Springhill Stories

When I read about a walk in the romantic Hoëgne Valley on the great Discovering Belgium website, I knew straight away this was one to put high on the priority list. Last weekend we had a sunny Sunday, so we headed off to do this easy 7.5km walk. You start your walk at the pont de Belleheid, where you have to drive through the river to get to the parking ( Address : Roquez 49 in Jalhay ). It can get quite busy here, so to avoid too much people I can advice you to come early.

The Hoëgne is a 30 km long river that has its source at Mont Rigi, one of the highest points of Belgium and carves its way down a rocky valley towards the Vesdre river. The walk itself reminds me a bit of the one in the Ninglinspo Valley. The walk itself is quite straightforward. You enter the walk through a wooden gate and from their on you follow the blue crosses. This walk was already popular in the 19th century, when it was considered as a real adventure into the wild.

You really follow the course of the river up the stream, crossing it over numerous little bridges and admiring the beauty of the many cascades and rapids. At the height of the the Leopold II waterfall you have a nice picnic place. Further upstream the river gets wilder and for a moment you get the idea to be in a real mountain valley, but one where they erased the high mountains surrounding it. After about 3.5 km you pass another gate and arrive at the Passerelle du Centenaire. This bridge was built to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Belgium and seems a bit out of place in this wilderness. Here we leave the  river behind and we turn left over the wooden footpath uphill. Then left again toward the look-out point high above the river valley.

Just keep following the blue crosses and you will get back at the river at the height of the Leopold II waterfall. Here you walk back next to the river, but downstream this time, towards the parking. Although it’s a quite popular walk, it’s more than worth to try it out.     You can easily combine this walk with some other walks in the beautiful Hautes Fagnes nature reserve, or a visit to the Gileppe dam and lake. Have fun !