People don’t see Belgium as a hiking destination. Tourists mostly visit the big cities on a 1 or 2 day stopover during a Eurotrip. But they miss out on a beautiful country with forests, rivers, lakes and streams. With hidden waterfalls and swamps. Sleepy villages where time stood still, with rolling hills and grass fields with cows and sheep.

The most interesting hikes are in the south of the country. This region is called The Ardennes and is known for it’s pine forests and wildlife. People go there to hike, kayak, cycle, mountainbike and camp. The terrain changes from open fields to forests and swamps. It can get hilly from time to time but with the highest point of Belgium (Signal de Botrange) only being 692 meters above sea level don’t expect anything crazy. This point is situated in East Belgium in a area called De Hoge Venen. There are a few beautiful rivers in the Ardennes that are excellent to explore. The Maas, Semois, Ourthe and Ambleve are just a few examples but there are many smaller creeks and streams hidden in the countryside and forests.

There are many marked trails but if you have a GPS or GPS app on your phone you can just wander around and make your own path. I use Maverick for navigation. Just make sure you pay attention that you don’t enter private property because sometimes it is not that clearly marked. You are also not allowed to camp in the wild in Belgium but this doesn’t mean that you can’t try it. There are a few spots where you can pitch your tent for free. You can find them here.

Reaching the starting points of the hikes is a bit of a mission if you don’t have your own transport. Getting there with public transport is possible for some hikes but you will have to plan it right.

Please feel free to send me a message if you need information about certain hikes and I will try to help you out. For now just enjoy my photos  and hiking reports and get inspired to go out and explore!