Circular starting from Alle-sur-Semois.

Footbridge over the Semois, Naglémont viewpoint, Chairière ridges, Claies bridge in Laforêt, Laspote Laviau viewpoint: a route that is well worth the effort.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.69 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 2,159 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 2,182 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,175 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 584 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking along Rue de la Lingue N945 in Alle-sur-Semois.

(S/E) Head towards the bridge over the Semois. Turn left towards Mouzaive.

GR® markings

(1) Just after the road on your left, take the path up the embankment and into the forest. First difficulty.
Pass a tribute to a member of the Resistance. Continue climbing until you reach a forest path.

(2) Turn right. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead. At the road, first turn left then right.

(3) Turn left onto the footbridge. Cross the N945 carefully and continue straight ahead on the road towards Gros-Fays. Continue uphill until you find a path on your left.

(4) Climb the zigzag path. 2nd difficulty.

(5) At the top, turn left onto the forest path. Pass the Naglémont viewpoint. Continue until you reach another path, then turn right. At the next fork, continue left on the descending path.

(6) At the road, turn left and continue to the N945. Cross diagonally to the right. Pass in front of the Petite Chairière church and continue on the main road.

(7) At the cross, turn right. At the multiple junction, leave theGR® markings and take the middle path between the two forest tracks.

Green rectangular markings

First turn right/left and climb up to Les Crêtes (280 m). Continue to the left and immediately turn right. Descend and continue straight ahead at each junction until you reach the bottom.

(8) Turn left, passing in front of the chalets. Then turn right and head towards the wooden bridge.
Cross the Semois river on the wooden bridge. On the other side, go up the towpath.

If the wooden bridge is not in place at (8), turn right and cross the road bridge at Vresse-sur-Semois to rejoin the towpath and continue the walk at (9).

No markings

(9) Turn left, leaving the markings behind. At the lean-to where the wooden bridge is stored in winter, turn right and climb the steep path, sometimes using your hands. 3rd difficulty.
When you reach the road, turn left and continue for about 150 metres.

Blue diamond markings

Take the forest path on the left next to the house. Pass in front of a water catchment. At the road, leave the markings and continue straight ahead.

No markings

Pass the antenna. At the T-junction, turn left. At the road, cross with caution. Go straight down the embankment and turn right onto the forest path running alongside the main road.

(10) When you reach another path, continue straight ahead. At the wider path, turn left.

Blue diamond markings

(11) At the fork in Les Bâtis, turn left and then left again. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead. At the bottom, turn left. At Pont Rebais, leave the markings and turn right. Cross the bridge and turn right again.

Red and blue diamond H markings

At the first crossroads, turn left and go uphill. This is the fourth and final difficult section. Continue straight ahead at each crossroads. On the forest path, continue straight ahead.

Red diamond markings

(12) At the crossroads at Les Hauts Quartiers, turn left. At the end of the path on the right is the viewpoint at Laspote Laviau. Continue along the path; a trail comes back on your left; at the crossroads, continue straight ahead. Pass the pond on your left and at the crossroads, turn right, leaving the trail markers.

No Markings

Go up the path and turn left at the crossroads. At the fork, turn left again. Stay on the main path. Pass a pond on your right.

(13) Immediately after, turn left. There is another pond on your left. Continue straight ahead.

(14) At the fork, turn right and at the next fork, go straight ahead.

(2) Turn right, go back down the path you took on the way there and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 663 ft - Car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.08 - alt. 692 ft - Embankment path
  3. 2 : mi 0.66 - alt. 935 ft - Forest path
  4. 3 : mi 1.03 - alt. 607 ft - Footbridge over the - Semoy (rivière)
  5. 4 : mi 1.2 - alt. 715 ft - Path on the left
  6. 5 : mi 1.56 - alt. 1,161 ft - Forest path
  7. 6 : mi 2.36 - alt. 863 ft - Road
  8. 7 : mi 2.98 - alt. 755 ft - Cross
  9. 8 : mi 3.42 - alt. 646 ft - Towing path
  10. 9 : mi 3.65 - alt. 666 ft - Towing path
  11. 10 : mi 4.61 - alt. 1,063 ft - Forest path
  12. 11 : mi 4.87 - alt. 1,053 ft - Fork
  13. 12 : mi 5.84 - alt. 1,083 ft - Place called Les Hauts Quartiers
  14. 13 : mi 7.13 - alt. 1,024 ft - On the left
  15. 14 : mi 7.79 - alt. 925 ft - Fork
  16. S/E : mi 8.69 - alt. 663 ft - Car park

Notes

This hike can only be done, in its original form, from spring to autumn because the wooden bridge is dismantled every year. Check with the Tourist Office for more information. During other periods, at (8), turn right and cross the road bridge at Vresse-sur-Semois to reach the other bank at (9) and continue along the route.

There are four major difficulties to overcome.

No water or shelters along the route.

There is a bench after the church in Petite Chairière.

Worth a visit

During

Footbridge at Mouzaive: very few footbridges over the Semois (Frahan, Chiny, etc.).

Tobacco drying barn: a type of tall barn with no closed sides. Two visible in quick succession after crossing the N945 at Petite Chairière.

Mesh bridge in Laforêt: dismantled at the beginning of winter and reassembled in spring

Viewpoint after the (12)

Nearby

Bouillon Castle

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
jeanphilippeduplaix
jeanphilippeduplaix

Beautiful hike, pleasant route, no major difficulties.

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anteli
anteli

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A little trouble finding the start
beautiful hike, very physically demanding

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jeanphilippeduplaix
jeanphilippeduplaix

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Well done on this challenging and varied route. It's very enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys beautiful climbs on narrow trails.

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Iavor Stoyanov
Iavor Stoyanov

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This description is more comparable to that of the nearby parish-specific to Brittany route around Poupehan, which I did a month ago. Even though there are fewer viewpoints, the parish-specific to Brittany route is pleasant. However, I would not describe four climbs of around 120 metres as "very difficult". I did it in 4 hours and 45 minutes.
Thank you for the description!

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lazzerini
lazzerini

Hello everyone,
the wooden bridge has been in place for a week now. It's time to plan that hike!
Have fun!

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TofMo08
TofMo08

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Great in terms of elevation.
Very beautiful passages over the Semois (lattice bridges and other footbridges) but the viewpoints indicated are not clear.
Some of the explanations are a bit confusing, and it's hard not to mention the signposting, as the description says to leave it at certain points and rejoin it at others...
But overall, a good hike!!!!!

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fdema
fdema

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, alternating between ascents and descents, but nothing insurmountable.

We didn't follow the exact route after crossing the road, going down the embankment and taking the forest path on the right, because following the most obvious route and the directions in the guidebook takes you to the middle of the path leading down from the buildings at the bottom of the valley.

Otherwise, it was a very varied and enjoyable walk in bright sunshine.

The only busy spot was, unsurprisingly, the bridge over the racks.

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lazzerini
lazzerini

Hello Pascal Denis 51,

With pleasure

Kind regards

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Pascal Denis 51
Pascal Denis 51

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with stunning scenery; many thanks for the very precise description which, for once (I'm quite distracted!), allowed me to stay on the suggested route. It makes me want to come back to this beautiful and welcoming region!

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barboule
barboule

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Super detailed and the details really helped me. I didn't have any maps; I just transcribed the entire PDF.
Great course!
Many thanks.

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Didierisaso
Didierisaso

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you
Very beautiful hike, good difficulty level, we loved it.

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dominique clerbois
dominique clerbois

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very varied
Several crossings of the Semois, particularly on the Les claies

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