GRAND CANYON OF FLANDERS - one of the largest heathlands in Flanders!

Video: GRAND CANYON OF FLANDERS 6.5KM - one of the largest heath areas in Flanders! Maasmechelen - YouTube

We start at the entrance gate of the Mechelse Heide. We find parking directly opposite camping Salamander. Immediately after the start, we see on the right the setting of the hourglass path, a wheelchair-accessible path of 1.5 km through the former sand quarry. It's definitely worth taking a look. After 300 meters we go through a gate towards a climb. This climb takes us over 500 meters to the viewpoint over the Maas Valley and the Hoge Kempen National Park. This panoramic point is marked with a large compass on the ground. We walk a bit further in this elevated area until after 1.25 km we start to descend towards the large lake, during this descent you walk through a hollow sandy path. We continue along the water and when we have walked 1.5 km, we see on the left the active sand quarry of the Mechelse Heide. The scenery resembles a mini Grand Canyon. From this spot, we walk 1.25 km further along sandy paths that sometimes include sloping sections. We are 3 km into our walk when we take a long staircase down into the valley of the area. The first part is a sandy path that will take us to the Purpere Heide. The Purpere Heide begins when we are about 3.5 km in. We now walk 2 km through the Purpere Heide overlooking the valley. We have completed 5.5 km when the heath transitions into a wooded area. We walk another 1 km through the forest until we reach the parking at the entrance gate of the Mechelse Heide. In total, we have covered 6.5 km.