Purple fairytale forest prepares for a sea of people

It's that time of year again: the wild bluebells give the Belgian Hallerbos, which stretches over Flemish and Walloon Brabant, its annual enchanting purple glow. And this weekend, these beautiful flowers will bloom for the first time this year.

Mid-April has for several years guaranteed magical purple scenes in the Brabant Hallerbos. Thanks to the beautiful hyacinths, the 640-hectare forest is annually transformed into a purple valley. This attracts more and more domestic, but also thousands of international tourists to the Halle area year after year.

Belgium's most famous forest will be ethereally purple for three to four weeks. From Saturday 12 April to Sunday 4 of May, the city of Halle and the Agency for Nature and Forests will spare no effort to manage the visit of tens of thousands of walkers.

Visitors are urged not to come to the Hallerbos by car during the Hyacinth Festival. There are free shuttle buses from Halle train station, but cycling is also a good option to admire the hyacinths.

(Raul Stiens - Photo: ©Unsplash)