Pottelberg forest

The Pottelberg forest or D'Hoppebos (French: Bois du Pottelberg or Bois de La Houppe) is a forest near D'Hoppe in the Walloon Vloesberg in Hainaut (Belgium), on the border with the Flemish Ardennes in South-East Flanders. The Pottelberg forest is located in the very relief-rich landscape of the Pays des Collines, with steep valley walls, rolling hills and deeply incised stream valleys. The forest on the Pottelberg is part of the forest belt on the witness hills of the region and connects seamlessly with the Brakelbos across the language border. The forest is recognized as 'Site de Grand Intérêt Biologique' (SGIB551). The Pottelberg forest is also (together with the Livierenbos) European protected as a Natura 2000 area under the name 'Vallée de la Rhosnes' (BE32004C0). As part of the Interreg project Salamandra, an amphibian tunnel was constructed for the toad and the fire salamander.

The Pottelberg forest is home to numerous animal species, including middle spotted woodpecker, wasp thief, buzzard, roe deer and fox.

The Pottelberg forest is an Atlantic beech forest ('cathedral forest') that therefore mainly consists of beech trees. The area is characterized by spring bloomers such as bluebell.

Loebas