Between two Ourthes

The route runs along the water's edge, passing several viewpoints, including the confluence of the two Ourthes rivers. The Nisramont dam and two footbridges are essential for crossing from one bank to the other.
Please note: this is a challenging hike (see practical information)

Technical sheet

n°150584

Creation:
02 Sep 2015

Last update:
17 Nov 2024

Last review:
29 Sep 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 13.82 km
Average duration: 5h 00
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Vertical gain: + 363 m
Vertical drop: - 363 m
Highest point: 411 m
Lowest point: 277 m

Country: Belgium
Area: Massif des Ardennes
District: Houffalize
Start/End: N 50.121558° / E 5.701862°
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Description of the walk

Parking at the church in Engreux.

(S/E) Opposite the church, take the road on the right and go down to the fork.

(1) Turn left. The road becomes concrete slabs and ends in dirt. Take the forest path straight ahead. Pass through Fagnoule, continue downhill and turn right at the next intersection. This wide path will become a narrower path leading down to the banks of the Ourthe. Then turn right until you reach the footbridge.

(2) Cross over and turn left on the other side.

^GR® signposting(red and white).

Follow the water for a while and then climb up to the Deux Ourthes viewpoint. Do not take any paths other than the main one, the GR^®.

(3) Take the path behind the viewpoint and head towards the Laid Tier viewpoint.

(4) Turn left and follow the ridge trail to the Au Fays viewpoint.

(5) Continue along the path, which becomes a staircase. This will take you to the Nisramont dam crossing.

(6) Go over the dam and turn left.

Red diamond signpost

Follow the Ourthe, ignoring the paths on your right, until you reach the Kwaï bridge.

(7) Cross the bridge and begin the winding climb to the shelter.

(8) Continue along the trail, following the red diamond markings and ignoring all the trails on your right, until you reach the^second footbridge.

(9) Cross the footbridge and turn left. After 150 metres, leave the signposts and start climbing the forest path on the right. Ignore the path on the left towards ADEPS (sports centre). The forest path becomes a road, which you follow. Pass the chapel and continue straight ahead until you finally reach the church (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 395 m - Parking at Engreux church
1 : km 0.12 - alt. 390 m - Fork in the road after the church
2 : km 1.7 - alt. 299 m - Footbridge over the Eastern Ourthe
3 : km 3.55 - alt. 283 m - Viewpoint of the 2 Ourthes
4 : km 4.39 - alt. 355 m - Viewpoint at Laid Tier
5 : km 4.89 - alt. 302 m - Viewpoint at Au Fays
6 : km 5.61 - alt. 277 m - Nisramont dam on the - Ourthe (rivière) - Belgique
7 : km 7.23 - alt. 298 m - The Bridge on the River Kwai
8 : km 7.58 - alt. 333 m - Shelter
9 : km 10.96 - alt. 289 m - Footbridge over the western Ourthe
S/E : km 13.82 - alt. 395 m - Parking at Engreux church

Practical information

Although rated as moderate, this hike is demanding due to its many ascents and descents. Do not underestimate yourself. Look carefully at the graph on a PC or horizontally on a smartphone to get an idea of the terrain. The elevation gain is 346 m.

You can get refreshments at the start/finish and at the foot of the Nisramont Dam.
The trails are muddy in places.
Some sections have steps, bridges and ramps.
Benches are available near the church, at Laid Tier, and at the water's edge on the first kilometre of the return trail after the dam.
Shelter at the following points: (3) and (8)
From October to December, please be aware of hunting dates

In the nearby area

During

Viewpoints: at Deux Ourthes, Laid Tier, Fays and on the opposite bank above the Kwaï bridge.
Fish ladders: near the footbridges (pre-dam), these allow fish to cross a man-made obstacle on a watercourse, such as a dam or a weir. They consist of a series of pools separated by short drops, which the fish can cross one at a time. Each basin is designed to create a recirculation zone with low flow velocities where fish can rest. The main difficulty in installing a fish ladder is to "capture" the fish downstream of it by creating an area of intense, highly oxygenated current that will guide them to the foot of the ladder.

Nisramont dam: 116 m long and 16 m high. Swimming is prohibited as it was built to supply drinking water to the entire region.

Nearby

La Roche-en-Ardenne: its castle and animal park
Houffalize
Achouffe and its beer
La Baraque Fraiture: Belgium's^second highest point, skiing in winter

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5

Based on 45 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5

Clarity of route map
4.6 / 5

Route interest
4.8 / 5

User 27726828

29 Sep 2025 at 12:43 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Very well

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fdessart

11 Aug 2025 at 11:30 7200 • Last modified: 11 Aug 2025 at 11:30 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very beautiful hike, as described: ~15km, quite physically demanding with a few technical sections.
A bit busy but still very reasonable.

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dbierlaire

12 Jul 2024 at 11:57 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Superb hike, popular but not too crowded. It feels like you're in Canada.

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catbalou

22 Jun 2024 at 16:50 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Not many people outside the tourist season and at weekends

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Elblanco

21 Jan 2024 at 11:02 3600

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Hello everyone,
A really enjoyable hike of over 15 km (not 13 as indicated). However, in the snow, it's a whole different ball game. You really need to take this into account. Some sections are technical and very slippery in the snow. Make sure you're well equipped for the cold.
There is some very interesting wildlife to see, including lots of birds and beavers.

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lazzerini

13 Nov 2023 at 18:08 3600

Hello 23091950,

There may be some confusion about the hike, as you mention the Semois, but here it is the Ourthe that takes centre stage. Western and eastern, but no Semois.
With all the rain we've had over the last few days, all the hikes near rivers are tricky.

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23091950

13 Nov 2023 at 13:37 3600 • Last modified: 13 Nov 2023 at 14:25 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Hello,

this hike is best done in summer, as the paths are very wet, the Semois river is very high, and there are some particularly
tricky, difficult to keep your feet dry

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lemarcheur65

07 Oct 2023 at 16:21 7200

Hello, Lazzerini
Very good.

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lazzerini

07 Oct 2023 at 15:47 7200

@lemarcheur65 when a profile is private, which is the case for Vincentvince67, we are unable to send private messages. Only moderators have this ability.
However, I contacted him via his email address and found an unedited record of the GPS errors that caused 19 km to be recorded.

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lemarcheur65

07 Oct 2023 at 14:15 7200

Hello Vincentvince67
Please note: do not share any personal information (email, phone number, etc.)
I can delete the address you provided.
The person can contact you via private message by clicking on your username.
You can post photos after this message.
However, in this case, you must add a link such as WeTransfer.
This is because route photos are not allowed in the photo folder.

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Vincentvince67

07 Oct 2023 at 07:56 7200

EDIT: I just received a message from the moderators informing me that photos of routes are not allowed... Please feel free to email me for the route details.
Have a nice day.

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Vincentvince67

07 Oct 2023 at 07:45 7200

Hello Madam, thank you for your reply.
I took the liberty of posting the photos (print screens) from both the VISIORANO app (which shows part of the route; I take print screens to show my progress to my wife) and my SAMSUNG HEALTH app: the photo of the route and the main data. I hope the moderators will accept them.
If not, I can send you my email address: molle.vincent.vince@gmail.com, where you can write to me and I will send you the photos if the moderators refuse them (there are only three).
You will see that the routes are similar (I may have made one or two U-turns of a few metres, but that's all), and, in the other photo, that the distance of 19 km is confirmed.

I followed the markers all the way to the end.

Thank you also for your comment on the difficulty level and for trying to pass the information on to the moderators. As I mentioned, I did the forests around Montleban (which are also available on Visorando), which were used as the average for the difficulty level... Honestly, the two hikes are incomparable in terms of difficulty.

To end on a positive note, I will still post a few photos I took.

Have a great day and thank you for your responsiveness.

Vincent

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lazzerini

06 Oct 2023 at 19:17 7200

Hello Vincentvince67,

i'm very surprised by the mileage you've reported!
My husband just drove the same route last Sunday and got the same mileage.
Did you use a different app?
As your profile is private, I can't see your route to understand where the problem lies.
Did you start from the same place? Did you perhaps make a mistake and turn back? The complete route marked with red diamonds is 14 km long, but my route is shorter than what they suggest.
Did you take the wrong route?

The difficulty level is assessed by Visorando, which looks at the elevation gain and the number of kilometres. Given the number of comments about the assessment, I asked a moderator if I could change it to difficult or, at the very least, add "demanding hike" to the introduction. It's mainly a question of physical condition and perception.

Best regards

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Vincentvince67

06 Oct 2023 at 06:23 7200

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

I agree with the previous comment: THIS ROUTE IS 19.41 KM LONG, not 13.86 km as stated in the description. This really needs to be corrected for people who are choosing their route based on the length.
Furthermore, having done a route classified as moderate the day before (the Montleban forests), I can also confirm that the Ourthes route cannot be classified as moderate either. It is difficult, much more difficult:

1. due to the effort required, not only in terms of length, but also for certain sections, which are difficult (I strongly advise against this route for beginners, and forget about doing it with children, it would be downright irresponsible).

2. some sections are very uneven; the final section is a real challenge; here too, as previously mentioned, the last part is on a relatively steep slope

3. some sections are very steep, with a real risk of falling.

In the end, I agree with several reviews that describe this hike as magnificent, because it is true that the landscapes are relatively varied, and some of the views of the Ourthe are magnificent.

But I was very disappointed compared to the description: the length (VERY inaccurate) and the level of difficulty make the last 5 kilometres a real challenge, during which you mainly think about finishing and not falling over, rather than enjoying the scenery. As much as I enjoyed my two other hikes (Limerlé/Steinbach and Montleban), I would never have considered doing this one if I had known how long and difficult it was.

The positive thing is that getting to the end allowed me to push my limits... but at what cost!

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Ancal

21 Aug 2023 at 09:31 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A very beautiful route with many challenges but magnificent scenery. The only downside was the end of the route, with a 2 km climb back to the car

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