Epen

South Limburg is the only part of the Netherlands with real relief - a loess plateau cut by streams into valleys of a hundred metres or more, which by Dutch standards is mountainous and which produces a landscape of hedged fields, orchards, sunken lanes worn metres below the surrounding ground, springs and half-timbered buildings, all of it belonging visually to the Ardennes rather than to Holland. Epen sits in the Geul valley near the Belgian border and is the standard base for walking it. The vakwerk buildings - timber frame with clay and lime infill, whitewashed with black beams - are the local vernacular and Epen has a good group. The Geul itself is a fast, gravelly stream unlike any other Dutch river, with beaver back in it. There are watermills, a Benedictine abbey at Vaals nearby, and the three-country point where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet.

What you'll find

• Half-timbered buildings - whitewashed vakwerk with black beams, the local vernacular.
• Real relief - loess valleys a hundred metres deep, unique in the country.
• Sunken lanes - holloways worn metres below the fields.
• A fast gravel stream - the Geul, unlike any other Dutch river, with beaver in it.

When to go

April to October. A day.

What to expect

The hills are modest by international standards but the walking is genuinely up and down. The village is small and busy with Dutch walkers in season. Accommodation books ahead for holiday weekends.

Nearby

Vaals and the three-country point are east; Maastricht is north-west.

Key facts