Frühling
2024

Bohan

À Bohan

A - Canoeing & kayaking: practical information


Hire a kayak or canoe:


Kayaks de la Semois, rue de la Grotte, 171 - 5550 BOHAN ~ Info : 061/50.03.81  

Go kayaking down the Semois between Bouillon and Bohan. Every weekend from April to the end of September and on holidays from 9:30 to 17:30. July and August: daily from 9:00 to 19:00.

Boarding and landing :


Area at the bridge of Bohan (left bank, downstream from the bridge)

 

À Bohan

B - Walking


The Fairies’ Table walk

The rocky spurs standing sentinel above the Semois are brimming with legends. Folklore and local history are inextricably entwined in Bohan.

The Fairies’ Table (Table des Fées) walk takes in four legendary sites.

In the forest, at the point when the path narrows, the Châtelet or little castle appears, a pile of rocks said to have been used as a refuge by the Celts, the people who lived in the region at the time. Legend has it that enchantresses danced in the moonlight on the Fairies’ Table on the eastern slope. A tale of fantasy inherited from this forgotten people. Further on, to the north, when the ridge becomes a spine, the path crosses a huge stone known as the ‘Fairies’ Hearth’ (Cheminée des Fées). Back in Bohan, the Marriage Stone (Pierre à Marier) welcomed couples wishing to commemorate their marriage.

Practical details

Distance: 5 km
Waymarking: yellow rectangle
Difficulty: average
Time: 1.30 h
Start: the walk starts from Bohan church

À Bohan

C - The Valley of the Huts


From Bohan, our steps mingle with those of the French smugglers who took these secret paths to reach huts in the heart of the wood, trading places on Belgian territory where tobacco, coffee and other goods were sold far more cheaply… and where they could eat a fricassee and drink beer.

Walking

The Valley of the Huts (Vallée des Baraques) formed by the Bois Jean stream is also the scene of a lovely hike. Starting from Bohan and the superb ‘Roche la Dame’ beauty spot, it follows secret paths to these old trading places.

Practical details
Distance: 14 km
Waymarking: red rectangle (No 37)
Difficulty: difficult
Time: 3.30 h
Start: the walk starts at the church in Bohan, climbing straight up from the route de Sugny.

Did you know?


The smugglers carried tobacco and bread, foodstuffs that were less heavily taxed and cheaper, from Belgium into France. This gave rise to manhunts. The customs officers, known as ‘les gabelous’, patrolled the forest, spending the night there to try and flush out these ‘fraudeurs’ who often had more than one trick up their sleeve…