The Valley of the Hoëgne: A spectacular river walk

You’re going to love the Valley of the Hoëgne. It’s one of the prettiest river valleys in Belgium. Updated May 2026

Route at a glance

Introducing the Valley of the Hoëgne

II have enjoyed walking along many river valleys in the Belgian Ardennes, but the Valley of the Hoëgne is the most spectacular I have walked. The Ninglinspo might edge it for fairytale enchantment (those mossy pools and stepping-stone crossings are hard to beat) but in terms of sheer, raw drama, nothing comes close to the Hoëgne.

At its heart, the story is a simple one. Rainwater falls on the High Fens plateau at around 660 metres above sea level. It drains into the River Hoëgne, and the river then drops 280 metres in height over a relatively short distance. Simple. Except that in the way of this river’s descent lies a vast field of ancient boulders. Watching water refuse to be stopped by rock is a magnificent and entrancing sight.

The Hoëgne is classified as a tributary of the Vesdre, and it is without question the most celebrated river to rise in the heart of the High Fens Nature Park. It is known locally as the Polleur in its upper reaches, and its source lies close to the famous Baraque Michel crossroads. But it is in the gorge section – the section that forms the subject of this post – where the river really comes alive.

Highlights of the walk

The geology: Why are there so many rocks?

The boulders that make the Hoëgne so spectacular are not random. They are the product of an extraordinary geological story stretching back some 400 to 500 million years. This is when what is now Belgium was lying close to the ancient equator, beneath a warm shallow sea.

The Ardennes is built predominantly from Palaeozoic rocks: sandstones, shales, and quartzites that were originally laid down as marine sediments during the Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian periods. The High Fens area, where the Hoëgne has its source, is particularly rich in a very resistant rock called Ardennian quartzite. It’s a hard, metamorphosed sandstone that can withstand millions of years of erosion without breaking down significantly. This is the rock that forms most of the spectacular boulders in the valley.

Around 325 million years ago, during the Hercynian (or Variscan) orogeny, the ancient continental plates collided to form the supercontinent Pangea. The pressure buckled and folded the existing rock layers into a substantial mountain chain — the ancient predecessors of the hills you see today. The rocks were compressed, cracked, and in places metamorphosed. Quartzite, already hard, became harder still.

Over hundreds of millions of years, those mountains were gradually worn flat by erosion. The Ardennes as we see it today is, geologically speaking, an upturned world: rivers and ice gouged out the valleys, leaving the resistant quartzite ridges and plateaux standing proud. The hills are what has been left behind after everything softer was removed.

During the last ice ages – particularly during the colder episodes of the Pleistocene – the freeze-thaw cycle shattered the exposed quartzite outcrops. Blocks split from the bedrock and tumbled into the nascent river valley, accumulating in huge boulder fields known as chaos de roches. The Hoëgne, cutting downward into its gorge as the land slowly uplifted, found itself confronted by this obstacle course. It’s been navigating it, with increasing elegance, ever since.

A river that refuses to be stopped

You hear the Hoëgne before you see it. From the moment you pass through the wooden gate at the far end of the car park, there is a persistent, growing roar. It’s not loud enough to be alarming, but insistent enough that it pulls you forward. It is the sound of water doing what water always eventually does: finding a way through.

The river goes over the boulders and under them. It bores holes through them. It neatly sidesteps them, leaving some high and dry. It divides into braided channels and reunites on the other side. And through all of this it maintains a kind of gleeful energy: the hydraulic equivalent of a laugh.

In the steeper sections, the water launches off the lips of flat quartzite shelves in miniature waterfalls and drops into clear, dark plunge pools. In the quieter stretches, it eddies around mossy boulders, slowing to a momentary calm before the next obstacle picks up the pace again. In spring and after heavy rain, the full force of the High Fens’ precipitation channels through here, and the roar becomes something closer to thunder. Visit in summer and you will find sunlight fracturing through the canopy and hitting the white water below. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful natural sights in Belgium.

The green world of the Hoëgne

The moisture that the Hoëgne throws into the air does not go to waste. The Valley of the Hoëgne is one of the most botanically lush places in the Belgian Ardennes, and the greenery that coats every available surface is a direct consequence of the river’s restless energy.

The boulders themselves are upholstered in moss. It makes deep, saturated carpets of green and gold that soften every hard edge. Cushion mosses, feather mosses, and sphagnum occupy every crack and shelf. Ferns colonise the shaded bases of rocks and trees in dense, tropical-looking clusters. Lichens paint the upper surfaces of the driest stones in grey, silver, and pale orange.

The trees that line the Valley of the Hoëgne grow with an urgency that suggests they are in competition with the river itself. Alders and willows drape their branches to the waterline. Oaks and beeches perch on the valley sides, their roots gripping the exposed rock. In some places the canopy is so dense that the gorge feels like a tunnel of green; in others, a gap in the trees lets the sky in and the light cascades down onto the white water below.

Look carefully at the waterline and you will find trees that appear to grow directly from the river itself. Their roots have been exposed by erosion, their trunks leaning out over the current. It gives the valley an otherworldly quality, somewhere between temperate rainforest and the illustrations in a fairy tale. The Garden of Eden in Wallonia, as I once thought of it, is not an exaggeration.

The human story of the Hoëgne

Léonard Legras and the first walkers

The valley has not always been an easy place to walk. Before the 19th century, the gorge was difficult terrain. Rocky, wet, and largely impenetrable. It was Léonard Legras of Sart who changed that. In the early 1800s, Legras saw the valley’s beauty and set about making it accessible. He blazed the first proper trails through the gorge and laid the foundations for what would become one of the most visited walking routes in Wallonia.

Look carefully as you walk and you will find a memorial plaque in his honour. It was placed there in 1899 by Queen Marie Henriette herself, near the Cascade Léopold II. It is a small thing, easy to miss, but well worth looking out for.

Iron, slate, and peat

The Hoëgne has not always been a place for contemplation and walking. For several centuries the river was an industrial resource. The Marquisate of Franchimont (the medieval lordship whose ruined castle still overlooks the Hoëgne valley from a rocky height near Theux) drew considerable wealth from the river’s power and from the iron ore deposits in the surrounding hills.

Iron forges operated along the valley, using the river’s flow to drive their bellows and hammers. The Marquisate was well-known for its iron extraction, and numerous iron ore deposits of varying quality are still present in the rock today. Along the Hoëgne between Parfondbois and the old Thorez mill, a former slate quarry can also be found. It’s a cavity carved into the slate rock since 1773, and once supplied the roofing slates for local buildings including the church at Solwaster. And at Parfondbois, a former peat bog of around eight hectares once provided fuel for the thermal baths of Spa. The peat of the Hoëgne valley has unusually low acidity and prized therapeutic properties. It was harvested from 1935 until 1994, when the last usable deposits were exhausted.

The old railway line that once served the Spa-Trois-Ponts route ran along the south-western slope of the valley. Closed in 1970, it was converted into a Ravel (Rail-Vélo-Loisirs) trail, and today it forms part of the ridge path on the return leg of the walk.

Turner in the Hoëgne valley

The Hoëgne valley has attracted admirers well beyond the hiking community. In 1839, the English Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner passed through this area while on a sketching tour of Belgium. His gouache paintings of Franchimont Castle are among the most atmospheric depictions of the Ardennes landscape ever made. Turner crossed the Hoëgne River at Marché de Theux and climbed the hillside to study the ruins from close quarters. The view he found there – a storm-grey sky over ochre hills, a solitary ruin – became the subject of five separate gouaches, now held in the Tate collection in London.

Walking the valley: The route in detail

Getting to the start

By car, enter Roquez 49, 4845 Jalhay-Sart into your GPS. The road leads down to a car park that requires crossing a shallow ford. This is not the Hoëgne itself, but a small tributary. In summer this ford is very shallow and poses no issue for ordinary cars. After heavy rain, or in winter, it is worth checking conditions in advance. If in doubt, you can park at the top of the road near the junction of the N640 and Roquez and walk down on foot.

A café-restaurant sits close to the car park, making this a good choice for a post-walk meal, particularly if you have not packed a picnic.

By public transport, take the train to Verviers, then a bus to Sart-lez-Spa (check the current TEC timetable for frequencies), and then walk approximately 15–20 minutes to the start.

Into the gorge

The route begins at the far end of the car park, through a wooden gate. Follow the blue cross waymarkers upstream. You genuinely cannot get lost. The path stays close to the river throughout the gorge section, sometimes running directly alongside the water, sometimes climbing a short way up the bank to negotiate a particularly challenging section.

The wooden bridges are a delight in themselves: each one is slightly different, set at a different angle to the current, and offering a different view upstream or downstream. Pause on each one and look both ways: the framing of the river through the trees changes constantly.

Approximately two-thirds of the way along, you will reach a picnic area with a covered shelter and benches. This is an excellent place to stop, eat, and listen to the river without the interruption of other walkers passing.

The Bridge of Centenaire

At the head of the gorge, the valley opens out into a wide, airy expanse. Here stands the Bridge of Centenaire. It’s an elegant stone arch built in 1930 to mark the 100th anniversary of Belgian independence. It is a beautiful and slightly unexpected structure in this wild landscape, and the grassy area around it makes an excellent second picnic spot with views up towards the open High Fens plateau.

The return: Ridge path and lookout

From the bridge, you could simply retrace your steps but I suggest you don’t. Turn left onto the wooden path and follow the blue cross and GR markers, which lead you up the valley side, climbing through the trees until you are looking down on the river below. A small lookout shelter provides a panoramic view of the gorge you have just walked through. From above, the scale of the boulder field becomes even more apparent.

The path then meanders back down through the forest, rejoining the river for the final section back to the car park. The total distance is approximately 11 km.

So what are you waiting for? Cancel that trip to Paris. Postpone that shopping excursion. Turn a blind eye to those garden weeds. Put that clear-out of the attic on hold. Go to the Valley of the Hoëgne. Now. Today. Next week. Next month. But go there!

Downloadable route map

To download the route plus GPX coordinates, go to my RouteYou page. Here’s the map of the route too. You can download it as a PDF.

Any questions, drop me a comment.

Where to stay near the Valley of the Hoëgne

There are some outstanding places to stay in the area for an overnight or longer, such as:

• B&B La Maison de Régine, Rue Haut Vinâve 35A, 4845 Jalhay: “Very cosy and convenient. Nice small town. Close to some great areas for hiking and sightseeing. Very easy to find, and easy to park.”
• B&B Au Coq en Pate, Route de Parfondbois 36, 4845 Jalhay: “Great location surrounded by beautiful nature, very friendly host, great breakfast.”
• Au repos du Vicomte, Avenue Joseph Jongen 85, 4845 Cockaifagne: “We had an exceptional stay here. Everything was perfect: impeccable cleanliness, quality equipment and careful decoration.”

For other accommodation in the area, here’s a link you can start with:

Frequently Asked Questions

Denzil Walton

I created Discovering Belgium in 2011 to share the country’s hidden stories, fascinating places, and remarkable people. Through articles, photography, and audio walks, I share discoveries that reveal Belgium beyond the obvious. Hope you enjoy this site.