Stage 27. Spa (BE) to Hockai (BE)

Spa is located in the Belgian province of Liège and has more than 10,000 inhabitants. The thermal baths of Spa are listed as UNESCO World Heritage.

Known for its thermal waters Spa boomed in the sixteenth century when the fame of its waters became booming. And the term “Spa” has become a generic term for spa tourism. In 1774 the second casino in Europe was opened in Spa.
The wealthy bourgeoisie had castles built in Spa and numerous crowned heads, composers and writers stayed in Spa, thats why Emperor Joseph II from Austria nicknamed Spa the “Café of Europe”.

At the Casino on September 19, 1888, was held the world’s first beauty contest.
Queen Maria-Hendrika of Belgium lived in the Villa Royale from 1893 until her death in 1902 in Spa and the celebrities who stayed in Spa include: Victor Hugo, Tsar Peter the Great and Alexandre Dumas.

The company Spa Monopole has been the exclusive producer of thie famous spring water since 1921, which does not come from the same sources as the ferruginous water.

Hockai is a village in the far north of the municipality of Stavelot in the province of Liège and located at an altitude of about 555 meters. With this location Hockai is one of the highest villages in Belgium. The village is no longer served by a railway and the former railway bed is transformed in a walking/cycling path (RAVEL).

Overview map:

Stats:

Start:	Spa (BE)
Coordinates (DD):	50.492297 / 5.862506
End:	Hockai (BE)
Coordinates (DD):	50.481993 / 5.986158
Distance:	20,1 kilometers
Uphill:	560 meters
Downhill:	270 meters
Path, dirt road, gravel, nature trail:	72%
Asphalt, road:	28%
More additional info like GPX track:	*Go to Komoot page here… (external)**
Print:	Go for download here… (pdf)

*Komoot is a navigation and route-planning app that enables you to create and follow routes that are based on walking/riding type and ability. Be aware you have to sign up for free to have access to the app.

See and share with QR code:

You will see stage 27. when you scan the QR code (In Komoot).

Highlights:

Writers in the 19th century were not afraid to make the most grotesque comparisons when it came to the stream la Hoëgne. Exploring the Hoëgne valley has been compared to Livingstone’s discovery of the Victoria Falls,

The fact is, those insanely exaggerated comparison worked, because in the first half of the twentieth century there are a dozen hotels built in the vicinity of the train stations. They all have attracted tourists with the Hoëgne hike as main attraction.

Initially, the valley was difficult to access, a tourist path and bridges were built in the second half of the 19th century. This was mainly the initiative of a Sart-Lez-Spa resident, Léonard Legras.

The water of the stream la Hoëgne is too acidic for fish, even flowers and plants find it difficult to find a home it is mainly mosses that dominate.