Join Thibault, a local certified mountain leader, for an incredible day of hiking in Belgium's ancient and beautiful Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes). Escape busy Brussels for a day and discover the wilderness just next to it.
Private
1 Day
All year
Intermediate
Intermediate
In the southeast corner of Brussels, running along the line that divides the capital region from Flanders lies the Forêt de Soignes, or Sonian Forest, as it is known in English.
Composed of ancient beech as well as oak trees and teeming with local wildlife, the forest was formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2017.
The forest is an excellent location in which to hike as well as see much of Belgium’s native flora and fauna. As we pass through well-maintained trails, along lake shores and through thick green foliage, we will get the chance to spot some of the forest’s nearly 40 species of mammals.
Hiking in La Forêt de Soignes for a day is perfect for the ones living in Brussels or the ones travelling in Belgium for a few days and wanting to escape in the outdoor for several hours.
There are tons of different itineraries. I’ll define a program based on the time you have, your wishes and your fitness level. I’ll make sure we have a wonderful hike together.
If we’re lucky, we may even spy the elusive wild boar, which was thought to be extinct from 1957 until its rediscovery in 2007. Roe deer, bats, ducks and frogs are among the various other species of wildlife we may encounter.
There’s nothing quite like a walk in the woods to get the blood pumping and increase your appreciation for nature, so what are you waiting for?
Book me now and join me for both a fun and informative day of hiking through this magnificent forest and learn a little bit about my lovely country!
If you like the look of this trip, then I think you will also enjoy my half-day guided trail run in the Sonian Forest too!
4.6
(8)
Mountain Leader
Passionate about trail running, the outdoors and everything that nature provides to us, I got certified as a mountain leader by the Club Alpin Belge. I also work as a school teacher and devote my free time to my artistic pursuits.
Maps are another of my big passions. I collect them and spend hours looking at them and searching for the best itineraries in the Alps, the Andes, the Carpathians...and then I take you to explore them, running or walking.
My mission is to share with you the happiness that a high altitude lake can provide, the comfort that one can find in a rustic mountain hut and the excitement of walking along a mountain ridge. Looking forward to meeting you!
Languages
French | English
Valeria
First of all our guide was not Thibault as communicated initially but Nathalie. Already when in contact with Thibault communication wasn't smooth, he only replied via the platform days after the message with very short info. I had asked several times more details about the activity but I never got them...the day before I got a message from Nathalie just giving practical tips about clothes, meteo etc I was told that we would have had orienteering challenges in teams but on the day the guide was sending instructions to get to a point via smartphone (only to me) which was quite useless because I was the only one trying to find a way. On the other hand if she wanted to do something with smartphones she would have warned us in advance so that all colleagues would have had an active one and for exemple she could have sent the messages in a chat with everybody in. Anyway the best would have been to print out for us simple maps/instructions like the ones she had. All this should have been discussed and agreed with me/us in advance...otherwise it would have been far more interesting a simple walk with a guide that knows the history and characteristics of a place and that could tell us something (this was an offered option) interesting.
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