A challenging visit to Montagne Saint-Pierre

An unusual walk starting from the small village of Lanaye, traversing the Montagne Saint-Pierre nature reserve from the Albert Canal, before reaching the Geer valley via the Fort d'Eben-Emael. The route also offers stunning views of the Lanaye locks and the Meuse valley across the border.

This hike, on the borders of Wallonia, Flanders and the Netherlands, crosses the Montagne Saint-Pierre on either side of the Albert Canal, ending at the Lanaye lock, which allows barges to reach the Meuse in the direction of Maastricht.Before that, the route follows small paths along the Geer. There are several beautiful views of the Meuse valley, the locks and the nearby hills.

A fairly varied walk around the Albert Canal and part of Montagne Saint-Pierre, including a short detour into Dutch territory. The route passes by Neercanne Castle, where the Maastricht Treaty was signed on 9 December 1991.

A somewhat challenging hike starting from the Moulin du Broukay and the Tour d’Eben-Ezer in Eben, on the northern slope of the Geer valley, leading to the Montagne Saint-Pierre Nature Reserve, on the other side of the stream. The reserve offers some fine views of the Meuse valley and the Albert Canal.

This walk explores some of the region's gems. The route passes successively by a mill on the Geer (Jeker in Dutch) with a wooden paddle wheel that is still fully functional, Neercanne Castle, the Cannerbos, a magnificent tree-lined avenue in the Milleniumbos, a few vineyards, the old Nekum mill (no longer with a wheel), the Maastricht Fort plateau with some beautiful views of the city, Huis de Torentjes, a curious cave/chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Zonneberg, the Slavantebos, the panoramic site of the former ENCI quarry, the Villa Castrum (admire the tuffeau stone used in its renovation) and, finally, the strange and extremely rare feature of the Geer, which passes under the Albert Canal via a siphon. All in all, this route offers a multitude of historical and educational points of interest for young and old alike.

The Dutch province of Zuid-Limburg is ideal for hiking, offering an abundance of countryside and forests to explore in a wonderfully bucolic setting, and probably the highest elevation gain in the Netherlands, as the highest point is situated at the BE-DE-NL tripoint south of Vaals.That said, this region bordering Belgian Limburg is also fruit-growing, albeit to a lesser extent, but you can still see a few orchards (cherry, apple and pear trees).And then, from time to time, an old marl quarry (limestone, tuffeau, etc.) appears, or, as is the case near the route of this walk, a prehistoric flint extraction site!

A walk through meadows and fields, passing through orchards. As an added bonus, you can stop off at the ice cream parlour in Richelle.

A magnificent walk starting from the village of Fouron-le-Comte ('s-Gravenvoeren in Dutch), somewhat hilly, passing through the Altenbroek woodland reserve and venturing partially beyond the Belgian-Dutch border.