Montferland and Bergherbos

The Landscape

Montferland is located in the eastern part of Gelderland, right on the German border, and offers a landscape you might not expect in the Netherlands. Instead of endless flatlands, you’ll find a gently rolling, forested region. This unique terrain was shaped during the Ice Age, when glaciers pushed up the land into the rolling hills we now call Montferland. At the heart of the area lies the Montferland Forest, a vast, densely wooded nature reserve filled with majestic beech, oak, and pine trees. Toward the edges, the landscape opens up into a patchwork of small fields, flower-rich meadows, and traditional hedgerows that give the countryside its characteristic charm. Scattered throughout are picturesque farms and old homesteads that still reflect the rural life of days gone by.

The Bergherbos stretches across the gently rolling hills of the Montferland ridge. This beautiful forest is home to centuries-old beech lanes, fragrant pine woods, open heathland, and steep slopes with surprising views around every bend. The changes in elevation are remarkable by Dutch standards and offer sweeping views over waving grain fields and organic farmland. Each season brings its own charm: in spring the forest bursts into fresh green, summer offers cool shade beneath the leafy canopy, autumn paints the woods in golden yellows and deep reds, and in winter a quiet, almost fairytale-like atmosphere settles over the landscape. Just nearby, in the charming town of ’s-Heerenberg, stands the impressive medieval castle Huis Bergh, a place where nature and history come together in perfect harmony.