Geul & Gerendal

Walking route Schin op Geul – Gulpen

To get straight to the point: this is a top route. From the NS train station Schin op Geul, you walk into the Geul Valley. The route goes through the meadows along the Geul, one of the most beautiful rivers in the Netherlands, heading towards Wijlre and Gulpen. After a break in Gulpen, you go back up and arrive via a plateau in the Gerendal, one of the most beautiful valleys in the Netherlands. A surprising ending awaits: an old castle and a centuries-old hermitage.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROUTE SPECIAL

the meadows along the idyllic Geul

the always lively Gulpen with its craft beers

the Gerendal, the most famous flowery valley in the Netherlands

GEUL

You walk through the meadows along the Geul. This stream resembles a mountain brook. The water flows quite quickly due to the drop. The Geul has a drop of no less than 240 meters over its 58 km from source to mouth. In many places, the steep marl bank is undermined by the current, causing the wide bends in the river to become wider. Thanks to the improved water quality, brook trouts are swimming in the Geul again.

THE SHEEP WELL IN THE GERENDAL

‘Go on and make others happier’ – loosely translated: go ahead and make others happier. That is the inscription on the wayside cross at the Sheep Well in the Gerendal. The sheep well dates back to around 1550. The pool by the well was once a watering place for livestock. The Gerendal is a so-called ‘dry valley’. Staatsbosbeheer is the lucky owner of this most famous flowery valley in the Netherlands.
Due to the varied chalk soil, a large number of chalk-loving plants grow in both the forests and the meadows. More than 140 species can be found, including the wild columbine, the German gentian, and about fifteen species of orchids. The orchid garden in the valley can be visited in May and June, sometimes extending into July.

THE HERMITAGE ON THE SCHAELSBERG

The Hermitage, a building constructed from marl with stepped gables, was built in 1688 on the orders of the Lord of Schaloen, Count Hoen van Cartiels. It was inhabited from the start by a hermit who spent his days in prayer and contemplation.
Until 1930, when Brother Lutgerus, the last hermit, left the place. Next to the Hermitage lies a chapel, in which two hermits are buried. People from the far and wide flocked to this special place, where Saint Rochus was venerated. The saint was invoked in the late Middle Ages against the plague. His likeness stands in a niche of the chapel.
Every year, on the last Sunday of June, there is still a pilgrimage to the chapel to ward off contagious diseases.