The rocky Ourthe between Rivage and Bomal - train

A walk from A to B along the rocky Ourthe between the provinces of Liège and Luxembourg. A significant train trek in the shadow of GR57 - Sentiers de l'Ourthe and GR575/576 - A travers le Condroz. We make some challenging climbs through beautiful rock masses such as Les Tartines, Les Roches Noires, and the Rocks of Sy. 

 

Walk the entire 26km or shorten your hike with 4 available stations along the way. 

On the 2nd day of our hiking weekend, we made a solid - in hindsight the most challenging hike of several marked routes around Durbuy in the province of Luxembourg. We drive down to Bomal - a district of Durbuy, where we leave the car at the station. We take the train to Rivage, but you can choose to get off earlier (Sy, Hamoir, or Comblain-la-Tour). We opt for the full stretch of 26 km between Bomal station - province of Luxembourg and Rivage - province of Liège.

 

Intermediate distances Rivage towards Bomal (upstream):

Rivage - Comblain-la-Tour = 8.6km (Les Tartines & Les Roches Noires)

Comblain-la-Tour - Hamoir = 6km (station +1 km from the route = 7km)

Hamoir - Sy = 4.4km (rocks Hé Quenet & Roches Des Vignobles)

Sy - Bomal = 7.2km (rocks of Sy - adventurous path = not recommended in wet or slippery weather -> it's best to stay on the GR)

 

We make our marked walk this time upstream next to the Ourthe and take the train to the station of Rivage (province of Liège). A 20-minute ride for 3.5 euros (Duo Ticket) forms our starting point, where the Amblève has just flowed into the Ourthe. 

We follow this wider Ourthe to Rue de Liotte, where we cross the Amblève's last meters via a bridge. The end of a 90km long Amblève, which springs in Honsfeld and flows into the Ourthe here via the famous waterfalls of Coo.  

 

We are just 1km in and stay on Rue de Liotte, which at the intersection of Rue d'Aywaille transitions to Rue de la Gare, but without a station. First, we follow a small section of GR571 - Tour des Vallées des Légendes before leaving it at the rock mass Les Tartines. 

 

An extra loop that is really worth it in a rather special rock formation. These cliffs in the shape of slices of bread or sandwiches have been a protected reserve since 1949. A nice piece with challenging trails in this rocky area with caves and natural arches in the rocks. After a steeper descent, we arrive at an overgrown path that leads us to a small tunnel under rail line L43 and Ravel 7, right next to the Ourthe. 

 

 

We follow the Ourthe briefly downstream to climb via the bridge Rue du Pont - N633 to the next unique rock mass of Roches Noires or Black Rocks. Again, a beautiful piece of nature and also a nature reserve at the border with Comblain-au-Pont. A few lovely viewpoints already give us a glimpse of this old village that owes its name to the Latin - Confluentes or confluence - just like the German Koblenz. 

 

About 4km in and we arrive via a forest with special statues - part of an open-air museum - at the old cemetery of Comblain-au-Pont with its Tour Saint-Martin. The Saint Martin's tower has been rebuilt since 18 and stands on the foundations of an old medieval donjon overlooking the village from this rock.

 

Special about this place is the particularly old cemetery with an appropriate old bell tower and a nice path that takes you via several stairs and metal balconies to the center of this village at Place Leblanc. 

 

We cross the Ourthe and follow this 110 km river for a little under 3km along a flatter stretch. The Ourthe, a tributary of the Meuse that originates at the dam of Nisramont - through the confluence of the Western Ourthe 52km and Eastern Ourthe 46km - and then flows into Liège. 

 

Still a long way from Liège (+-30km) as we walk upstream, but we are at the next village - Comblain-La-Tour. A village that became world-famous because of an open-air jazz festival featuring names like Nina Simone and Ray Charles. The festival ended in 1966, but is sometimes called the mother of European festivals. Comblain-La-Tour, a district of Hamoir that also, like the previous 'Comblain,' owes its name to Latin for confluence, but this time with the stream Boé. The 'tour' or tower of Comblain has long since disappeared, but dated back to the year 1000. The fortified house built against the tower in 1537 can still be found in this village by the Ourthe. 

We partially follow the Gr 57 - Sentiers de l'Ourthe from Comblain-la-Tour, where we choose a shorter version with a few challenging paths. From Xhignesse, we decide not to descend to Hamoir, but to climb towards Rocher de Coisse. A rockier area with a beautiful view over Hamoir is the reward we receive for this quite decent climb with tired legs after the first 14km... Time to take a break at this beautiful spot with a picnic bench.

We head down to the N66 - Route de Filot, to take another nice path through this 'Bois de Spineu' after 100m. For those who want to go to Hamoir station, the Route de Filot continues (over the Ourthe) to the station. We go a little further and encounter another steep climb with alternating viewpoints on the mountain ridge Hé Quenet. These provide a last glimpse of Hamoir before continuing through this forest and a bit further through meadows towards Roches Des Vignobles. These vineyard rocks are the first of our next beautiful rock mass on our path - The rocks of Sy.

 

Sy, a small typical Ardennes village with houses built from limestone and has now grown into a tourist site with cafés, restaurants, hotels, and a playground on the banks of the Ourthe. The success of this idyllic village is mainly due to its unique location (cul-de-sac), located by the Ourthe with a beautiful swimming area and majestic rocks in the well-known climbing mass of the rocks of Sy. 

The next place on our path, where we leave the GR to take some challenging paths through this heritage classified since 1942. A beautiful piece of climbing walking work leads us further through these beautiful rocks where climbing was restricted for years. Between 2012 & 2019, these rocks were systematically reopened for climbers, and you can again climb the rocks Tunnel des Trous, de La Vierge, de Cathedrale, du Banc & de Nanduire either via ropes or through this adventurous path.

 

 Since this trail resembles an alpine trail, be cautious, and it's not recommended in wet or slippery weather! A section with 2 climbs and 2 descents that require much energy, but it's definitely worth it - for hikers who don't like heights and rocky paths, the GR can be followed further.

 

After climbing up again for the 2nd time along these super trails, we also follow the GR575/576 - A travers le Condroz to a viewpoint above Domaine De Palogne. We leave this GR to follow the Ourthe further after this steeper descent next to a cave. We cross Domaine De Palogne via a footbridge over the Ourthe and switch the province of Liège for the province of Luxembourg. The RAV-OU - Ravel of the Ourthe brings us, with now quite tired legs from numerous climbs on these steeper mountain slopes next to the Ourthe. The ideal swimming temperatures (a bit less for hilly hikes) invite us to cool off a bit at the foot of Roche Aux Corneilles. This beautiful 35m high 'crow rock' also features a underwater section - called Roche à Hierneux - with 4 hollows, one of which runs through the rock. 

It's obvious that you should be careful of underwater currents when swimming here and better not swim at the foot of this rock.

 

A lovely cool down on this warm day that gives our legs a bit of a kick again, after drying off and enjoying the sun that will set soon. So it's high time to get moving again, and we follow this Ravel next to the Ourthe a bit further. Behind us, to the left of Roche Aux Corneilles, the ruins of Château Fort de Logne appear on a mountain top. An old fortress that has its origins as far back as the end of antiquity and served as a first garrison since the 5th century. You can visit this place for a fee, where you can get the necessary explanation about its entire history. Perhaps a visit with the children, but now the last kilometers.

We cross the railway again via a tunnel to start the climb to the first rock - Rocher de la Croix, where via a viewpoint we can see the next rocks on our path - Rocher Du Calvaire and our final destination Bomal. Bomal, the last village of Luxembourg on the Ourthe that has belonged to the city of Durbuy since the municipality merger in 1977. We follow the street Champoutre for another 500m to reach Bomal station again.

 

I can summarize it as a very demanding journey with plenty of tough climbs through beautiful rock masses here by the Ourthe. Hardly any people encountered along the way except near Sy. For me personally, it was the most beautiful of the three hikes we made here in the vicinity of Durbuy. A nice second place for the walk around Durbuy with its monkey bridges and in third the Megaliths of Wéris, where there are slightly broader paths, and I enjoy rocky singletracks with a challenge...