Slovakia, some houses formerly used as shepherd lodgings or seasonal shelters for forest workers were put into the service of nature tourism, and in various quality, mostly unmanned huts (útulňa), overnight stays are free. This shelter meets all needs: it is located in a beautiful environment, is in good condition, we can sleep comfortably on the simple bunks, and there is a spring beside it. (However, in limestone areas, it's worth refilling our water bottles at every possible source because we can never be sure if all springs are really operational).

Farewell to the wilderness

From the shelter, we can visit the rock of Skalná brána by a narrow one-kilometer detour (S trail) for another fabulous panorama and farewell to the unique world of the plateau. Our path, however, continues in the other direction from the clearing, also following the S trail. From there, we continuously descend (passing another spring), first on the mountainside and then on the gravel road winding through the valley of the Hrdzavý stream. Although this section offers limited views, a stop is definitely worth it at the beautiful gorge protected by the forest reserve of Hrdzavá. The farewell ends at the border of Muráňalja (Muráň), where we leave the national park behind through a spectacular gate.