Lower Ourthe Valley from La Roche to Liège

Travel the Ourthe by canoe or kayak on one of seven circuits ranging in length from 5km to 25 km.

Beyond Durbuy the road leaves the Ourthe Valley and meets it again near Barvaux, an important tourist resort with a large water-sports complex at the foot of the Rocher de Glawans.

Mazes made out of shaped hedges. A new route is introduced every year.

Bomal which follows near Barvaux earns its living from tourism. Here the Aisne coming from the south joins the Ourthe. The Aisne flows through a pretty valley which is excellent for walking and where there is an imposing view of the rocky walls of the Roche à Frêne.

The next stage of the Ourthe Valley tour after Hamoir is to Comblain-au-Pont at the confluence of the Ourthe and the Amblève which is surrounded by impressive rocks such as the Rocher des Tartines, the name of which is due to its tart-like form.

Just outside the village a grotto with 20 chambers and a deep chasm was found in 1909.

An open-air sculpture museum is part of the site.

Near Esneux the Ourthe makes a large bend and forms a peninsula. Interesting rock formations, a few ruined castles in the surroundings and the Parc du Mary with its arboretum can be explored here.

From La Roche the road follows the river. In 7.5km/4.75mi there can be seen on a hilltop on the left the little pilgrimage chapel of Saint-Thibaut, built in 1639. It belongs to the family resort of Marcourt once the seat of the counts of Montaigu whose castle (1050) ruins can still be seen.

Between Comblain-au-Pont and Poulseur to the north the first nature park in Belgium was created on the bank of the Ourthe in 1946; this is the Parc naturelle des Roches-Noires, du Chession et du Vignoble.

Tilff is the last rural village before reaching the industrial conurbation of Liège and is therefore very popular for local excursions by the townsfolk. A very original museum is the Musée de l'Abeille which is concerned with the history and art of raising and keeping bees, illustrated by models, implements and a collection of beehives. Some of the beehives are active so that visitors can see the bees at work.

In Hamoir the little river Néblon joins the Ourthe. This stream winds for 14km/8.5miles through wild vegetation to the pretty village of Ocquier, in the vicinity of which, near Vervoz, remains of Roman villas and third C. graves have been found.

Easily reached from Barvaux are the villages of Tohogne in the north with its beautifully furnished Romanesque church, and Wéris in the east with the Church of Ste-Walburge (11th C.). In the vicinity of this village the great dolmen Nord and many smaller druidical stones have been discovered.