The walk alternates between countryside offering beautiful panoramic views and wooded areas, mainly coniferous although there are a few deciduous trees here and there. The route also passes through some deep forests.
Admire the church in Ourthe: it has a distinctive style that is unusual in this region, with exposed bells.
The village of Wathermal has its own charm.
There are no particular difficulties on the route, no difficult climbs or excessive mud... however, there is quite a lot of tarmac, which may not appeal to some hikers.
A few markers on the Ourthe side
You will have covered almost 18 kilometres and will see two other very different types of boundary markers: two stone markers marking the former Belgian-Prussian border and two metal markers, still in use today, between Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The Ourthe river is not very visible, but you will be riding alongside a beautiful nature reserve along its tributary at the end of the route, called Fooschtbaach in the Grand Duchy and Pihon in Belgium.
Details
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
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Activity: Walking -
Distance: 17.60 km -
Average duration: 5h 35 -
Difficulty: Moderate -
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Back to start: Yes -
Ascent: + 189 m -
Descent: - 182 m -
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Highest point: 543 m -
Lowest point: 449 m
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Country:
Belgium
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Area: Massif des Ardennes -
District:
Gouvy -
Start/End: N 50.18832° / E 5.980908° -
Hour-by-hour weather
Photos
Description of the walk
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 451 m - Parking in Ourthe
- 1 : km 2.23 - alt. 513 m - Road junction
- 2 : km 3.7 - alt. 526 m - N827
- 3 : km 4.73 - alt. 512 m - N68
- 4 : km 6.21 - alt. 528 m - Fork
- 5 : km 7.61 - alt. 497 m - T-junction
- 6 : km 8.12 - alt. 528 m - Intersection
- 7 : km 8.97 - alt. 497 m - Deiffelt
- 8 : km 11.58 - alt. 532 m - Border with Luxembourg
- 9 : km 12.61 - alt. 524 m - Border
- 10 : km 13.58 - alt. 479 m - Wathermal
- 11 : km 14.8 - alt. 470 m - Pihon
- 12 : km 16 - alt. 454 m - Fond d'Ourthe National Reserve
- S/E : km 17.6 - alt. 451 m - Ourthe car park - Ourthe (rivière) - Belgique
Notes
Please note: shortly after km 3, a sign saying "Private property and road" is clearly visible on a tree on the right. There is no road sign when travelling in the opposite direction. Chemins.be (the reference for paths, trails and rights of way in Wallonia) states that this is a public or private road with right of way.
Alternative if you do not want to take this route: take the path on the right at this point... it leads straight to the (national) road, which you should take on the left for a few hundred metres to rejoin the nominal route.
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