Randers Regnskov (Tropical Zoo)

The idea of a rainforest under glass in Randers emerged in 1989. It was championed by Regnar Kirkeby, from the local tourist board and Junior Chamber, and by Henrik Herold, who kept large collections of reptiles and amphibians and became director in 1995. The town council approved the project in 1993; construction began in 1994 and took eighteen months, with initial capital of 25 million kroner.

On 13 June 1996 Countess Alexandra opened the first two domes, devoted to Asia and Africa, and became the zoo's patron. More than 200,000 visitors came in the first year. The site then grew in stages: an Asian Snake Temple in 1999, a large South American dome in 2003, the renovation of the African dome and a saltwater aquarium, Sirenen, in 2004, and the Skull Grotto in 2009. From 2012 the zoo also expanded outdoors with DanmarksParken, a jaguar enclosure (2015-2017), a nocturnal zoo (2017) and Tidsrejsen, a journey through Danish landscapes from the Ice Age to the future, built in four stages between 2020 and 2024. Attendance reached 260,000 in 2016.

In late 2025 the municipality began planning a further expansion that would double the number of domes from three to six, adding some 4,900 m².

All three domes were designed by the architect Jørgen Hjersing. Their glazed geodesic shells draw on Buckminster Fuller's work, which saw such forms as a way of building economically in energy and materials. The Asian dome covers about 700 m² and the African dome 500 m²; the South American dome of 2003, more than twice the size of the first two combined, spans 2,000 m², with a diameter of 50 metres and a height of 23.6 metres. The combined area of the domes is 3,200 to 3,600 m², depending on how it is counted.

The interior climate is computer-controlled, including day length, to offset the strong seasonal swings in Danish daylight. Since 2017 coloured LED lighting has outlined the three domes at night, making them visible from afar beside the Gudenå river.

The domes house more than 200 animal species and around 450 species of tropical plants, arranged in naturalistic settings where many animals roam freely. The Amazon-inspired South American dome holds lowland tapirs, two-toed sloths, green anacondas and West Indian manatees. The African dome shows aardvarks and guereza colobus monkeys, the Asian dome pileated gibbons, king cobras and Komodo dragons; lemurs and macaws are among the other residents. A reptile house, where constrictors and butterflies move freely, completes the ensemble.

The saltwater aquarium adds about 75 more species. Outdoors, the jaguars and the landscapes of Tidsrejsen, with spotted hyenas, wolverines and reindeer, extend the visit. A member of EAZA, the zoo supports the protection of an especially species-rich stretch of Amazon rainforest in Ecuador.

Randers Regnskov lies on the edge of central Randers, between the town and the Gudenå valley. A visit takes in the three domes, the Snake Temple, the aquarium and the nocturnal zoo, then the outdoor trails of DanmarksParken and Tidsrejsen, which are most pleasant in the warmer months. The warm, humid interior calls for light layers under a winter coat, and winter is when the contrast with the Danish climate is most striking. The visit combines well with a walk along the Gudenå and through Randers' old town.