The Ice Age Route

Day 1: Arrival in Sorø

The starting point of the route is the old town of Sorø approx. 50 min by car / 90 min by train from the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Arrival in the town of Sorø during the day at your own leisure.

Sorø has an eventful history, beautiful nature and a charming main street. Three lakes surround the town of which it got it’s name Sor-Ø (Sor-Island). In the old Cathedral, which dates back more than 800 years, some of the first Danish kings lies buried. Today the grounds around the old cathedral and the lake are home to Akademihaven - the Academy Garden, which is a mix of a French Baroque style park with linden avenues and English park style with lawns, shrubs and free-standing trees. Here you also find the prestigious boarding school Sorø Akademi, which used to house a range of renowned Danish cultural figures like Hans Christian Andersen and Ludvig Holberg.

Day 2: Sorø - Jyderup, approx. 60 Km.

The journey on the Ice Age Route starts in the old town of Sorø in western Zealand. From Sorø the route follows through the large forest areas outside the city before the vast farmlands unfolds as you follow the small country roads through western Zealand. Arriving at Denmark’s 4th largest lake, Tissø, you will be able to have your first encounter with what will be several Viking related sites along the route. Viking center Fugledegaard tells the story about the Viking rituals and religion and the largest golden archeological artefact ever to be found in Denmark. Fugledegaard is also the gateway to Nature Park Åmosen, which offers a varied and undisturbed landscape with rich wildlife, old deep forests, and the lakes Tissø and Skarresø.

Sights along the route:

Nature Park Åmosen
Fugledegaard Viking Center
Lake Tissø
Strids Mølle
Jyderup

Day 3: Jyderup - Nykøbing Sj., approx 65 km.

As you reach the west coast of Zealand and journey through the scenic coastal town of Havnsø, which is a popular vacation hotspot and buzzing with activity during the summer months, you follow the coastline past the old Dragsholm Castle, where the renowned restaurant in 2017 received the coveted Michelin star. Dragsholm Castle has three separate restaurants and is an excellent stop if you are looking for a unique gastronomic experience. After Dragsholm the terrain shifts and you now enter the northwestern corner of Zealand and Denmark’s first UNESCO-Global Geopark, UNESCO Global Geopark Odsherred. Odsherred has received this great international recognition because of the unique Ice Age landscape that unfolds in the area. The change in scenery is apparent from the start, as you make your way to Odsherredbuerne - a range of large hills which the Tour de France peloton passed in 2022 and where Danish Magnus Cort secured the polka dot mountain jersey by winning all three mountain sprints on Kårup Bakker, Høve Stræde and Åsevang. The route goes through the hilly landscape and over two of the Tour de France “mountains” before reaching the northernmost point of the tour, the town of Nykøbing Sj. and Anneberg Kulturpark (culture park), at which it is possible to visit the local microbrewery, the artists’ wing and the second Michelin-star restaurant of the day, Restaurant Mota, which was crowned Denmark’s restaurant of the year in 2022, same year as they got their first Michelin star.

Sights along the route:

Havnsø
Dragsholm Slot
UNESCO Global Geopark Odsherred
Odsherredbuerne
Tour de France climbs
The Esterhøj stone
Anneberg Culture Park
Restaurant Mota

Day 4: Nykøbing Sj. - Holbæk, approx. 40 km.

Today is a short stage, so there will be plenty of time to make stops along the way and enjoy the scenery.
From Anneberg, the Ice Age Route continues through the UNESCO Global Geopark Odsherred, where the coastal areas along Isefjord and Lammefjord are the highlights of the day. The coastal road winds its way along the bay, through the hilly landscape by the Isefjord and into the drained flatlands of the Lammefjord. Originally Odsherred was a peninsula that was only connected to Zealand via a narrow land bridge, but in 1874 the dikes at Audebo and Sidinge was completed and a vast landmass west of the dykes was drained making it one of the lowest points in Western Europe, a full 7 meters below sea level.
After passing the two dykes at Sidinge and Audebo, you reach the beautiful peninsula of Tuse Næs. Here you weave you way through the small villages and hilly farmland before reaching the coast where you can enjoy the view towards the city of Holbæk over the fjord.

Sights along the route:

UNESCO Global Geopark Odsherred
Lammefjord
Isefjord
The dikes at Audebo and Sidinge
Tuse Næs

Day 5: Holbæk - Roskilde, approx. 50 km.

Passing the city of Holbæk, the route follows Holbæk Fjord to the Skjoldungerens Land National Park, where the legendary kings Roar and Skjold ruled from the Viking capital in Lejre and later Roskilde. The picturesque landscape around Lejre offers a wealth of old Viking finds, burial mounds and stone settings. At Land of Legends in Lejre (Sagnlandet Lejre) you can experience a reconstruction of Denmark’s largest Viking Hall, which was uncovered just a stone’s throw away in 2009. From Lejre, the route continues through the lush and hilly landscape to the city of Roskilde, which, with its more than 1000-year history, is one of Denmark’s oldest cities and whose cathedral, which is the resting place of the last many generations of the Danish royal family, is a UNESCO World heritage site. At the waterfront in Roskilde it is possible to continue exploring the world of the Vikings at the Viking Ship Museum, which has Northern Europe’s largest collection of unique Viking shipwrecks.

Sights along the route:

Holbæk
Skjoldungerens Land National Park
Land of Legends Lejre (Sagnlandet Lejre)
Roskilde Cathedral
Viking Ship Museum
Roskilde

Day 6: Roskilde - Brorfelde, approx. 50 km.

From Roskilde, the easternmost point of the route, you begin the journey back towards the western part of Zealand. Once more you pass through the scenic landscape surrounding the small village of Lejre before reaching the great forests of Mid-Zealand, where forest, farmland and large estates will be the dominating feature of the day. As you pass the estate Sonnerupgård you are approaching the majestic Zealand “Alps”. This area is a typical Ice Age landscape, where fragments of glaciers shaped the deep valleys and lakes. Our destination for the day is the Observatory at Brorfelde, which sits on the very top of the Zealand “Alps”, from where a spectacular view across Mid- and Western Zealand awaits.

Until the late 1990s, the Observatory at Brorfelde was a working research station, where scientists lived and worked. Today it functions as a museum about space and geology. The observatory still has Denmark’s largest telescope which is open to the public and still used for stargazing - see our event “Evening at the observatory in Brorfelde”.

Sights along the route:

The Zealand "Alps"
The Observatory at Brorfelde
Exclusive event at the Observatory at Brorfelde with dinner, stargazing and accommodation (Optional)

Day 7: Brorfelde - Sorø, approx. 35 km.

As you leave the “Alps” and begin the last stretch back towards the final destination of Sorø, the landscape quickly flattens. Once more you will pass through Nature Park Åmosen - this time the very eastern part. The route takes you through Nordskoven (North forest) with the big stone, Sengestenen, and the old plantation at Bromme which is very unique in this area of Zealand. The area is very poor in nutrients, as it is rich on meltwater deposits from the Ice Age. Because of this the land was not suitable for cultivation so it was converted into a plantation of spruce and pine trees. The land is also rich on raw materials which are quarried. As the old quarries have ben reclaimed by nature, a unique landscape has emerged.
The last leg of the route takes your back to Sorø and around the big lake.

Sights along the route:

Nature Park Åmosen
Bromme plantation
Sorø Akademi
Sorø Klosterkirke
Akademihaven (Academy Garden)
Sorø lake