Ovifat

The Ovifat panorama board is on the terrain of the downhill ski run. When the weather conditions are clear, this location, with its altitude of over 600 metres, affords an excellent view out over the hills of the Ardennes.

The municipality of Waimes lies at the heart of the High Fens Nature Park and serves as a gateway to the moor of the same name, where it is possible to explore unique flora and fauna over an area of some 5,400 hectares. Waimes is also a good place to start out on hiking, mountain bike and cycle tours in East Belgium and beyond. In summer, the reservoir at Robertville invites visitors to go for a swim; in winter, Ovifat is a popular destination for downhill skiers.

On its south-western edge, the High Fens plateau has deep valleys running through it with steep, wooded slopes. From the end of the 19th century, what was originally a deciduous forest was replaced by conifer plantations which promised a better yield, and these also cover the wet and peaty areas of the fen plateau. For a few years now, certain conifer areas in the Natura 2000 area have been part of a process of clearing and 'renaturalisation', in which deciduous trees are given the opportunity to resettle the open spaces spontaneously. Natura 2000 is a cohesive network of conservation areas in the European Union, which serves to promote the biological diversity of species and habitats. The villages in the neighbourhood are mostly surrounded by agricultural areas and form clearings in the middle of these woods. Having said that, many of them now only have as few as one or two farmers.

Reinhardstein Castle stands proud on a rock high up above the Warche and can only be reached on foot. Its history goes right back to the year 1354, when Wenzel of Luxembourg gave a certain Reinhard von Weismes permission to build a castle there. As the family von Weismes had no successor, the castle passed into the possession of various families, among them the distinguished Metternichs, who came from the Rhineland, in 1550. However, Louis XIV's troops destroyed Reinhardstein Castle at the end of the 17th century. When Franz-Georg von Metternich-Ochsenhausen sold the castle in 1812, its fate appeared to be sealed. It fell into disrepair and began to be used as a quarry. 150 years later, however, what remained of the construction sparked the enthusiasm of history lover Professor Jean Overloop. He had the castle rebuilt according to mediaeval documents in the 1970s. Today, once again, Reinhardstein Castle sits enthroned on a spur of rock, every bit as proud as it was in its heyday. In the knights' hall and the other chambers of the castle, magnificent collections of antique furniture, weaponry and tapestries are on show.

The pressure compensation tower at Chôdes is connected to the reservoir at Robertville by an underground water supply line 5.5 km in length. In accordance with the physical principle of communicating vessels, the water level in the tower remains the same as that in the lake. Above the ground, the tower rises to a height of 38 metres – making its overall height 64 metres – and it has a diameter of 8 metres. A pressure line feeds the water from the tower into the hydroelectric power station in Bévercé, which lies 154 m lower down and, with its 3 turbines, produces 23,000 kWh of electrical power each year. That corresponds to the quantity used by approximately 7,000 families. The purpose of the compensation tower is to regulate the pressure of the water. This helps to prevent a potential wave of excess pressure (known as water hammer) from forming, which would cause damage in the pipe, when the 3 turbines are brought to a quick stop. The hydroelectric power station complex Robertville-Bévercé was built between 1925 and 1930. Apart from producing green electricity, these facilities also provide drinking water for the town of Malmedy and ensure flood control downstream of the Warche for the prevention of high water in Malmedy.

In the High Fens region, many of the houses are surrounded by hedges which attain a height of up to eight metres and a breadth of almost one metre. They consist mainly of common beech, and serve in particular as protection against wind and bad weather.

The wild stream of the Bayehon rises in the High Fens nature reserve near the Signal de Botrange and flows into the Warche below Reinhardstein Castle between Ovifat and Xhoffraix. Together with its various tributaries, the Bayehon drains several square kilometres of moorland in the High Fens. Because of that, the water often has a slightly brown colour from the humic acid in the boggy soil. The magnificent Bayehon valley, with its steep slopes, also has numerous hiking and mountain bike routes, which are often rocky. They are among the most beautiful in the region, and have a character that is positively alpine in places. The most notable place in the valley is the Bayehon waterfall, nine metres high. It is Belgium's second largest waterfall and is located right next to the village of Longfaye.

The Ovifat ski run is East Belgium's only downhill skiing centre. It has three runs with slopes ranging from 10 to 80%, four ski lifts, a toboggan run and two mobile snow cannons. People have probably been skiing in Ovifat since the beginning of the 1930s. The first lift was commissioned in 1953. Everyone, from beginners to more advanced exponents, will find the right run here.