Description

Come discover our valley lands, especially Viroin-Hermeton Nature Park, which gets its name from two streams :  the Viroin, which flows through the locality of Viroinval, and the Hermeton, which crosses the locality of Doische. Its 12,000 ha of pure wilderness boasts typical villages that reflect the local geology:  houses made of limestone or sandstone rubble stone, natural slate roofs, and so on. Countless vestiges of the area’s hard-working past will crop up at each turn as you discover the territory.

Carte du Parc naturel Viroin Hermeton (afficher en grand)

Ancestral folk traditions – bonfires, carnivals, etc. – are still quite present. At the same time, tourism has developed harmoniously over the years, so that visitors can discover all the facets of this rich region.

To the south reigns the vast hardwood forest of Viroinval, an oak-and-hornbeam forest interspersed with hazel, birches (used to make wooden shoes), rowan trees, and so on. Softwoods – primarily spruce and a few Scotch pines – are also found, but in very limited numbers.

The Viroin carves out the valley in the middle. It flows from west to east, meandering through picturesque villages, before flowing into the Meuse in France.

The north consists of the famous Calestienne, a narrow strip of limestone that is responsible for the uniquely shaped buttes known as “tiennes”. Herds of sheep used to graze these limestone formations, giving rise to the famous calcareous grasslands that are true gems of biodiversity.