Nat’Our Route 4 – The “Ourtalschleife”

Long, tranquil hiking trail on both sides of the Luxembourg / German border.
Highlights include superb views over the Our river and glimpses of the spooky Falkenstein castle.
Plenty of parking at the starting point by the church in Bivels. By public transport “Bivels: Bei der Kiirch”

At over 15km long, with almost 500 metres of altitude gain and exploring a little-known remote edge of the country, you’ll want some solid motivation to travel to Bivels (near Vianden) for this hike. So let me give you four good reasons to do exactly that:

Peace and quiet

Ever wanted a hike where you can simply walk without any need for photos, social media posts, or passing crowds?

OK, so there are plenty of trails in Luxembourg that offer this, but the length and cadence of the Nat’Our Route 4 is particularly suited to hiking meditation. After starting off with a kilometre or two along the Our river and the quiet CR355 road to get into the groove of things, the path climbs steeply up into the hills on natural paths. It barely – a fleeting visit to Stolzembourg aside – touches civilisation or asphalt again until the very end.

2. Luxembourg’s secret mega-power plant

Perhaps the most fascinating feature of this trail is something that you will never actually see.

Hidden deep in the hills above Bivels – and directly underneath the Nat’Our Route 4 – is one of Europe’s largest pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, quietly keeping Luxembourg’s lights on. Water is shuttled between a vast reservoir in the valley and an upper basin on Mont St. Nicolas, creating power on demand.

Unless you’re in the know, you’d probably never guess that enormous pipes, turbines, and control rooms are humming away below your feet as you walk this trail. It’s all very James Bond-y, like hiking over a secret underground lair (only this one’s run by engineers, not movie villains) and it’s all in the name of clean, green energy.

3. The Ourtalschleife

Remember the “vast reservoir” mentioned above? Well, you get to visit it later in this hike. A dam near Vianden causes the usually-meek Our river to swell and widen to Rhine-esque proportions.

The Nat’Our Route 4’s most enchanting section runs alongside this bloated Our as it meanders through thickly-forested hills on the German side of the border, like a silver ribbon dropped by a careless giant. At one point – known as the Ourtalschleife – the river makes a spectacular u-turn before finally tiring of all those curves and straightening itself out as it approaches Bivels. A rocky path with rickety old railings adds to the atmosphere and the grandiose, wild nature of this simply gorgeous corner of planet Earth.

4. A ghostly, forgotten castle

You can’t visit it, you can’t enter the grounds and you can barely even see it through the trees and overgrown tangle of ivy and brambles.

Yet the spooky castle of Falkenstein still leaves quite an impression. Perched high above the Our valley with superb views over the Ourtalschleife, Falkenstein Castle originates from the 11th century, built to guard the natural border afforded by the river.

Today it is little more than jagged walls and shadows, and the wind whistling through its ruins feels like whispers from long-dead sentries and thousands of forgotten stories.

From Falkenstein, it is a short downhill-all-the-way stroll back to your starting point at Bivels, crossing the Our on a cheerfully baby-blue bridge. This isn’t the most Instagrammable hiking route in Luxembourg, but it’s a satisfying one, and the perfect excuse to take a picnic and simply enjoy the wonderful outdoors.