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What to do around?
Orti State Nature Reserve (in the village)
The Orti site occupies a vast wet depression of around twenty hectares. A pond dug around 1900 for pleasure was abandoned fifty years later. It is fed by a permanent spring and discharges its overflow into the Laval, a tributary of the western Ourthe. Over time, the banks were covered with trees and the depression was planted with spruces that the storms of 1990 abused. The exploitation of conifers and the actions of the "Life Otter" carried out by the Natural Park of the two Ourthes between 2005 and 2011 have largely contributed to the restoration of the site. Since then, this has been the subject of an agreement between the municipality of Sainte-Ode and the Public Service of Wallonia. Having become a national nature reserve, the site, also located in the Natura 2000 zone of the middle basin of the western Ourthe, today forms a harmonious whole of megaphorbia, alder groves and marshy areas. To date, 106 species of birds, 26 species of butterflies, 19 species of dragonflies and 150 species of plants have been recorded there.
To maintain the regained biodiversity and avoid a major new invasion by willows or birches, certain areas are kept open by man: extensive galloway grazing in insensitive wetlands and late mowing of the mowing meadow.
The Syndicat d'Initiative and the works department of the municipal administration manage the maintenance of the path and the duckboard. A great collaboration between different actors to offer you two hours of friendly ride!
A barbecue area with tables, benches, shelter, pétanque court, orchard and apiary is located at the entrance to the nature reserve. It is possible to reserve the barbecue grills free of charge with the SI at 061/32.88.01. A deposit of 25€ will be requested per grid in order to ensure that they are cleaned.
Orti Art Trail (in the village)
The artistic trail of Orti is a cross-border project associating six natural parks (BE, FR, LU) with a view to the artistic and touristic valorization of the wetlands of the Greater Region. Led by the Deux Ourthes Nature Park, the “Aquatic Roaming” project was financed by European subsidies.
Nature is a source of inspiration: sometimes it serves as a model, sometimes it is used as a material. To create this circuit, five artists selected for their creativity and know-how, offer you an original artistic journey around 9 works of art, totally integrated into nature. Find the description of all the works of art via the following link www.sainte-ode.be/vie-touristique/sentier-artistique-d-orti/fr/ or by scanning the attached QR code.
The trail is accessible year-round and free. A leaflet is available from the tourist office, the Tourist Office and the municipal administration.
The course of + - 3.5 km is easy. The starting point is at the barbecue area of Orti.
Boots/boots are advised in wet weather.
Pay attention to the hunting seasons.
TOTEMUS treasure hunt (in the village)
Go on a treasure hunt and rediscover our region!
“Totemus” treasure hunts are halfway between treasure hunts and geocaching. Totemus combines sport, with different levels of walks, culture, thanks to the development of Walloon wealth and know-how (tales and legends, art, gastronomy, etc.), and adventure.
The application, completely free, is accessible 365 days a year to allow families and friends of all generations to live an original and unforgettable experience!
The primary objective is to promote the wealth of Walloon heritage through play.
Win "toteez" to exchange for gifts!
By participating in several treasure hunts, adventurers for a day collect totems and thus earn points called “toteez”.
These toteez are directly exchangeable in the gift cave, against vouchers valid at our partners.
Starting point for the Sainte-Ode hunt: barbecue area in the Orti nature reserve.
Runnin' City (walk or jogging with commentary)
The "Runnin'City" application invites you to live a unique running experience!
Developed by the Maison du Tourisme du Pays de Bastogne, the “Runnin'city” project allows joggers or walkers to discover, by running or walking, towns and villages located all over the world! The Sainte-Ode route is 9.6 km long and crosses the villages of Beauplateau, Tillet, Gérimont, etc.
All you have to do is put on your headphones and let "Runnin'City" vocally guide you from one remarkable point to the next. All the points of interest are commented on, the indications on the way to follow are given to you directly in the headphones and local anecdotes are also told. Keep your phone in your pocket, focus on your run and enjoy the experience!
Runnin'City also provides essential statistics: distance, time, speed, elevation and calories burned. Each step taken allows you to earn points redeemable for rewards. In addition, you are helping to fight against deforestation because Runnin'City is committed to planting a tree every 100 km traveled!
Nordic walking / Nordic park
It was in 2009, following various experiences in Italy, that Ardenne Nordic Walking was created. The Maison de la Randonnée - GTA Belgium thus turned to the development of Nordic walking in the Ardennes, at the time still unknown in Belgian Luxembourg.
Various activities promoting Nordic walking are offered on a regular basis:
discovery of nordic walking
introduction to the ALFA technique
improvement of the practice of Nordic walking
short, medium and long distance Nordic walking hikes with a guide-instructor
nordic fitness
Sainte-Ode is the "base camp" of Ardenne Nordic Walking, because it is here that it all began. The idea of proposing the creation of a Nordic park quickly took hold.
The “Ardenne Nordic Park” is the first region dedicated to Nordic walking in Belgian Luxembourg. There are currently only 4 Nordic parks in Wallonia.
Currently made up of five routes from 2 KM to 18,450 KM, the routes of the “Ardenne Nordic Park” have been designed with Nordic walkers in Belgium and elsewhere in mind, and partly follow local walks.
The different starting points are located in different villages of the commune of Sainte-Ode (Amberloup, Beauplateau, Houmont and Lavacherie) inviting Nordic walkers to discover the commune from different angles.
The five courses are completed by a specific 3.4 km circuit: the Nordic Circuit Training.
Three panels are located at the start of this loop located in Orti (Amberloup): the park (map) and technique, warm-up, stretching.
Chapel of the Good Lady
Once upon a time, in the Age of Saints (7th century), a community of virgins lived in a corner of the great forest of Freyr. Every evening, a bell allowed lost people to reach the holy abode to receive hospitality. Unfortunately, during a winter night, a horde of bandits descended on the refuge. Ode was the only survivor of this horrible carnage. She then led an ascetic life in the forest, near the village of Lavacherie where she regularly went down to ask for a few embers in her hoof. One day, while Ode was on her rounds, a newcomer to the village dismissed her somewhat quickly. That same evening, the stranger was stricken with a mysterious illness that rendered him totally blind. The next day, full of regrets, he brought the young girl what she asked for. Ode then told her to wash her eyes with the water from the spring she had just spouted from the rocks.
Miraculously, the man regained his sight. After long years of solitude, Sainte Ode died. She was found kneeling in her hermitage, her open eyes fixed on a small cross. When they wanted to approach her, a violent clap of thunder shook the mountain, and the body of the dead disappeared. For the popular, the saint continues to inhabit the place, and when the fog rises on these heights, it is said that the Good Lady "smokes", and this sign is a sure omen of rain.
There is no trace of the place called Sainte-Ode before 1572, when the Chamber of Accounts issued a grant approving the construction of "forge and furnace to be used for splitting and beating iron" to a certain Jehan PIRET, originally from Brabant. . The latter, aware of the dangers represented by working with iron, decided to place his forges under the protection of Sainte Ode, for whom he had the famous schist sanctuary and fountain built. Today, the source still exists, the water is collected in the small basin in the shape of a shell that you can admire to the left of the chapel. Many visitors still come to rub their eyes with the miraculous water. Weather permitting, a pilgrimage is organized each year on the first Sunday in May.
Take advantage of your passage near the chapel to go to the viewpoint located a little higher, you will not be disappointed!
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Local tourist information:
Tourist office of Sainte-Ode
Rue de la Gare 5 - Place Sainte-Mère Church in Amberloup - 6680 Sainte-Ode
061/32.88.01 - info@sainte-ode-tourisme.be
