Sahara Lommel, Nature reserve in Lommel, Belgium.

Sahara Lommel is a 193-hectare nature reserve featuring white sand dunes, clear blue lakes, and pine forests in a landscape that resembles a desert. The sandy terrain and heather patches create an unusual setting that differs greatly from the typical Belgian countryside.

The barren sand resulted from the Schulte family's zinc plant at Lommel-Werkplaatsen, whose emissions stripped the vegetation between 1902 and 1940, leaving some 350 hectares of white sand. The lake was dug by sand extraction between 1920 and 1925. After World War II, conifers and dead-wood hedges called mutsaards held back the drifting sand, reducing the open dune area to today's 193 hectares.

The nature reserve serves as a filming location for Flemish productions and demonstrates how an industrial site has been successfully transformed into natural landscape. Visitors can experience today how nature has reclaimed what was once an abandoned factory ground.

The area is accessible through multiple hiking trails, including a 12-kilometer red route and a roughly 6-kilometer orange trail starting from Parking De Soeverein. The sandy terrain and well-marked paths make it easy for visitors to explore the landscape independently.

The former Poudreries Réunies de Belgique explosives factory used the Sahara as a test ground; remains include a shelter where workers hid during grenade tests, a ruin of a destruction pit about 10 metres across for scrapping surplus ammunition, and concrete safety pyramids meant to stop shell fragments and cannonballs.