Aywaille in the country of Ourthe – Amblève

A nice alternative when walking on the Ninglinspo is too busy. Explore the narrow, rugged banks of the Amblève such as the Fonds de Quarreux and stroll through nature reserves such as Heid des Gates with its steep cliffs. A difficult walk of almost 25 km through woods and along the slopes of the Amblève valley.

Little by little, the last days of a hot and dry summer, there is still a great opportunity to enjoy a Belgian river with a landscape rich in relief in preparation for our annual trip (abroad) to the mountains. Today direction Aywaille an hour and a half drive from Brussels. Not a group of islands of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, but a village in the province of Liège on the Amblève that is pronounced 'Éwaj' and not as 'Aywaie or (h)Awaii'...

We park at the Aywaille swimming pool a hundred meters from the station and start the first climb to the nature reserve 'Heid des Gattes'. A piece of rugged nature with cliffs up to 50m high - in an area of 54 hectares on the southern border of Condroz. Since 1952, this site has been inscribed on the list of exceptional heritage of Wallonia and has since been extended to the two surrounding quarries of Goiveux and Falize. We take the time to explore this nature reserve along its cliffs, through its cavities and cave ruins.

Please note!  The scattered rock debris shows that you are quite careful and that you better not walk too short under the steeper cliffs... 

When we descend to the banks of the Ambléve we arrive at Sougné-Remouchamps. Philippe Gilbert's former residence before he moved to Monaco and a village at the foot of the Côte de La Redoute - a more difficult climb in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège cycling classic. In this part of Aywaille you can also explore the caves of Remouchamps. A cave system less known than the Han Caves, but this "miracle of miracles" already has one of the longest underground boat tours in the world on the Rubicon.

What also dominates the landscape of this village are the viaducts of Sécheval and Remouchamps. These girder bridges of the E25/A26 are 340m long and 939m, at an altitude of 80m above the Amblève valley. Locally also known as the Viaduct of Suicides or Viaduct of Suicide (suicide prevention - call 1830) marries this impressive construction of 1980.

Unfortunately, as pedestrians, we cannot use these viaducts to cross the valleys of the Gervova stream and the Amblève. Therefore, this means twice a steep and steep climb, followed by an equally steep descent. After the second calf biter, we decide to take a short break at a beautiful viewpoint - Belvedere Rahir. A perfect picnic area overlooking the Château de Montjardin and its surrounding estate. Once a 12th century watchtower that has been extended over the years to the contemporary castle estate. In 2016, the estate became the first estate to obtain the " Wildlife Estates" label, a label that rewards owners for their efforts in favor of nature and their biodiversity.

Enough break and time to do some mileage. We descend next to the pillars of this viaduct. After crossing the N697 - Rue de Spa, today we begin the fourth significant climb, in the shadow of this huge motorway viaduct of Remouchamps. A climb to say hello, but by which we cut a meander of the Amblève and allows to shorten considerably the kilometers. At the top of this difficult climb, we arrive via Heid Rochette at the top of the Rochettes hill. Then we go down via Heid Des Nacecelles, to return to Amblève. No path, but an oblique path along the N633 - Rue de Trois-Ponts and a bridge over the Amblève take us to the next village on our way.

Nonceveux, a village located in a meander of the Amblève and near its confluence with the Ninglinspo - a beautiful tributary that we explored some time ago and that is known to several hikers. In hot weather like today or lockdowns, it can be very crowded, so today we adapt to this jewel and decide to continue our way via the banks of the Amblève.

Not by GR571 - Tour of the Valleys of Legends, but by a road on the other side of this legendary river - Amblève. Tributary of the Ourthe which rises near Honsfeld, at an altitude of about 600 m above sea level, in the municipality of Büllingen. With its basin in the Hautes Ardennes, this 90 km long stream crosses the waterfalls of Coo à l'Ourthe, which in turn flows into the Meuse.

Especially the piece of Fonds de Quarreux makes this river a special place. The Amblève is dotted with many rounded quartzite blocks of all sizes and which are among the oldest in the Ardennes. It is also here that the Amblève valley is narrowest and most deeply carved by millions of years of river erosion, landslides and floods, which have made this place this rugged part of the Amblève today.

Shaped by Mother Nature or by the devil? According to a local legend, the large rounded blocks are the remains of a mill that was destroyed by the devil. This after the miller sold his soul to the devil against whom his wife rebelled. As punishment for the miller, the devil killed the miller's wife and destroyed her mill. The rocks of Fond de Quarreux are still the only remains of the mill, where man was sometimes heard crying.

From a small tributary of the Amblève we leave the valley of the Amblève to climb via the Bois Du Seigneur towards the Bois D'Aywaille. A large forest and countless narrow trails take us back to today's starting point.

After crossing the E25/A26 motorway with a small tunnel, Le Grand Bois takes us with pretty narrow paths through the hamlet of Stoqueu and the Côte de Kin to Chantoir de Kin. Kin - A hamlet in Aywaille on the border of the Ardennes with Calestienne. The Calestienne is recognizable by the presence of chantoires or sinkholes and several numerous caves in this region rich in limestone. In this hamlet we are forced to follow the wider GR575/576 - Through Le Condroz to the even smaller hamlet of Henumont thanks to an inaccessible rest area for game (full of hunting huts).

From this hamlet, we descend to the planned route and the ruins of the Château Vieux Jardin. Some remains of walls dating back to 1327 and the first location was Château Mon Jardin - the castle we encountered earlier on our way and was still functioning as a watchtower in 1327. After taking some paths zigzagging through these ruins, we descend to the Doctor Thiry Caves and the Rue Du Fond de Kin.

The last part of our rather challenging day trip starts at NewLife Outdoor or at an adventurous park where you can practice adventurous activities in addition to climbing and via ferrata. We climb this converted quarry along a public road on the left edge of this old quarry, where we can take a look at this Dieufart Quarry at the top. After a commemorative stone and a little further the bank of the romantic writer Marcellin Lagarde from 1930.

After descending a staircase next to the railway and taking the tunnel below, we approach the Aywaille station and its center of this Liège commune. A village with many cafes and restaurants where especially the rue Hongrée managed to charm me. A nice reward in a good restaurant after this arduous walk of nearly 25km, through this beautiful part of Belgium rich in relief.