Tessenderlo, Tongerlo and Vorst

Gerhagen is a 945-hectare nature reserve in the Belgian municipality of Tessenderlo. You'll find wild plants there such as white and brown beak sedge, small sundews, round-leaved sundews, and marsh bird's-foot trefoil. Breeding birds include nightjars and woodlarks, while the great grey shrike is a frequent winter visitor. There's a visitor center that provides information about nature in general, and about Gerhagen in particular. The route also takes you past the "Pearl of the Kempen," where the Laak valleys reveal their most beautiful side. The Laak valleys are a collection of various nature reserves, and where the Kleine and Grote Laak rivers meet lies the Trichelbroek nature reserve. The marshy forests, pools, ditches, and ponds are a great attraction for cormorants, grebes, and various duck species. More than fifty grey herons nest on the pond's edge in this marshland every year. The marshy fields of the Grote Laak were once created as a result of the earlier peat extraction and mining of iron ore.