Walks – 4 tours in Almindingen

Almindingen – formerly common grazing land for cattle

Almindingen is the fifth largest forest in Denmark. Almindingen was formerly common grazing land for cattle, but in 1800 the forest was enclosed and brought under cultivation by Hans Rømer, the forest supervisor.

Map of the hiking trails

Download Naturstyrelsens (Danish Nature Agency’s) map of hiking routes in Almindingen here. (Description in Danish)

Almindingen – Red route

The red route starts at Gamleborg (old castle), the oldest stone building on Bornholm, which in the Viking Age from approx. 800-1100 A.C. served as Bornholm’s main fortress. Here people sought refuge when one of the many lootings and ravaging groups invaded Bornholm – which happened quite often. You can see parts of the castle’s ring walls, with the original mortar still intact.

Follow the path to the right until you reach Rokkestenen (the rocking stone). Rokkestenen in Almindingen is one of Bornholm’s three rocking stones. The stone is a glacial erratic, carried by the ice sheet approx. 10,000 years ago. Rokkestenen in Almindingen weighs around seven tons and, according to legend, is able to rock because it rests on a diamond.

The next stop on the route is Lilleborg (Small castle), a castle ruin which, when it was built, was only a tenth the size of Gamleborg. Lilleborg is located on a 16-meter-high outcrop, and when it was built, the cliff was surrounded by bog and water on all sides. The castle thus had only one access road to the mainland, which made it much easier to defend than Gamleborg.

Almindingen – Yellow route:

This walk starts at the parking area near Ekkodalen (Echo Valley), Bornholm’s biggest rift valley with impressive, steep rock walls. Ekkodalen is 10 km long, 60 m wide, and formed about 1,4 million years ago. The best echo can be found by taking the marked path to the left and standing by H.C. Ørsted’s spring. And you can shout as many times as you like.

If you continue along the route in the same direction, you will pass through Ekkodalen, which in the old days was called “Headlong Hills”, perhaps because at one time people were sacrificed by being, regrettably, thrown headlong from the top of the rocks.

On the route, you will also pass Dronningestenen (Queen stone), an elevated lookout point where you can look out over Vallensgård’s bog and the southern part of Bornholm.

Almindingen – Purple route:

One place to start this route is at Bastemosen (Baste bog), where you will find a parking area at Bastemose birdwatching tower. The purple trail is almost 12 km long and takes you through Bisonskoven (The bison Forrest) and Hareløkkerne (the hare loops).

The bison forest is a 200 acres enclosure containing approximately 7 European bison. The European Bison is used to walking in the woods, between the trees, and is much slimmer and taller than the well-known American Bison that lives on the open plains.

Remember that Bison are wild animals, do not get too close to them.

At Hareløkkerne, you will find a large natural playground.

Almindingen – Orange route – Højlyngsstien:

Would you like to visit all these fantastic places – including the highest point on Bornholm? Then follow the orange route, which is part of a longer cross-island hiking route called Højlyngsstien.
On the Orange route, you’ll go through all the places mentioned above, including Bornholm’s highest point, Rytterknægten.

Read more about the attractions

Click on the pictures below and read more about some of the places you can visit on a walk in Almindingen.