The limestone grass around the Roche Trouée and the Fondry des Chiens gives the sites an almost Provençal touch in the spring and summer. Sheep and goats that graze to maintain the lime grass reinforce the Mediterranean impression. With its limestone rocks and its rare heat-loving plants and animals, the region has a special biological and geological importance. From the heights and the western viewpoint you have a beautiful panorama of the surroundings.
Distance: 12 km or 3 km.
Time: 4h00 or 1h30.
Grade: Easy.
Type: Circular.
Gps Track: Yes.
Route description: Yes.
Wheelchair: Not suitable.
Dog: Allowed.
Height gain: 300 meters.
Trail: 97% unpaved.
Marking: Green rectangle 1 and blue rectangle 3.
Advertisement.
Limestone ravine.
The second part of the walk shows alternating forested hills and open countryside. You first cross fields, then a forest and arrive at a beautiful viewpoint. From La Roche aux Faucons you look far to the east, towards Olloy, before the path descends to the watercourse. The trail follows the river landscape of the Viroin until just before Dourbes, with its ruins at a rock, to continue on a wooded hill crest and return to the starting point.
Download PDf for route description.
Sturdy walking shoes, possibly headgear, water and picnic.
Careful on the climb to the western viewpoint at the Fondry des Chiens. Many crevices are clearly visible at the Roche Trouée.
POI 1 - Fondry des chiens.
The Fondry des Chiens is a zinc hole, a large ravine-like pit with erratic rock formations formed by washed-out limestone, from which iron-rich, flushed mineral was mined for centuries. The Fondry des Chiens is a doline or gouffre of 100 meters long and up to 20 meters deep. Such gouffres only occur in Belgium in the region of the Viroin. Around the doline is a large lime grassland. Lime grasslands are one of the few places where wild orchids grow in Belgium. Among others, the male orch, the green night orchid and the bee orchid can be found here. In the summer months the area is crowded with butterflies, including some rare species such as the checkerboard, the rock butterfly, the purple fritillary and the pale blue.
Office du Tourisme de Viroinval.
www.viroinval.be.