Kaposmérő – Abaliget railway station (DDK-08)

Itinerary

During the route, you must follow the K sign all the way.

• From Kaposmérő we walk through Kaposdada to Szenna.
• After Szenna, Patca is the next destination.
• Going around Katica farm, we pass through Szilvásszentmárton and arrive at Zselickisfalud.
• We go across the hills to the connecting road to the Zselic Star Park.
• Turning north, we reach Simonfa after a long walk.
• Following a ridge, we descend to Gálosfa.
• After a forest walk, we pass by the small Felsőkövesd.
• Just going around the peak of Hollófészek, we arrive at Abaliget railway station.

Detailed description of the route

Kaposmérő – Szenna

We start from Kaposmérő in the valley of the Kapos River to explore the Zselic. Near the cemetery of the settlement easily reachable from the county seat, the K sign turns off from the main road southwards, where we begin the stage with a stamp at the information board. The sign soon leaves the settlement and leads a long way on an asphalt road. We cross over the river, and behind the dammed fishpond we get a taste of the typical Zselic landscape: a combination of groves-grassy hills and scattered farm buildings. Along the Bárdi stream, a nicely designed building complex appears: this is the property of Lajos Kassai, an archery master who created the center of Hungarian horseback archery here.

Continuing on asphalt on the bicycle path developed on the track of the Kaposmérő–Középrigóc railway branch line that operated between 1905 and 1979, we reach Kaposdada at a charming small lake. Here we leave the former railway track and climb a ridge, walking through the tidy houses and weekend plots of the district. At a stone cross, passing the last house, we say goodbye for a while to the inhabited area and the paved road.

The landscape opens up; gently rolling, flat ridges surround us as we walk along arable lands. Although it may be tempting to immerse yourself in the Zselic scenery, we must be careful not to walk towards a nearby group of trees, as a painted sign on a post warns that we must turn sharply right. For the next kilometers, we also proceed carefully, as it is difficult to notice the turnoffs while wandering on the slightly monotonous sandy cart track. We reach the edge of the ridge by the forest and agricultural fields, where the village of Szenna unfolds in the valley before us. We can spot the whitewashed tower of the small reform church built on a tiny hill from afar, while contemplating the idyllic landscape enhanced by a small lake and winding path.

Before entering the settlement, we have to cross a nameless stream through an alder and alder stand, then through patches of hornbeam and acacia forest. A few minutes later, we reach the village, where the K sign leads to the right on the main street, but it is certainly worth making a short detour to the left towards the village's attraction, the open-air museum. The outdoor exhibition built around the previously identified church displays typical 19th-century folk architecture houses of Somogy: one-room, smoke kitchen, and pantry farms with half-timbered houses. The houses relocated from their original locations form a small street; the farm buildings on the plots reflect the economic status of the former inhabitants. The museum's most beautiful monument is the Reformed church built in folk baroque style in 1785, with a painted wooden coffered ceiling, still actively used by the locals.

Leaving Szenna southwards, with barely a hundred meters detour, we can press the next stamp into our booklet on a café terrace.

Szenna – Zselickisfalud

We leave Szenna behind on a path parallel to the highway, then approach the next forest patch on a dirt road through huge wheat fields. Descending gently, we walk in cool, mixed forest, passing smaller beech woods, then groups of acacia, oak, and alder. We reach the thin stream of the Csipány spring and the nearby resting place – their surroundings are rather wild after nearly a decade of development.

Leaving the forest, we arrive at Somogy county's smallest settlement. We quickly walk through Patca's neat little street, home to about fifty residents, which leads directly to the region's largest tourist center, Katica farm. Founded in 2001, this facility has grown into a huge adventure center with over sixty different indoor and outdoor play opportunities, various accommodations, a restaurant, and beautiful surroundings. However, for now, following the K sign, we circle the farm on a steeply rising asphalt road. After the grassy plateau, a short forest walk, then a ravine leads down to the settlements built on both banks of the Szentmártoni ditch.

Our route first leads through the main street of Szilvásszentmárton, then we turn to Zselickisfalud beside a charming, rest spot-equipped, dammed fishpond. At the far end of the village, on the information board in front of Vándor hostel, we can stamp before heading into the inner, protected area of the Zselic, avoiding settlements for a long time.

Zselickisfalud – Simonfa

A new loess hollow path, that is, a ravine leads up to the forest, but soon, emerging from the trees, a wide Zselic panorama opens: distant, mosaic-covered flat hills wave in both directions; closer, we enjoy the chain of fields. Not for long, as we already see the entrance to the largest, contiguous forest of the central Zselic, marked by a barrier and an information board indicating the boundary of the nature reserve. The route follows Lobokai road lined with acacia trees, which historically connected the Esterházy estates and farms, where we first encounter the special silver linden-beech forest community. These two tree species, preferring different environments, coexist only in the Zselic in Hungary, favored by the combination of climatic elements and higher than average precipitation.

A sign along the widening cart track shows we are at the Millennium Linden Tree Alley. In 1896, following the decree of Ignác Darányi, Minister of Agriculture, 400 linden trees were planted here, of which only about 70 remain. We join a forestry road approaching Kardosfa, the former hunting center. In the mid-1700s, the first hunting lodge in the Zselic was built here for the head huntsman, around which a small settlement later developed with forester, head huntsman, and forest warden residences and offices. Like many other Zselic settlements during the 20th century, Kardosfa became depopulated. However, the forester’s lodges have since been converted into a hotel and recently a guesthouse where overnight stays are possible. It is worth spending a night here, as nearby – via a short detour from the Blue Trail – is the Zselic Star Park. This protected area, designated since 1976, has such low light pollution that in 2009 it was the first in Europe to receive the Dark Sky Park status. In the Star Park, with telescopes and a planetarium, we can study the night sky up close, with experts helping visitors navigate the bright spots, while the observation tower offers a magnificent view of the surrounding hills.

The K sign continues on a forested but asphalt road, surrounded by the other special forest community of Zselic: the silver linden-hornbeam-oak woods. The path soon leads to a beautifully situated, well-developed rest area by Ropolyi Lake. This wide, hill-surrounded meadow is a popular excursion spot, offering fishing pond, grassy meadow, shaded promenade, benches, tables, a fire pit, and even an oven. In the reed-roofed countryside house by the road, one can learn about the cultural history of Zselic with original folk ceramics and furnishings, while the nature guard house on the lakeside serves as an information center for pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders.

A spectacular chestnut tree row accompanies us to neighboring Ropolypuszta, an Esterházy estate built on the medieval Rupul settlement site. We climb a ridge again: through young beech woods, we reach a wide stagecoach road that once connected Kaposvár and Szigetvár through the Zselic forest. We walk a long way on the sandy ridge road before entering a forest at a rest area. In the linden-mixed forest along the road, beehives are often placed, so take care when passing by in summer.

We descend on a wooded road with bumpy soil into the valley of Zselickislaki stream, then climb out on a short, steep slope. Crossing through the luxuriant vegetation of Pölöskei meadow waist-high, and bypassing a forest patch on the left, we soon reach the side of the 67 road leading to Simonfa, famously sung in song. A few minutes later, we reach the charming, tidy village built in the Zselic valley, where there is a shop, spring water, and accommodations. At the upper end, in a steep street stands the Meteor hostel, with a stamp box beside it.

Simonfa – Abaliget railway station

Since the Zselic settlements lie in stream valleys, on arrival and return roads we often encounter loess hollow paths. From Simonfa, a distinctive ravine leads out, with tree roots visibly gripping the vertical sides. On the plateau, beside the buildings of a riding hall and grassy areas, we continue along an avenue. According to the signpost, we stand in an area named Fáizó, whose unusual name recalls an old landowner custom. "Faizás" was the provision to serfs, mainly for heating, tool, and building repair wood taken from the lord’s forest. Later, the term also referred to the natural wood supply or logging rights granted to officials, as well as to clergy.

We arrive at the last settlement on the section, Gálosfa, on a pleasant, gently rolling road, sometimes accompanied by Scots pines. A pleasant, landscaped square welcomes us, bordered by a baroque church and Festetics manor. Today, we would not expect much, but in the 18th-19th centuries, serious commercial and industrial life developed here. The associated Kistótvárs and Szentlukapuszta already manufactured flat glass in 1798, and after ceasing this activity, a porcelain manufactory was established there. This later relocated to Pécs and formed the basis of the famous Zsolnay porcelain factory.

In front of the village shop, on the Blue Trail information sign, we find the stamp. Gálosfa had a railway station for decades; we bypass its abandoned small building as we continue. The railway, an important transport route in the Zselic, operated between Kaposvár and Szigetvár from 1900 until its closure in 1976.

Leaving the settlement southbound, we unexpectedly climb steeply on the forest path along the side of Szamár Hill. Reaching the Bükk summit, a wonderful panorama opens behind a boundary fence. We see the valley of the nearby Kistótváros stream, which carries all typical characteristics of the Zselic: forests and fields-covered green hills, scattered buildings and groves form the landscape. (To the left, a lookout tower tempts a detour, but it stands on private property, so it is not worth starting.)

We continue walking along the ridge of Tótvár hill, reaching occasionally a wide cart track with views, arriving at the once depopulated but perhaps now recovering Szabás locality. We find a pleasant rest and fire place in the tiny street. We get some momentum in Miska pit, then arrive on a deeply incised road in loess with several-meter-high walls to Felsőkövesd belonging to Tormás. A few houses under huge linden trees await our next stamp here. This settlement part was the first place we meet the István Fekete memorial trail, dedicated to the writer who worked as a steward in the Bakóca estate. On the thirty stations, we can read details about his years spent here from his writings, letters, and hunting stories.

We walk on paved road through Alsókövesd and begin ascending Zselic's highest hill, Hollófészek. If we leave the Blue Trail at the junction of the K and K↺ signs, we can take a detour right to the former count's estate of Nagymáté. The renovated hunting lodge now serves as accommodation and restaurant, but it is also worth strolling around the herb garden mostly composed of conifers.

From here, within a few minutes, we reach the junction directing towards the lookout on the peak. From the 28-meter tower, we can admire the Mecsek, and on clear days, the Badacsony and the Croatian Papuk mountains. Next to the tower, the seemingly flat Zselic slopes can be seen from above. The few-minute detour via the K▲ sign is definitely worth it.

A longer forest section follows; in the emerging meadows, we can take a last glance of the Zselic hills for ourselves. Soon we reach the chain of fields, and a completely different landscape unfolds before us: the Mecsek mountains appear in the distance. The peaks of Zengő, Tubes, Misina, and Jakab form the backdrop announcing the next section of the South Transdanubian Blue Trail.

Now continuously descending, we arrive alongside pastures and meadows at Abaliget railway station, where we can collect the last stamp of the section.