During this hike in Herbeumont around Le Tombeau du Chevalier there are plenty of daring trails and beautiful viewpoints. Crossing the Semois river while walking makes it extra adventurous. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Hike Description
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 15 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 605 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 3 hours and 21 minutes.
Difficulty: I would rate this as a rather hard hike. The trails are very technical and sometimes you need to go offroad without a clear path is visible. Also very important to mention is the fact that you will have to cross the Semois river. Only follow this route when the water level is low enough.
Address parking: Rue du Château, 6887 Herbeumont. I would highly advise to park on the official parking of the castle. At the time I went, I parked a bit further away and there were serious road works going on on the bridge towards the castle which made it (almost) impossible to pass. So the closer to the castle you park the better. I’ve been to this castle lots of times and usually there’s space available on the parking.
The easiest way to get there is to use the pinned location on the Google map below and navigate straight to the start.
How to get to Herbeumont?
The best way to get to Herbeumont by using your own car (or a rental). With the car it is about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get from Brussels to Herbeumont.
This is a small town in the Ardennes in Belgium so getting there with public transportation is rather difficult. You would have to take a train to Libramont station then get on a bus to Bertrix and then take another bus to Herbeumont. If you come with public transportation I would recommend staying in the area for a few days so you have the whole day for this hike. To get to Herbeumont from Brussels with the train and bus it takes about 3 hours and 46 minutes depending on the transfer times.
What is the easiest way to hike Le Tombeau du Chevalier in Herbeumont?
Generally speaking for all hikes, the easiest way is to download a gpx file. You can view such a file on a gps device, a smartphone or smartwatch. It will tell you step-by-step how to walk. It also includes an elevation profile which can help you to decide if this hike is for you or not. All the hikes on this blog are being tracked on Strava (sports tracking smartphone application) and Wikiloc (community based hiking smartphone application).
For this route in particular I would definitely recommend to use a gpx viewer. This route is based on one of the hardest routes from the website originelewandelingen.be. Definitely do not underestimate how hard this hike is!
Download the GPX file right here: le-tombeau-du-chevalier-in-herbeumont.gpx
Another hike in the same region with many beautiful viewpoints is Best hike in Bouillon Belgium is the 14 Panorama route (28 km)
Chateau d’Herbeumont
This 13th century medieval fortress was renovated in 2010. The ruins of this medieval fortress can be admired in abundance. The foundations of the corner towers and walls are still visible. Access is free and at your own risk. In about 20 minutes you can see the whole fortress. What really stands out here is the views from the towers over the Semois valley. The hike in Herbeumont around Le Tombeau du Chevalier starts right in front of this castle.
Start of the hike at Le Tombeau du Chevalier
The hike in Herbeumont starts in front of the Herbeumont castle. You’ll see a small wooden gate and then you have to walk inside the castle’s moat. Don’t worry there’s no water.
Almost immediately after leaving the castle behind you the adventure starts with a very technical descent into a forest where I saw lots of squirrels. What a great start of a beautiful hiking day! If you use my GPX file you’ll notice that I took a wrong way in this forest. That’s because I was actually searching for a way to get down to the street. There wasn’t an actual visible path so I went off road here. I ended up just behind the Saint-Roch chapel and then took the road. Only into the first half hour of this hike and my legs were already scratched up. That’s when you know it will be an adventurous hike in Herbeumont!
Viaduct of Herbeumont
During this hike you will walk over the Viaduct of Herbeumont also known as the Conques viaduct. This viaduct spans over the Semois valley and has 7 arches, is 40 meter high and 120 meter long. When I hiked this route there were works going on. There were gates but they were open so I decided to continue my way.
At the foot of the viaduct next to the Semois is a retro camping called ‘Le Champe le Monde’. Many years ago I camped here a few times with my tent. There are also gipsy carts and tiny houses that you can rent. It has been at least 5 years that I was there but I remember the camping as a very affordable, social and welcoming place. If you’re planning to stay a bit longer in Herbeumont I could definitely recommend to stay here. Also because this hike is a loop you start at the camping. First you’ll have to climb up to the viaduct though.
Viewpoints during the hike in Herbeumont
As usual while hiking in the Ardennes there are plenty of stunning viewpoints or ‘points de vues’ in French. One viewpoint that really stood out for me was the one that looked over the viaduct on the right side. It is called Rocher du Moulin. It made for a nice photo where you could see the old viaduct, the new bridge over the Semois and a tunnel / bridge on the right side and the Herbeumont Castle in the distance on the left side. Be aware that it gets quite technical to get there.
Another viewpoint and probably the reason you’re hiking this route is the viewpoint called Point de Vue de Libaipire. This viewpoint looks over the meandering Semois river. What you see from this point is called Le Tombeau du Chevalier or The Knight’s Tomb in English.
Another adventurous hike in this region is Adventurous Hike In Botassart – Le Tombeau Du Géant (22 Km)
Wildlife in Herbeumont
Not much after passing the viewpoint Point de Vue de Libaipire this hikes gets pretty wild. I really had a hard time finding the best spot to descend all the way down to the Semois river. There was literally no path and all I could see on my map was that I had to get as close as possible to the river. There was a bit of a water stream flowing down the hill so I kinda stayed close to that. Not too close though because there were lots of loose rocks where I could easily slip and tumble down the hill. If you look at the elevation profile of this hike this at around 6 kilometer where there’s very steep drop. This was one of the hardest parts of the hike in Herbeumont at Le Tombeau du Chevalier.
The second hardest part was about 2 kilometers further where again there wasn’t really a path visible. I just climbed to the top of the hill and tried finding a path and eventually the street.
While climbing to the top of the hill I saw a huge wild pig. It was black and must’ve been at least 150 kg. It was just about 3 meter from me. I remember as a kid I would go into the forest hoping I would find a wild pig but it never happened. Finally I saw one! And luckily it ran off as soon as it heard me.
Shortly after my wild pig encounter I reached the street and a few minutes later I had to enter some kind of closed off area. It wasn’t private though, it was closed for another reason. On the gate there was a sign saying: “Risque sanitaire. Peste Porcine Africaine. Refermez la barriere apres votre passage”. This translates into: “Sanitary risk. African Swine Fever. Close the gate behind you.” Pretty serious stuff! Behind the gate it was full of yellow flower bushes which I assume was Forsythia. Pretty spectacular to see!
The Semois river crossing during the hike in Herbeumont
After encountering a wild pig with potentially wild pig with potentially african swine fever I made my way down to the Semois river again. This time the descent was a bit less adventurous but still I had to traverse a little river and some muddy paths. When I reached the Semois it was time to cross the river. I had thought about doing this hike a few times already but we had a very cold Spring in Belgium so I decided to wait until the weather was better (and the water level lower). Now the time was there. I took off my shoes, put on my flipflops (protection against pointy rocks) and with my backpack full of camera gear I crossed the river. At certain moments it was a bit of an adrenaline rush. Not because it was cold or unsafe, more so because of the expensive camera gear I was carrying. The water level was just above knee height and the temperature was very nice actually. Very refreshing, but not cold at all.
Bathing Area of Herbeumont
A few hundred meters after the Semois river crossing I ended up at Zone de Baignade d’Herbeumont. I remember I came here a few years ago to swim. You’re actually swimming in the Semois river but it’s just a bit deeper and once in a while they check if the water quality meets the Belgian Sanitary requirements. It can get quite crowded there but when I was there, on a Sunday evening around 7 PM there was nobody around.
Now I had about 2 kilometers hiking left to reach the parking of the Herbeumont castle.
Be careful for ticks while hiking in Belgian nature!
One thing that really annoys me while hiking is the constant danger of ticks. Especially when you go a bit offroad you have to deal with this a lot!
Ticks live by feeding on blood of humans and animals and they locate potential hosts by sensing odor, body heat, moisture, and/or vibrations in the environment. If you walk through longer grass or bushes it’s almost guaranteed that you have a few on your legs or other body parts. Usually they creep around a bit before digging their head into your skin and start sucking your blood. An anti-insect spray based on deet should protect you against them. I must say I never tried this spray but I will buy it soon because these ticks creep the hell out of me!
Once they are attached and digged into your skin it’s very important to use a special pincher to take them out. Do not try pulling them out because there are potential dangers of doing so. I’m not an expert by any means but do your research and inform yourself about this!
Conclusion about the hike in Herbeumont around Le Tombeau du Chevalier
To follow this route you have to be pretty adventurous. Often times trails are not visible. Steep ascends and descends are not an exception. The Semois river crossing makes this walk also a bit harder. I would recommend to only do this hike in the months May to September.
Pingback: Adventurous Hike In Botassart - Le Tombeau du Géant (22 km) - Tim Tense