Klintekongens Rige

Chalk cliffs, the second! After hiking along the cliffs of Stevns Klint in South Zealand the day before, we now want to take a look at Denmark's highest cliff. The "Klintekongens Rige" - the kingdom of the cliff king - runs around the famous cliffs of Møns Klint and has been awarded a premium hiking trail by the German Hiking Institute. It would be difficult to find a more challenging hiking route in Denmark with more ups and downs than this circular hiking trail offers. The cliff king is located in one of the hilliest natural landscapes in the country. So don't underestimate the tour and plan at least six hours to cover the many steps and elevation gains. There is also far too much to see and marvel at along the varied route, so it would be a shame to just rush through it. We started at the beautiful Liselund Castle Park. The castle itself is now a hotel and just one of the jewels in the beautifully maintained 18th century pleasure garden. The English landscape park near the cliffs enchants with a large pond full of water lilies and ducks, a Chinese pavilion and ancient chestnut and oak trees. From here we had actually planned to follow the official route of the "Klintekongens Rige" and climb down to the coast via the Liselund stairs. However, since a heavy storm and landslides destroyed the stairs last autumn, we are following the alternative route above the cliffs. --------------------------------------- Currently (as of September 2024), three of the five staircases at Møns Klint are accessible: "Gråryg", "Jydelejetrappen" and "Maglevands Fald" directly at the GeoCenter Møns Klint visitor center. The "Liselund" and "Røde Udfald" staircases were badly damaged by the storm surge and must first be redesigned and restored. It is best to inquire BEFORE your hike at the GeoCenter Møns Klint which staircases are currently accessible. --------------------------------------- We meander through the enchanted and mystical cliff forest on narrow paths over the high shore path until we can finally get our first glimpse of the chalk cliffs. Wow! I would never have thought that the coast here would be so rugged, steep and almost dazzlingly white. It is really impressive! New views of the cliffs and the turquoise-green water, which almost looks like the Caribbean. Cormorants also seem to feel at home here, we see them everywhere in masses on the seashore, clinging to the branches of dead trees. A little stamina can't hurt on this section of the route, by the way, I'm really not used to such rooty and adventurous paths with so many ups and downs in Denmark. We follow the chalk coast further and further and are amazed at the steep edge that the trees seem to cling to. The view at each viewpoint feels even more spectacular than the previous one. In one rock we can even clearly see the contours of a face, perhaps the cliff king who wants to greet us in person. 😉 If the visibility is good, we could even wave from the "Dronningestolen" viewpoint as far as southern Sweden and the chalk cliffs of the island of Rügen. Unfortunately, it's a bit hazy today, but that doesn't stop us from climbing down the 497 steps at the visitor center and looking at the rocks from below. My highlight of the day's hike! The almost vertical cliffs look even more impressive from below. There's so much to discover between the pebbles and tree trunks on the beach that I could spend hours exploring. If you have a good eye and a little luck, you even have a good chance of finding fossils from the Cretaceous period! Puffing, we climb the steps again and take a break in the visitor center's café. A visit to the GeoCenter Møns Klint visitor center is definitely worth it. The excellently prepared interactive exhibition includes a 3D cinema, a variety of VR glasses experiences and lots of information about the history of Denmark and the chalk cliffs. After the visit, we hike along a beautiful wooden boardwalk through the old and hilly Klinteskoven beech forest, experience a few more viewpoints of the cliffs and finally reach idyllic pastures. On the Aborrebjerg, the highest elevation on Møn at 143 meters, we enjoy a great panoramic view and flowering meadows and finally make our way back to the car park at Liselund Castle. That was a nature experience and a really great and varied round! 🤩

In the morning the last rain stopped and it was a day with beautiful late summer weather. We used this for a wonderful tour around Møns Klint, the highest chalk cliff in Denmark. The path led us above the cliffs with great views of the sea and the chalk cliffs and then below along the water. It went through beautiful beech forest and Liselund Castle Park. A great round, therefore also a whole lot of pictures.

On the way to the UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Danish island of Møn. Møns Klint is about 6km long and its chalk cliffs rise up to 128m out of the Baltic Sea. Even today, the landscape and the accessible paths change regularly due to chalk collapses. All in all, a recommended hike (including a few meters of elevation).