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The Golden Gatte treasure

Treasure hunt

This weekend we tried out a treasure hunt in Terre-de-Meuse, and more specifically in the Vallée de la Solières; a magical and magnificent place. A treasure hunt much appreciated by our children, both big and small!

Suggested by

The moving family

Terres-de-Meuse ambassadors

The trail starts at the Ben-Ahin Ecomuseum, located along the Meuse River.
You’ll find a wooden crate under the staircase at the back of the building (where the museum entrance is also located).
In this crate is the booklet (either in French or Dutch) containing the riddles.
You’ll have to solve them to open the treasure chest.

The route:

After reading Massart and Mattlet’s little legend and answering the first riddle, you’ll need to head for the main road to reach the start of the route.

Here we go! A word of advice: pay close attention to the map and the numbers. You’ll need to spot where the riddles are and answer them in time! Just so you don’t have to turn back (I’ve been there…)!

The route will take you along the Solière. You’ll cross varied landscapes, between meadows and forests. We fell in love with the place right from the start! We even wanted to go down every path to explore every nook and cranny. It was magical.

You’ll make a short detour to an old powder factory, now transformed into a gîte, and even pass a rock shelter, occupied thousands of years ago by prehistoric hunter-gatherers!

The route will take you gently up to the very pretty village of Sarte, with its magnificent local stone houses. Here, you can choose to continue following the beacon (this part adds 3.4km to the hike) or take the shortcut and do just the 5.1km treasure hunt.

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Practical information:

Distance: loop of +- 5.1km (and 8.5km if you continue to follow the signposting without taking the shortcut)
Time: about 3h; time to answer the riddles and enjoy a snack break
Difficulty: easy. It climbs, but really gently.
Markings:follow the blue rectangle triangle
Start and parking: Avenue de Beaufort 65 – 4500 Huy. You can enter the small alley just before the ecomuseum and there are a few parking spaces along the Meuse. As described above, the chest containing the fascicule and treasure is in the museum under the entrance stairs (at the back of the building on the Meuse side)
Dogs allowed, but on a lead.

Suitable for children aged 6 and over (you need to be able to write or do it for them). Bring good shoes, as some paths are very muddy in wet weather (it slips very hard!) and some paths are steep.

The Vallée de la Solière is a natural area “Natura 2000”. It is therefore strictly forbidden to pick anything, no matter how tempting! After your picnic please respect nature and take ALL your garbage back with you or throw it in the first garbage can you see.