ᐅ Summit No. 11 Signal de Botrange (Belgium)

SUMMITS

SUMMIT Nº 11: SIGNAL DE BOTRANGE (BELGIUM)

BELGIUM

SIGNAL DE BOTRANGE

28 / 12 / 2022

ALTITUDE

694 m

ÁLEX QUIROGA AND ANDREU LÓPEZ

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

LOW

CHRONICLE

Belgium is a Western European state bordering France to the south, the Netherlands to the north, and Germany and Luxembourg to the east, with a population of 11.6 million people, and with 376 inhabitants per km2, it is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. It is home to 2 main cultural groups: the Flemings (58% of the population) in Flanders (in the north) and the French-speaking or Walloons (32% of the population) in Wallonia (in the south). The Brussels-Capital region is a mostly French-speaking enclave within Flanders that accounts for 10% of the population.

Belgium is a small country, although with multiple curiosities such as the fact that it is the cradle of the art of comics and Tintin as the flag bearer. In Belgium we can enjoy chocolate in a special way and two star products such as the “Belgian praline” as well as the “ballotins” and that is that a visit to the “Chocolate Museum” in Brussels becomes almost mandatory. At the gastronomic level we cannot forget the Belgian beer in that in many taverns the menus are very extensive and resemble small beer books.

Antwerp is the most populous city in Belgium with more than 500,000 people, it is home to the second largest port in Europe and is also known for the diamond industry with 85% of the world’s production of this mineral.

In our 5-day passage through this country and through its main cities such as Brussels, Louvain, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp along with all the previous ones, we discovered many more particularities of the country from where the continent does politics through the European Parliament, the European Central Bank or the Court of Justice of the EU.

We discovered that Belgium is a country in which visiting it in December makes it possible to discover its charming “Christmas Markets” as well as we discovered a country in which the wind and the rain are actors that have a leading role and that at the same time conditions a style of life very internal and little given to external activity. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are not Belgians and we will make the most of our time and stay to do outside activities, to discover and get to know its cities and geography that, although it is characterized by having few accidents and being flat, does not escape having its “Top Summit” at 694 meters above sea level.

We wake up in Brussels and drive the car for 2 hours towards the east of the country, to the Hautes Fagnes plateau in the Ardennes massif in the province of Liège. Our objective is the Signal de Botrange, which since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 is the highest point in Belgium with only 694 meters.

We got out of the car and began to leave our tracks with very bad weather as we have rain that combined with an incessant and strong wind leads us to an intense sensation of body cold and discomfort that does not leave us throughout the journey. The route is a circular route of approximately 12 km that very timidly gains and loses height and in which a good part of the route passes between wooden walkways that avoid us stepping on mud and water.

At no time during our journey do we have the company of the sun and after practically 3 hours of walking we reached our goal for the day. Before achieving it, we will have to climb the 20 steps that separate us from the roof of the country. Upstairs we took out the flag and celebrated the achievement of our 11th “Top Summit”.

“The height of our conquests does not feed us but the enjoyment of them and the path to them”

In this and the remaining days in Belgium we have experienced a fantastic journey (despite the incessant rain).