Warmbeekvallei - green - 3,2 km

Start your adventure at 't Mulke and follow this short but diverse hiking loop. Along the way, you will pass the fish ladder and the mysterious Tomp, a fascinating place full of history. Further on, you will pass the ruins of 'de Waag', a historic site where mill rights were once managed. Here you will also find the geological garden, a unique collection of mainly Belgian rocks, displayed along a circular path symbolizing the geological time scale of the rocks.

The route then leads you along the bank of a ditch, where the path can sometimes be muddy and less suitable for strollers. You can easily avoid this by following the wide avenue at de Waag towards node 182, making the route perfectly accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.

The Valley of the Warmbeek

The Warmbeek springs in Peer, twenty kilometers to the south, and flows through Hamont-Achel, with a drop of 9 meters over a distance of 8 kilometers. At Sint-Huibrechts-Lille, the stream crosses the Bocholt-Herentals canal and changes its name to Tongelreep at the Dutch border, eventually flowing into the Dommel at the Genneper Parken in Eindhoven. In the past, the meanders of the Warmbeek near the Achelse Kluis were straightened and diked to speed up water drainage. Thanks to recent re-meandering, this area now serves as a natural water buffer, where the river can flood during high water levels.

Between the Tomp and 't Mulke, the riverbed was relocated to create a mill pond of about 7 hectares, essential for the operation of the watermill during dry periods. In 2015, fish ladders were installed at the former watermill 't Mulke, allowing fish to swim upstream again to their spawning grounds. Upstream from the fish ladder, a 'spawning riffle' has been created, ideal for rare stream fish such as the bullhead and the bitterling.

Come and enjoy this short but captivating hiking loop and the beautiful Valley of the Warmbeek