The Ninglinspo hike in the Belgian Ardennes

Behind this odd name is a beautiful 6 km hike that follows the course of the only Belgian mountain stream throughout tall trees, slippery bridges (in winter) and beautiful waterfalls. I went there with some friends at the beginning of the year and it definitely exceeded all my expectations.

The valley of Ninglinspo – the stream that gave the hike its name – is located in the Belgian Ardennes, a region on the south-east of Belgium, famous for its beautiful nature. The hiking trail that follows the Ninglinspo stream is said to be one of the most beautiful ones in Belgium, probably because it takes you through natural water-basins, little waterfalls and allows the hikers to fully immerse themselves in nature.

We were also very lucky because we went there on a sunny day and there had been snow there, so the sun shining through the trees added a beautiful light that warmed us from time to time. There were also big rocks and places to sit down so it must be great to have some sort of picnic in the summer there too!

When going for that hike, I didn’t have many expectations and I thought it would be chill and easy, basically a nice walk in nature following a cute and peaceful stream. Boy, was I wrong! The hike was definitely beautiful and the stream was cute and quite peaceful, but it was much harder than I thought: there were parts where we had to cross slippery and icy bridges, other where we basically had to climb rocks, walk in very narrow paths or even jump on stones to cross the stream.

I really like hikes like these because they feel very adventurous and exciting, but at one point we were definitely wondering if we would make it before the sunset because we weren’t even halfway through and we made very slow progress. Luckily, the end was much easier as it was just a very wide path through tall trees that lead up to a beautiful viewing point over the surrounding hills and then back to the car. After a hot drink at the nearby café we headed back to Brussels.

Since I live in a city, I usually spend my weekends there, and it was really nice to change this routine and do something different than usual. On top of that, I got to discover a beautiful new place, move a bit, spend time in nature and enjoy some time off with my friends.

Do you go hiking regularly?


Other local adventures in nature:

Poppy fields
Lavender & Sunflower fields
Autumn walk at the park
Belgium’s Blue Forest


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Responses to “The Ninglinspo hike in the Belgian Ardennes”

  1. solotravelstory Avatar
    solotravelstory

    This is a very pretty and manageable hike & workout. It sounds adventurous that it wasn’t just flat smooth terrain and challenged you a bit. I need to look up whereabouts it is in Belgium.

    Carolin | Solo Travel Story

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Juliette Avatar

      I think it was indeed the perfect balance between a hard hike and an effortless one, plus the nature around it just makes you forget the rest! Thank you for dropping by!

      Like

  2. Travelling Welshman Avatar
    Travelling Welshman

    Wow, I didnt realise just how beautiful the hiking trails around Belgium really are! I’ll have to visit some soon enough! Great article my friend!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Juliette Avatar

      I don’t know many others, but this one was surely beautiful! Thanks for reading!

      Like

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