Photohike Mont Rigi – Boardwalks into the High Fens 🇧🇪

A photohike at the edge of night and day.

We set out in the darkness, long before the first light of day.

A narrow wooden boardwalk cuts through the desolate expanse of the High Fens – our trail, our stage, our line into the unknown.

Golden light and silent trails – this boardwalk leads through the morning calm of the Hautes Fagnes, flanked by wildflowers and birch trees. A fleeting sunstar marks the transition from night to day.

The vision was clear: a simple, iconic image. A path stretching out into the moor, glowing in the morning light. Mist. Silence. Atmosphere.

But reality, as so often in landscape photography, tells a different story.

There was no mist. No glistening dew. No open water. And the sky – too soon – closed its curtain of clouds.

And yet... for a brief, precious moment, the light was just right.

A gentle blue prelude. Hints of rose and gold on the horizon.

We were there. At the right place. At the right time.

And still, the picture I had in mind – that one perfect frame – never quite revealed itself.

This tour became something else: a meditative search for lines and silence, an exercise in reduction.

Less scenery. More focus. Less spectacle. More subtlety.

Solitärbäume im Hohen Venn

Weites Land im Hohen Venn im Morgenrot

Blühendes Hohes Venn im ersten Morgenrot

EInsame Landschaft mit Bäumen im Morgenrot

Da ist sie: Die Sonne schiebt sich als Sonnenstern über den Horizont

Later, we wandered through silent woods and past the Priory Cross. But the light had gone flat, and so had our motivation.

Still, this photohike left its mark. Not on the sensor – but in the memory.

📷 Photographer’s notes

This tour is all about timing. If you're hoping for that perfect composition with mist, reflections and a glowing sky, you’ll need a bit of luck – and the discipline to be on the boardwalk before sunrise.

I carried only one camera, a wide-angle lens, and a clear goal. That helped me concentrate.

The tripod was only briefly in use. The most valuable tool? Time. Being early enough.

Eine Feder an einem Grashalm im Morgenrot

Solitärbaum im Licht der aufgehenden Sonne

Eine Dolde Vogelbeeren mit Sonnenstern

Detailansicht eines Holzsteges im Hohen Venn

🧭 Route summary

Length: 8.77 km

Duration: ~2h 20min walking time

Route type: easy (T1)

Highlights:

– Boardwalks from km 1.2

– View from Signal de Botrange

– Historic Priory Cross

– Forest path near Baraque Michel

🌐 Read this post in German: Photohike Mont Rigi – Stege ins Hohe Venn 🇧🇪