Tessenderlo, Tongerlo and Forest

Gerhagen is a nature reserve of 945 hectares, in the Belgian municipality of Tessenderlo. You will find wild plants such as white and brown beaked rush, small sundew, round sundew and marsh trefoil. Breeding birds include the nightjar and woodlark, while the gray shrike is a common winter visitor. There is a visitor center that provides information about nature in general, and about Gerhagen in particular. The route also leads you along the'Pearl of the Kempen\\\' where the Laak valleys show their most beautiful side. The Laakvalleien is a collection of different nature reserves and where the Kleine and Grote Laak meet is the Trichelbroek nature reserve. The swamp forests, pools, canals and ponds are very attractive to cormorants, grebes and various types of ducks. More than fifty blue herons nest at the pond edge every year in this swamp area. The marsh fields of the Grote Laak were once created as a result of the former peat extraction and iron ore mining.