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The beautiful Savelsbos, which consists of the sub-forests Eijsderbos, Rijkholterbos, the Riesenberg and the original Savelsbos, has been designed as a nature reserve.

Here, slippery elms, beeches and maples rise high towards the sky and pedunculate oaks and horse chestnuts sway stately in the wind. The onion-like plant wild garlic blooms en masse in eroding places and almond spurge also grows under the trees. Predators such as stoats and polecats hunt the acorn mouse, but the pine marten also searches for its prey in the narrow belt of slope forests. The green woodpecker and the wryneck drum enthusiastically on the trees. They are just two of the more than seventy bird species that like to visit the Savelsbos. Cycling through the forest, you will notice narrow, steep dry valleys and terraces that refer to wine growing from Roman times.

The Veursbos, a rush and beech forest, is also beautiful, located east of Veurs in Belgium. The forest is partly a slope forest, so prepare for a steep climb and the reward of no longer having to pedal when you get to lower ground. The trees grow here on nutrient-poor, loamy and stony soil. Deciduous trees rise high towards the sky and dwarf shrubs stay a little closer to the ground. It is a rare forest type in the Netherlands and Flanders, because the trees can only grow well when the climate is cool and moist. Herbs are common. Plant lovers will especially recognize the white rush and the medlar in the vegetation, in addition to the obvious beech trees and pedunculate oaks.

Then you cycle to the Oude Molen. This water mill is also located on the Geul and runs on turbine power. The mill was built in 1860 and later rebuilt in 1902 after the mill burned down. The mill was used as a flour mill and to generate electricity. The mill is now used as a home.

Water mill De Kruitmolen also uses the water of the Geul river. In 1820, permission was granted to erect and build the Kruitmolen. Initially, gunpowder was produced with this water mill, which explains the name of the mill. Later the mill was converted into a paper mill and even later the mill started generating electricity. This national monument is also in the top 100 of Dutch UNESCO monuments.

Then you come to Chateau Sint Gerlach. This complex was built in the twelfth century as a monastery. In 1574, during the Eighty Years' War, Louis of Nassau destroyed the monastery during a campaign against the Spanish. In 1661 the monastery fell into Spanish hands, after which it only returned to Dutch ownership in 1786. Only in the nineteenth century was the monastery converted into a castle and during the Second World War the castle was occupied by the Germans, while after the liberation it housed American soldiers. In 1994, the castle was purchased by the current owner, who immediately had it restored.

After this you cycle to the Geulhemermolen, a medium-speed mill built in 1244 that was used to grind corn. In 1588 the mill was leased for three barrels of good rye per week for a period of three years. A contract from 1632 shows that the rent was ultimately no longer paid in kind but in money, namely one hundred rix dollars in six-monthly installments. Since then, the mill has been regularly sold, bought back and even exchanged.

The hamlet of Sint-Anthoniusbank is very pleasant, which consists of approximately 40 houses. There are many historical elements in the hamlet, if you know where to look. Despite its small scale, you can find two closed square farms there, but also a monumental farm that dates back to the seventeenth century despite its nineteenth-century construction, a former monastery in which apartments have been created and an old farm with the remains of a square tower and a covered well. . Until 1827 the hamlet was part of the municipality of Heer en Keer, but then it became the municipality of Cadier en Keer. In 1982, the Cadier en Keer municipality fell under the municipality of Margraten, which merged with Eijsden in 2011.

The last historic castle complex that you can visit is in Mheer and bears the same name. Four wings and a small, U-shaped courtyard are accessible via a footbridge over a dry canal. The west wing is the oldest part of the castle; this part of the castle was built in the early fourteenth century. The north wing was built at the end of the same century and the east wing, which has a robust round tower on top, dates from the fifteenth century. The tower was built on foundations from the late eleventh century. The south wing was built around 1570 and the current castle was complete. What is special is that Mheer Castle is the only castle in the Netherlands with a pitch nose.

The route starts and ends at Hoeve de Witte Olifant Noorbeek. Located close to the romantic village square where age-old traditions revive and also adjacent to the Noorbeemden nature reserves and the"Althenbrouck\\\\" estate. They have 8 comfortable holiday homes, including an idyllic'cottage\\\'. Enjoy your cycling route here and completely relax, so that you can cycle the 2nd route 136602 the next day. Hoeve de Witte Olifant Noorbeek is an official free charging point with a picnic area.