ビルゼンの峡谷・トップ6

Overall, this place and the surrounding area is a great practice ground for sand riding and has beautiful nature.

There are old flint quarries in this area: the “Carrières de silex du Thier des Vignes”.

A mysterious flint cave on the edge of the Albert Canal, near the locks at Klein Ternaaien. You reach the entrance via a steep path through the woods. The caves are dark, cool, and full of atmosphere—perfect for those who love hidden natural spaces. Bring a flashlight and good walking shoes!

There is now also a mammoth skeleton in De Kuil. Don't believe it? Read more here: https://www.zonhoven.be/rendierjagerspad De Kuil has indeed been included - and successfully - in the new Reindeer Hunters' Trail. Be sure to walk around there too, new benches, information boards and fun things that refer to prehistoric times. And if you want to see the cross-country skiers at work, you should definitely also check out the grass areas behind the pit where sometimes a runner goes up high via one of the ski jumps.

Impressive, you can see some caves.

Wonderful single track with deliciously scented wild garlic on both sides.

The Trichterberg quarry is located in the forest to the left of the steep Eckelraderweg, between Gronsveld and Eckelrade. Diagonally opposite are dole chambers. The quarry has been designated as a “Geological Monument”. Steep limestone walls with here and there sawn surfaces and a few small corridor remains are the only remains. Not much is known about the Trichterberg quarry. That is why Peter Jennekens, Kevin Amendt and Rob Habets wrote a source overview for the magazine of the Study Group Underground Limestone Quarries - Natural History Society in Limburg. Based on this, they cautiously conclude that the origin of the quarry must lie somewhere between the years 1846 and 1867. The entire PDF with all sources can be found at https://www.sok.nl (November 2013 edition).

Text board [see photo] Limestone quarry Trichterberg Geological Monument Limestone quarry Trichterberg In the past, limestone was mined at this location. This limestone was used as building blocks and at a later time for fertilizing (oenergelen) fields and meadows ` In the upper Cretaceous (80 to 65 million years ago) the whole of South Limburg was flooded by a 'Cretaceous sea'. Many plants and animals that are now extinct lived in this tropical sea. The limestone visible here consists of countless skeletons of small plants and animals that formed the plankton. Many large animals also lived in this Cretaceous sea, such as the ten-meter-long 'Mosasaur'. Flint Flint is a hard rock that can form in pure limestone under very special circumstances. Flint consists of pure silica (SiO2). In the Stone Age, this rock was used for making stone tools. Until the last century, flint was used to make fire using the Tinderbox.