Rock climbing in Bornholm, Denmark

There are no large cliffs on Bornholm but plenty of single pitch routes, with something for everyone across a wide range of grades and styles on great granite rock. The style of the rock climbing is mostly on walls and cracks, with a few slabs and chimneys. The majority of the routes are on natural sea cliff outcrops, as well as in disused quarries and a wide variety of bouldering.

The rugged north coast provides the most extensive climbing on Bornholm, with the largest crag being Vang.  At Vang there are a series of granite outcrops that offer friendly single pitch sea cliff climbing, with lots of easy and mid-grade routes.  The access is easy with no need to abseil into the bottom of the routes.  The nature of the routes are a series of walls and cracks that perfectly suit the traditional ethic of climbing, using nuts and cams, that is used almost everywhere in Bornholm.  The best trad climbing at Bornholm are without doubt the sea cliffs at Vang, the routes along the Randklove Gorge and the Hammerbruddet quarry with its idyllic location. 

There are also a small number of inland quarries that provide some excellent  sport routes.  The largest sport climbing crag at Bornholm is Moselokken Stenbrud with its well-bolted routes.  The routes range from 6m to 35m high, across a wide range of grades and styles.   The current guidebook shows 51 routes up to F5+, 59 routes from F6 to F6c+, and 22 routes over F7a.  The best bouldering on Bornholm is at Ornebjergkysten, with some of the island’s hardest problems being at Stammershalle.

How to get there? The only way to get to Bornholm is via a ferry to Ronne. The shortest route is from Ystad in Sweden which takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes. Malmo airport is close to Ystad, with Copenhagen airport slightly further away. The best ferry route from mainland Europe is from Sassnitz in Germany, which takes around 3.5 hours. The closest port in Denmark is Koge, which takes around 5.5 hours. As the climbing is scattered around the island away from Ronne a car is advisable to make the most of your trip.

Best time to visit? Bornholm has sometimes being called the “Northern Ibiza” with its pleasant and moderate maritime climate of relatively mild winters and cool summers. The best time to visit Bornholm to rock climb is from the end of June to September, when it is sunnier and drier than mainland Denmark.

Which guidebook for climbing at Bornholm? The only current rock climbing guidebook for Bornholm is called “Bornholm on the Rocks”. Published in 2020, this guidebook covers over 750 routes, which are all shown on colour photo topos. The guidebook also acts as a good travel guide to the area. There are details of how to get there, where to stay, and what to do on rest days. Also included is some general history about Bornholm. Buy this Bornholm on the Rocks guidebook from our shop.