EUPEN
We cross the old Weser bridge. At the end of the bridge, we turn left into Selterschlag. This already sets our main direction for today: we are hiking south. At the new bridge, we cross Malmedyer Street and arrive at the spot where the Hill flows into the Weser. We now follow the "Hill", which will be our "companion" for a long time today. We leave Eupen via the district "Hütte" and walk past the swimming pool and the tennis park, soon entering the Hertogenwald. We continue straight along the wide forest road to the "Schwarze Brücke" (Black Bridge).
3.2 Km - SCHWARZE BRÜCKE
At the "Schwarze Brücke", the Soor (another Venn stream) flows into the Hill. We walk left over the narrow black bridge and immediately after leaving the bridge, turn right onto a narrow path. From now on, it gets sporty: narrow paths lead through the spruce forest. The network of roots demands our full attention. But shortly after, we reach a wide forest path again and after a total of about 7 km on foot, we arrive at the Hill reservoir. After the Hill reservoir, the path becomes narrow and more challenging again. The valley narrows and the riverside of the Hill is sometimes quite steep. After 14 km on foot, we arrive at the "Herzogenhügel".
11.3 Km - HERZOGENHÜGEL
Here our white/red marking asks us to cross the Hill. A few years ago, the forestry department installed a new footbridge here, making the crossing easy. Previously, one had to cross a ford and step over stones through the stream to get to the other side. Many got wet feet here. When the Hill carried too much water, crossing the stream was nearly impossible. Therefore, GR-Sentiers has long established an alternative route from Herzogenhügel, marked with a white crossbar on the hiking sign.
Those who are not so fit at Herzogenhügel should better choose the alternative route (variant). However, if you are still "fit on foot" here, you should enjoy this section; it is certainly one of the highlights of the East Belgium route. We stick to the original route and cross the bridge. Now we continue hiking along the left bank of the Hill (the stream is always on our left while hiking) and pass through a very beautiful floodplain forest area. Our path leads us through the large and small Bongard (Grand Bongard – Petit Bongard).
However, the path is not easy to master and is partly "boggy" especially in wet weather. After an adventurous path along the Hill, we leave the Hill valley over the "Marie Anne Libert" bridge. On the other side, we climb a hill between gnarled trees. Here at the edge of the Walloon Venn, we first have to enjoy the magnificent Venn landscape. Our hiking trail runs along the edge of the Venn— with a forest belt on the right and the Walloon Venn on the left—continuing south.
To the right ahead, we see in the distance the tower of Signal de Botrange. After a short departure from the Venn belt, we go through a narrow forest belt called "La Béôle". Here the GR56 comes up from Monschau and will accompany us to the Nature Park Center.
4 Km - LA BEOLE
We now walk along the left edge of the Walloon Venn. In the hollow, we cross the Rur and remain further along the edge of the Venn. At the place called "Haie du Souk" we walk straight ahead and cross the main road N676. The Nature Park Center is in front of us.
4 Km - NATURE PARK CENTER BOTRANGE
