Mátraháza - Sirok (OKT-21)

Itinerary

Throughout the route, we must follow the K marking.

• We climb from Mátraháza to Kékes peak.
• From Kékes, we go to the forest stamping place near the Hármashatár forest lodge.
• From Hármashatár, we ascend to Oroszlánvár.
• We visit the Gazos-kő viewpoint.
• We descend to Sirok railway station.
• We reach Sirok center on asphalt.

Detailed description of the route

Mátraháza – Kékes peak

The center of Mátraháza could use a facelift, as the forest settlement lies in a romantic setting embraced by beech woods, its center formed by a parking lot with a few buffets. After leaving the road crossing Mátra, we turn into the narrow valley of Somor Creek circumventing the training camp. Details of Mátra's volcanic activity remain mysterious, but it is assumed that here, on the southern side of Kékes, we walk on the inner side of a former crater. Since the mountain range tilts to the south, long slopes descend towards the Great Plain in this direction. Beneath Kékes peak, abundant streams have carved deep, steep-walled valleys into the hard volcanic rock – in their bottoms, gloomy stone debris are bypassed by broad, occasionally capricious waterflows. We climb steeply out of the dark, shady hollow when we turn our back on Somor Creek. An interesting fact is that until the end of the 19th century, more than 10 fulling mills utilized its fast-flowing water: huge wooden hammers powered by water energy were used to produce the Mátra (or Aba) broadcloth, which even reached distant regions.

The trail joins markings arriving from Mátrafüred atop the Great Neck, crosses the Kékes mountain road, and arrives at Kékes's settlement through a cool and mature silver beech wood hall. From the ski slope pasture, it's worth looking out to feel the altitude reached, and we can spot the waves of the Northern Central Mountains as far as the silhouettes of Naszály and the Visegrád Hills.

A 176-meter high TV tower rises opposite as we ascend Kékes peak. To the left, in the shade of fir trees, is the national color stone indicating the 1014-meter high point, the country's highest elevation – a popular relic for photo-taking hikers. Instead of a peak, expect a sprawling summit which was an insignificant point known by few before Trianon. Its features later proved useful when, starting from the 1920s, a road, hotel, ski slopes, and wooden lookout tower were built on it. From the flat mountaintop, views opened up, and the tourism developments, along with emerging mass transportation, soon turned Kékes into a 'pilgrimage site' for crowds. Unfortunately, its current state is not very encouraging: shabby souvenir stalls, scattered service units, crowded parking lot, and poor, sometimes dilapidated infrastructure characterize it.

However, the TV tower built in the ’80s offers a wonderful panoramic view: alongside Mátra's long, winding ridge, the entire Northern Central Mountains undulate before us; on the side opposite the Great Plain, the horizon stretches up to the High Tatras and the Great Fatra. It is advisable to visit in winter when Kékes often breaks through the continuous cloud sea. The stamping place is 100 meters north of the summit bridge, and the ascent is indicated on the signpost beside the ski house. If choosing the old stamping place, a small detour is necessary as it is located at the sanatorium entrance. (Its park is a beautiful pine forest where squirrels happily feed from our hands during the summer.)

Kékes peak – Hármashatár

Next to the TV tower, entering the forest feels like drawing the stage curtain behind us: the audience disappears and the noise fades, suddenly surrounded by a completely different, lonely world. On the left accompanies us the surprisingly steep northern slope of Kékes as we follow the trail through old, wind-beaten beech woods. We quickly leave the top behind and start descending down the skirt of a rocky scree flow. Soon we fall below 1000 meters and cross a winter sports path’s now overgrown curve at a saddle.

We turn onto a ridge narrowing to just a few meters and arrive at the Saint Elizabeth cross. From here, we have views over Kékes's northern side and the Galya peak massif. For several hundred meters onward, a vertical rock wall accompanies us on the left. Adjacent stream valleys carve ever farther back, narrowing the ridge completely; the hard andesite here, shaped by freeze-thaw weathering in the last Ice Age, forms a sharp ridge. Base of the wall shows small debris fields. At one point, the path narrows so much that we are forced to walk on the backs of the rock slabs: the rugged, jagged rock formation inclines obliquely forming a proud, sharp ridge segment. We are in a wild area whose special character truly reveals itself when we reach a steep cliff protruding vertically in both directions at the end of the rock row.

The 898-meter high summit of Sas-kő is an excellent panoramic point because of its form defying the mountain range's modest dimensions. From the top of its frighteningly high cliff, wide views open north and east: we immediately recognize the huge, peakless plateau of Bükk and can identify the rounded peaks of the Heves-Borsod hills and the elephant-like block of Karancs. At the summit stands a memorial unveiled in 1930 to hikers who died in World War I. Descending the climb-resistant, debris-covered, steep southern slope of the rock, we soon reach another viewpoint. This is the southeastern end of the cliff, boldly jutting above the Kékes valley. Beyond the bends of Eastern Mátra's deepest and longest valley, the nearby lignite mines can be seen with the Mátra Power Plant puffing at the Great Plain’s edge.

After Sas-kő, we leave the ridge and circumvent the peak of Kis-Sas-kő on a narrow, wild trail. Just before one sharp turn, a small clearing opens a panorama looking back towards Kékes and Galya. From this atmospheric point, the almost vertical northern cliffs of Kékes can be well seen – the steepness preserved largely undisturbed forests and even a small primeval forest patch. Soon we arrive at the Markazi gate: these "gates" are points lowered by opposing, biting stream valleys on both sides of the main ridge. They are north-south passage points in the eastern Mátra region. They make our hike very tiring: every descent is followed by another exhausting climb. Thus, approaching the Hármashatár stamping place, we also approach the peaks of Mraznica and Felső-Tarjánka, then walk down to a small rain shelter where the stamp is kept.

Hármashatár – Sirok

We tackle the side of Nagy-Szár Hill, which rewards our effort step by step with increasingly beautiful views: from the 743-meter peak's wooded side lined with gnarled, lightning-struck ancient trees, a complete panorama unfolds to the south and west: again we see the Kékes radio tower, the short ridge beginning south of the top, and the flat Great Plain with the power plant. We replace the warm microclimate clearing with closed forest – here on this section, we increasingly encounter traces of intensive forestry management.

After another rollercoaster section, we ascend to the summit of Oroszlánvár. The castle was built on the hill after the Tatar invasion, and its trench is still well visible today. Limited but beautiful views open to the forested slopes of the southern valleys. We arrive down a steep, slippery slope at another small saddle, Domoszló gate, which serves as a passage point on the ridge not only for the road but also for a high-voltage line. The strenuous walk is far from over: the twin summits of Jagus and Nagy-Zúgó Hill at 600 meters await us, with a towering hunting lodge standing in the saddle between them.

Another summit bends the route on the contour line: this time, the 675-meter peak of Szederjes-tető blocks our way. After the peak, marked also by a concrete block, field obstacles thin out and we mostly descend. After about half an hour of forest walk, sometimes under oak trees, we approach Gazos-kő.

On Gazos-kő, Mátra shows its wild side once again for the last time: from the flat edge of the forward jutting rock wall, we can observe in a semicircle the hilly foothills of Mátralába from Galyat-peak to Sirok castle. Beyond the barely several-kilometer wide forest strip, the houses of Recsk stretch out. Returning among the trees, we pass a few more summit points; the labyrinth of wildlife protection fences and heavily exploited forests lead down into the Tarna valley marking Mátra’s boundary. After a rain shelter, just before reaching the asphalt road, we find the stamp on a signpost. Avoiding the sites of former coal pits, we walk – now on asphalt – to the now-defunct Sirok railway station, but since we cannot go home from the abandoned mountain railway station building that once was atmospheric, a good half-hour walk awaits us to the center of Sirok. Here, on the terrace of the Hunor restaurant, we can extend our certification booklet and press the stamp marking the end of one of the most exciting Blue Trail sections.