Parc naturel des Deux Ourthes

The Parc naturel des Deux Ourthes is a big, lived-in slice of the Belgian Ardennes in Luxembourg province, Wallonia, named for the two branches of the Ourthe, the orientale and the occidentale, that both rise here and join inside the park before the river runs on to La Roche-en-Ardenne. It covers about 760 km² across six municipalities, with Houffalize and La Roche-en-Ardenne the handiest bases and Bastogne and Gouvy out on the edges, and it feels like a working countryside of deep wooded valleys, plateaus around 600 m, farm villages and big timber, including the Forêt de Freyr, the largest forest block in the Belgian Ardenne, rather than a fenced-off wilderness. The set piece is Le Hérou at Nadrin, a craggy ridge where the Ourthe coils through hairpin meanders in the valley far below, and the views there are earned on foot from the crest. For wildlife, the quiet riverside reserves shelter black storks (cigogne noire) and beavers, and strict pockets like the Rouge Poncé, the second-oldest nature reserve in Wallonia (1969), sit inside the wider park.

Plan around the trails and the water. Roughly 100 km of marked paths cross the park and the long-distance GR57 (Sentiers de l'Ourthe) follows the river through it, but the walk most people come for is the short loop from Nadrin out to the Hérou rocks, about 6 km, moderate, with some rocky and uneven footing; it pairs well with the nearby Cheslé, an ancient Celtic hillfort wrapped by a bend of the Ourthe. Paddlers put in at the Lac de Nisramont, the reservoir just below where the two Ourthes meet, for the classic kayak descent toward Maboge and La Roche-en-Ardenne, while a lakeside loop of about 9 km circles the water for walkers. Kayaking depends on water levels, so it mostly runs from spring into early summer and can be suspended when the Ourthe drops, worth checking before you set out. Two things to know: the old belvédère tower above the Hérou at Nadrin is currently closed and off-limits under a municipal order, so t