Through the floodplains of Niftrik
8.5 km · 2h 15m · Easy
Region
Land van Maas en Waal
Between the Meuse and the Waal, under wide river skies.
The Land van Maas en Waal lies between two rivers — a world of dikes, water meadows and wide skies. In spring the orchards turn pink and white; all year round the water flows quietly past. A region of space and calm.
Highlights
De Gouden Ham
Vast recreational lake between Appeltern and Maasbommel with a beach, marinas and an open connection to the Maas.
Kasteel Wijchen
A rare Renaissance castle once home to Emilia van Nassau, now a museum about the history of the region.
Batenburg
Centuries-old town on the Maas with city rights, white-plastered houses and a romantic castle ruin.
Tuinen van Appeltern
A large garden and inspiration park with hundreds of model gardens, in the heart of the river country.
Between the Maas and the Waal stretches a classic river landscape: green dikes, broad water meadows and old villages on mounds and stream ridges. Orchards, polders and pollard willows shape the scene, with the sky in the leading role. It is low, open and endlessly wide — it doesn't get more Dutch than this.
This is cycling country at its finest. Along the dikes you ride with the river in view, past orchards and water meadows, from ferry to village church. Walkers find their calm in the floodplains, where geese fly over and the water seeks its slow way. The wind is with you or against you — beyond that, it is mostly still here.
The region tastes of fruit. In the orchards apples and pears ripen, and what the land gives comes straight to the table — fresh, honest and from nearby. The Land van Maas en Waal is Burgundian in its own river-land way: unhurried and generous.
Hotel Hoogeerd in the Land van Maas en Waal is your quiet home base by the river: somewhere to seek out the dikes from and let the water do what it does. Generous in feeling, personal in experience — and the floodplains begin close to the door.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Land van Maas en Waal?
It is the strip of Gelderland between the rivers Maas and Waal, around places such as Wijchen, Niftrik, Batenburg and Appeltern, to the southwest of Nijmegen.
What is there to do in the Land van Maas en Waal?
Cycling and walking along the dikes and through the floodplains, visiting castles and the town of Batenburg, water sports at De Gouden Ham and crossing the river by the little ferries.
Is the Land van Maas en Waal suitable for a cycling holiday?
Certainly. It is a flat river landscape with dike roads, quiet villages and ferries, ideal for leisurely cycling loops from Niftrik.
Where can you stay in the Land van Maas en Waal?
Hotel Hoogeerd in Niftrik lies right on the Maas, against the dike, with a restaurant and terrace overlooking the river, a fine base for the whole region.
