としてのおすすめツーリングルート

鮮やかな色で、遠くからでも見えます

旧駅舎にある展望台からアースと周辺の景色を眺める

A beautiful woodland chapel with a few benches inside for relaxing and unwinding. Next to it is a lovely building especially for birds.

Near Dilsen-Stokkem (Belgium), in the cross-border nature reserve along the Meuse Valley around the De Wissen Visitor Center and the Negenoord-Kerkeweerd nature reserve, you'll regularly encounter Konik horses in the open floodplains and grasslands, along with other large grazers such as Galloway cattle. These horses are not domesticated pets, but are part of a consciously implemented nature management program aimed at keeping the river landscape as naturally dynamic and biodiverse as possible. The Konik horses here live freely in the floodplains and river landscapes year-round. Their presence is functional: grazing, they cut down the grass and maintain open grasslands. In places where cattle primarily keep shrubs and young trees short, the horses also ensure that herbs, flowers, and short grass are preserved. This combination allows these large grazers to create a diverse patchwork of open areas, coarse grasses, herb-rich thickets, and vegetated edges—exactly what many plant and animal species need to thrive. In the area around Stokkem, you often hear from local guides like the MaasVerkenner that you'll almost always see these horses during a walk, especially on the paths around the old Meuse branches and small lakes of Negenoord. These grazers are an important part of the river landscape experience, and they naturally regulate grazing management, allowing the landscape to develop into a rich ecosystem with countless bird species, insects, and plants that are rare elsewhere in Limburg. Hikers and nature lovers can often observe the Konik horses from the trails around De Wissen and the breeding banks of the Meuse. Because they are wild animals, it is advised to always keep a distance, not feed them, and not disturb their natural behavior. If you're lucky, you might see them grazing peacefully in the morning light or among colorful, herbaceous meadows—an impressive example of how nature management and ecology go hand in hand in this part of the Meuse Valley.

At the edge of the large lake lies a tranquil jetty, a spot that immediately invites you to pause for a moment. The wooden platform extends slightly out into the water, offering a beautiful, unobstructed view of the wide lake. Here, the scents of pine forest and fresh water merge, and all you hear is the gentle lapping against the jetty. It's a place where dragonflies skim low over the surface and waterfowl regularly glide by. In calm weather, the lake transforms into a mirror, sharply reflecting clouds and treetops.

The long journey is worth it for the beautiful view, but visitors should not be afraid of heights, otherwise the view is not a pleasure.

Old coal winding towers near Maasmechelen

Beautiful view of the surroundings.