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Former Ternell forest house – on the N67 linking Eupen to Monschau (Germany).
Car park for around 50 cars on either side of the road.
(S/E) Take the path heading due south between Haus Ternell (the tavern-restaurant) and the tourist office.
(1) To the right of the hunting lodge, take the path signposted with a yellow ‘plus’ symbol. The forest path, lined with blueberry bushes, follows a stream tumbling down from the heights of Ternell towards the river that is the focus of this walk.
(2) The Helle is just a few metres away. However, to follow its course upstream to the left, you must cross the Ternellbach (which can turn into a torrent during heavy rainfall). In the event of flooding, take the small bridge upstream over the stream rather than the ford on the Grande Randonnée path running alongside the Helle. The wide path gradually narrows until it becomes a narrow track joining a tarmac road. Follow it to a picnic area (1 table and 2 benches).
(3) Head west, cross the Helle and climb straight up the path which passes through a pretty green clearing dotted with scattered trees, through which the sun or mist slips depending on the mood of the sky. No doubt about it... the Petit Bonheur stream is not far away. A few hundred metres further on, the path widens and opens out onto a broad plateau sloping north to south.
(4) Leave the wide stony path behind you and take the grassy path towards the valley (south-east). The path very quickly turns due south and becomes a track on damp ground, sometimes replaced by duckboards in the most marshy sections.
(5) Cross the ditch, do not enter the woods, and take the south-westerly path leading into the Hautes-Fagnes State Nature Reserve at Geitzbusch. The path runs alongside and soon passes the woods. To the left, on the horizon, beyond the hollow formed by the nascent Helle, you can make out the Signal de Botrange tower, Belgium’s highest point.
(6) Virtually the only sign of recent human activity in the vicinity, an old wooden barrier and a ‘C’ sign prohibit access to the Nature Reserve to the north. It is at this point that you must leave the path heading straight towards Baraque Michel and turn 90° to the left, following another straight path leading towards the valley floor.
(7) Here is the Helle again, much narrower... as it rises just a few kilometres away, near Baraque Michel. Follow the path along the left bank of the river to the small ‘Marie Anne Libert’ bridge.
(8) Follow the path climbing up to the other bank. Take the wide grassy track between the coniferous forest on the left and the Walloon Fagne on the right until you reach a stony path heading north.
(9) The Cléfaye Beech is about a hundred metres south of this point. The path runs, at a fair distance, along the right bank of the Helle valley and is much more passable than the winding, muddy Grande Randonnée trail that runs along the left bank. Beautiful views to the left over the plateau near Geitzbusch and to the right over the Cléfaye Fagne. There is also a lovely view of the clearings at the bottom of the valley.
(10) Cross the Miesbach ford (or the footbridge if the water is high) and take the – long – forest track, which is tarmac in places, to the left until you reach the starting point (S/E).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Easy 
