Deep in the forests around Herbeumont, where the canopy is so dense that daylight barely filters through, a hidden reward awaits. A narrow forest path, one last climb… and then the landscape opens up. You find yourself on Le Rocher du Chat, a natural rocky plateau with a sweeping panorama over the Semois valley. Welcome to one of the best-kept secrets of the Ardennes.
The name? The rock owes it to an old legend about Monseigneur du Chat, a tyrant who from this very spot attempted to seduce the nymph Semois — without success. His attempt ended in an involuntary plunge into the river, and ever since, so the story goes, cats have had an aversion to water.
But it is above all the surroundings that leave a lasting impression. The Domaine des Épioux, over 1,700 hectares of unspoilt nature between Chiny and Herbeumont, wraps you in a silence rarely found elsewhere. Vast forests, five ponds, a biodiversity that makes you forget you are still in Belgium.
For those seeking silence
Le Rocher du Chat is not a place where you run into dozens of other hikers. No busy car park or signposted selfie spots here. Just the sound of the wind through the treetops, a panorama you have all to yourself, and the space to simply be, for a while.
A different face of the Semois — wilder, quieter, undiscovered. Which is precisely what makes it so worthwhile.
© Pictures : Visit Wallonia
Explore the surroundings
