Highlights:
River valleys of the Amel and the Warche
Wilde panoramas over the Belgian Eifel landscape
Lakes of Bütgenbach and Robertville
Malmedy, small tourist town
Included in the price
- 5 overnight stays with breakfast in 5 hotels
- 5 evening meals
- 5 packed lunches
- hiking maps + descriptions of the route
- baggage transport
- documentation
Amel – Losheimergraben (21 km)
Day 1:
You start on GR56 in the village of Amel at the junction of Büllinger Straße (N658) towards Eupen, Büllingen or Bütgenbach. After only a short distance, the route turns off into a wonderful hiking trail which goes to Valender along the Amel. Via a wide tarmac road you then proceed to Heppenbach and Hepscheid on the watershed between the Maas (Amel, Ourthe) and the Rhine (Our, Moselle). After going through a wooded area, you reach the village of Honsfeld, surrounded by a magnificent meadow landscape. The Vennbahn passes very close by, and there are still relics from long forgotten times to be seen here. For example an old railway tunnel you have to go through. Through an attractive forest landscape, the long-distance hiking trail continues along the old railway line. After going through the dense woods, you find that you have reached the N632 and the destination in Losheimergraben is very close.
Losheimergraben – Bütgenbach (19 km)
Day 2:
On the second day, Honsfeld is the first place you come to, but this time the route runs in a north-westerly direction via an open meadow landscape to Büllingen. The municipality of Büllingen comprises 27 towns and villages and is the highest in Belgium. The Our and the Warche both begin their course here. Just behind the town, the first marshland meadows of the Warche valley can be seen. The route runs past below the village of Wirtzfeld towards the reservoir at Bütgenbach. There, you can follow the hiking route 'around the lake', which offers magnificent views at any time of the year. The reservoir was constructed in 1932 and has a capacity of 12 million m³. In summer, the lake attracts many bathers. The hiking trail runs more or less along its shore and the stage ends in Berg.
Bütgenbach – Malmedy (22 km)
Day 3:
Via the impressive dam wall of the lake at Bütgenbach, you set off on the third stage of this hike. South of the village of Nidrum, the route now follows the Warche towards Weywertz. A wonderful landscape of meadows and hedgerows lies before you. On the 'Warche tour', this vivacious river is with you all the time. Often, you follow narrow trails or wider gravel paths. Overall, there's certainly plenty of variety. On the one hand, there are no major climbs to be tackled today, but on the other, the hiker receives compensation for the relative flatness of the route in the form of some great views of the Warche, which gets wider all the time. Below the village of Outrewarche, the outskirts of the lake at Robertville can already be discerned. Via the campsite, you come right down to the shore of the reservoir, which was built for the generation of electricity. This little path is quite exciting, beginning after Halen bridge and then winding its way to the dam wall.
Behind the wall, the descent towards the Warche valley begins with a magnificent view out over Reinhardstein Castle. The continuation towards Malmedy takes you on through the wild Warche valley. The trail continues to be exciting and fascinating. Once you have left the woods, the landscape becomes more open again. It goes on up into the village of Chôdes, and then, without any more major turns, to the destination in Malmedy. You arrive at this idyllic tourist town on the Warche via an old way of the cross.
Malmedy – Ligneuville (21 km)
Day 4:
On the fourth day, you walk southwards from the centre of Malmedy on to one of the hills that surround the town. At Hurdebise it's worth making a brief stop to enjoy the wonderful panorama. After the village of Falize, the hiker should also make time for a detour to the 'rocher de Warche' (Warche rock). This quartz rock offers a postcard view out over the river bed of the Amel valley. An easy woodland trail turns off to the right in der village of Cligneval and intersects with the confluence of the Amel and the Warche under the motorway bridge. Here, the GR hiking trail makes a detour towards Stavelot. Via the villages of Villers and Lasneville, you come to Pont, a village known for its trout farms. From there, an easy trail takes you to the end of this stage at Ligneuville.
Ligneuville – Amel (16 km)
Day 5:
The final stage takes you from Ligneuville back to the starting point in Amel. The start is via the main road towards Malmedy and Waimes. Behind the village graveyard (where the grave of the legendary Monsieur Hawarden is to be found), the trail branches off to the right towards the Amel valley. There too, you get a nice view of the local trout farms which made this village known. Through the majestic state forest of Haut-Sart, you finally come to the somewhat more elevated village of Ondenval, before the route goes back down into the Amel valley and off towards Wolfsbusch. An old way of the cross brings you to the idyllic monastery of St. Raphael, which is in the possession of the Steyler monks today, functioning as a meeting place. In the area around Montenau, according to the legend, a considerable quantity of gold was found in Roman times, and in the 19th century and after the 2nd World War too, adventurers tried their luck here searching for gold. Obviously not always with the desired result. After this, you return to the starting point in Amel via Iveldingen and Deidenberg.
