On the roof of Belgium

This hike on the Hautes Fagnes plateau in the Hautes-Fagnes-Eifel Natural Park will take you to the highest point in Belgium, where you can discover its unique flora and landscape. The hike is more enjoyable during the week (fewer people) in good weather or when there is snow on the ground.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 152 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 156 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 675 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 579 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S) Departure from the car park of the Auberge de la Baraque Michel, located halfway between Eupen and Malmedy. Cross the N68 road (take care) and join the path opposite.

(1) Turn right (east) onto the paved path, which quickly becomes a boardwalk and leads approximately 4 kilometres through a landscape of moors, marshes and ancient peat bogs. Follow the Helle River from its source to the small Marie-Anne Libert bridge.

(2) Cross the bridge on the right to climb the slope towards the edge of the forest. Continue along this path, which is spongy in places, heading south-southeast, staying on the edge of the forest and leaving the paths on your left.

(3) At a crossroads, continue to the right along the woods for another 100 metres, then the path turns right away from the trees. Continue straight ahead on this path towards the south-west. Reach the edge of the woods and go completely around the Fagne Wallonne to the east to reach a crossroads at the corner of the forest.

(4) Turn left into the woods for 50 metres, then right to join the Route de Botrange (N676). You can easily see the Signal de Botrange, Belgium's highest point, on the horizon above the hollow of the Fagne Wallonne.
Follow this road to the left for about 100 metres heading south and cross it carefully to reach the Botrange Nature Centre.

(5) Opposite, take a path running alongside the centre. Continue along this forest path for about two kilometres, ignoring the other paths, until you reach the N68 road at the Neur Lowé nature reserve.

(6) Cross the road and continue straight ahead on the tarmac path to the Polleur bridge, ignoring the paths on your right and left. It is not uncommon to see deer in this area, provided you remain extremely quiet.

(7) Cross the bridge and, at the first bend to the right of the tarmac road, take the grassy path on your left. Head north-west into the forest, which is made up of both conifers and deciduous trees, and after crossing a small stream, you will come to a straight path which you take to the right for 100 metres. This is the Vecquée, an ancient Gallic and then Roman road.

(8) Pass the famous Croix des Fiancés, erected in tribute to two young fiancés who died in a snowstorm in January 1871, as well as an old Prussian boundary stone. Continue along the path. It ends with wooden walkways leading to the Fischbach Chapel.

(9) Take the path that runs alongside the chapel on the right and joins the N68 road. Turn left to return to the car park and the Baraque Michel inn, where you can grab a bite to eat.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 671 m
  2. 1 : km 0.06 - alt. 670 m - Departure opposite the inn
  3. 2 : km 4.16 - alt. 579 m - Marie-Anne Libert Bridge
  4. 3 : km 6.27 - alt. 631 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 8.84 - alt. 656 m - Crossroads
  6. 5 : km 9.17 - alt. 656 m - Botrange Nature Centre
  7. 6 : km 11.83 - alt. 644 m - Route N68
  8. 7 : km 13.22 - alt. 622 m - Pollur Bridge
  9. 8 : km 15.07 - alt. 632 m - Croix des Fiancés
  10. 9 : km 16.8 - alt. 670 m - Fischbach Chapel
  11. S/E : km 16.94 - alt. 671 m

Notes

Walking shoes recommended, or boots in wet weather.

Food available all year round at the Baraque Michel inn.

Worth a visit

Along the way:
- the sources of the Helle
- the Marie-Anne Libert bridge
- the Walloon Fagne
- the Botrange Nature Centre
- the Polleur bridge
- the Cross of the Betrothed
- fischbach Chapel
At the centre of the circular:
- Botrange Signal - Belgium's highest point
Further away:
- Gileppe, Vesdre and Robertville dams
- Spa - spa town
- Malmédy, Eupen, Monschau (Germany)
- Francorchamps car/motorbike/F1 route

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Piettedaf
Piettedaf

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's impossible to get lost with the signposts.
A very beautiful hike.
After a day of heavy rain, there were some muddy sections. Boots recommended.

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dohognealain
dohognealain

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice walk, but the first part is good but lacks signposts, so it's a bit rough. The description isn't always clear, but thanks to the GPS route, it's fine. In the afternoon, we thought we were lost because the description wasn't clear, but thanks to the environmental police, it was very easy. Luckily, we had good weather.

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Eric de Hennin
Eric de Hennin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent hike

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Pahuljica
Pahuljica

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The first part of the walk, before crossing the first road, is superb, with exotic landscapes that feel like another planet. We loved it. The second part (between the first and second road crossings) is rather unremarkable (you walk on a road that is also open to cars, with trees partially torn down on the left and right), and the last part, after crossing the second road, is also very pretty.
There's quite a bit of mud, but it's doable. Very few people on the first part (on the duckboards), but the further you go, the more people there are. The route is well marked and easy to follow. No difficulty in terms of elevation. Apart from the icy wind, which took us a bit by surprise in April, it was a very beautiful walk with landscapes that are well worth the detour!

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jmbarchon
jmbarchon

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Made during the week
Very personal opinion!
Weather: Snow
4 km of duckboards, I can't imagine what it's like when it's busy with children (and dogs, which are not allowed but... no comment)... um, OK, mud, mud and more mud under the snow... um, some people come for that, I'm not criticising
Then there's the bog on the right and fir trees on the left, then the bog on the right and fir trees on the left
for a change, the bog on the left and fir trees on the right...
And let's not forget the pretty little wooden bridge, Marie-Anne Libert.
Finally, we changed the route at the Botrange park house to go around the back of Mont Rigi and see something a little different.

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Marc Marchal
Marc Marchal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We set off on the hike at sunrise. For the first three hours, we hardly saw anyone. After lunch, the path was crowded, and we had to move aside to let people pass, which was difficult.
I am a regular visitor to the site, and the hikes are always superb, but this one (perhaps due to the weather conditions) was by far the most beautiful. Thank you.

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patrick2108
patrick2108

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb walk, highly recommended

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MarieCU
MarieCU

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The hike was very enjoyable. The landscape is beautiful and also suitable for families with children. We stayed in the nature park, with part of the route indicating an exit onto the main road.

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Babette_dels
Babette_dels

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Great hike!
We did it using the "mes parcours" app, which records a GPS track of the route we took. We were able to compare it with the map at certain points because we weren't sure which way to go.
With a good walking pace and a 30-minute break at midday, we completed the circuit in 4½ hours.

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chrispixe
chrispixe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this magnificent route yesterday with beautiful sunshine and blue skies. We took a wrong turn between points 6 and 7, where the paved road forms a Y just before the turn towards the Polleur bridge. We turned left instead of right and ended up doing a loop. It wasn't unpleasant, though. In total, we covered 22 km, followed by a dip in the thermal baths to relax our muscles. Thank you for this walk!

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CKShoot
CKShoot

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very good explanations, the maps and a GPS watch make it impossible to get lost.

The first part on the duckboards is very pleasant, the second part after Botrange is less attractive due to the replacement of the duckboards with stabilised ground.

Thanks for the itinerary.

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ravilax
ravilax

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
We followed part of this itinerary (7, 8, 9, A/D).
A magnificent loop through beautiful and unique landscapes.
Steppes, water, lots of water, footbridges, pine forests... it's magnificent.
Oh yes, at this time of year, Gore-Tex from head to toe works wonders ;-)
And finally, at Barraque Michel, they serve delicious homemade pies and local beers ;-)

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gazoo75
gazoo75

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

3.5 hours without seeing anyone, not even a cat or a dog!
That's how rejuvenating it was!
A superb hike.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Jacques, for your prompt response.

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jacques.nys
jacques.nys

Many thanks to rosenoir for the comment.
I have changed the description to specify more clearly that the place where you can eat at the end of the hike is the Auberge de la Baraque Michel.
Jacques

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