Handel can be explored through two distinct highlights: as a Marian pilgrimage site with processional routes and chapels, and through marked hiking trails with clearly stated lengths. The village is considered the oldest Marian pilgrimage site in Brabant. For your planning, you can consider religious heritage, marked hiking trails, and a longer walking pilgrimage as separate topics. Trail lengths range from 0.8 kilometers on the Dierenroute to 40 kilometers for the Handelse Processie.
Marian Pilgrimage and Chapels
The Processiepark lies behind the church, around the holy spring, and was laid out starting in 1908. The spring is considered the oldest cultural feature of Handel’s pilgrimage site. The park contains neo-Gothic chapels depicting the mysteries of the Rosary; a Way of the Cross with 14 stations also runs through the Processiepark.
The Keskesdejk runs from Gemert to Handel and is lined with eight small wayside chapels, also known as KĂ©skes. Groups of images in these chapels depict the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The Handelse Processie has a different starting point and a different format: it is a 40-kilometer walking pilgrimage from Valkenswaard to Handel. In Handel, participants are welcomed by a small procession carrying the Mariatroon. The routes therefore differ in their starting points and features: small chapels line the Keskesdejk, while the welcome in Handel is part of the Processie.
Marked Hiking Trails and Nature
There are more than 200 plant species around Natuurcentrum De Specht. Several marked hiking trails, ranging from 0.8 to 3 kilometers, run through Handel’s natural areas. The Vogelkijkpad is 3 kilometers long, marked in red, and starts at Natuurcentrum De Specht. The Waterroute is 2 kilometers long, marked in blue, and partly follows the Landmeersche Loop. At 0.8 kilometers, the Dierenroute is the shortest and passes the butterfly meadow at Natuurcentrum De Specht. In terms of length, the Waterroute falls between the shorter Dierenroute and the longer Vogelkijkpad; the red and blue markings further distinguish the two longer trails.
The education center at Natuurcentrum De Specht is open by appointment only; there is no open access.
A Cycling Route as Another Point of Comparison
Route A of the Kerken-en-Kapellen-Route starts in Handel at Onze Lieve Vrouw van Handel. The cycling route is 38.0 kilometers long. Compared with the Handelse Processie, which covers 40 kilometers on foot from Valkenswaard to Handel, its length is close to the pilgrimage distance. However, the similar distances represent different modes of transport and different start and end points: Route A starts in Handel, while the walking pilgrimage ends there.
Discover more destinations: Elsendorp, Milheeze, Bakel, De Mortel, De Rips, Gemert.
Return to the main travel overview: Gemert-Bakel.
