Aillwee Cave & Birds of Prey Centre

Aillwee Cave is one of the most accessible cave systems in Ireland, cut through the Burren limestone by an underground river during the last Ice Age. The cave was discovered in 1944 by a local farmer whose dog disappeared into a narrow entrance on the hillside. It was developed for visitors in the 1970s and now offers guided tours through a 600-metre section of the cave, past stalactites, stalagmites, a frozen waterfall of flowstone, and a hibernation chamber where the bones of brown bears — extinct in Ireland for 10,000 years — have been found.

The guided tour runs about 30 minutes and is well-paced. The cave temperature is a constant 10°C. The highlight for many visitors is the bear pit — a low chamber at the back of the cave where bears wintered through the last Ice Age, scratches from their claws still visible on the cave walls. The combination of good lighting, confident interpretation and a manageable scale makes Aillwee the most visitor-friendly cave in Ireland.

Adjacent to the cave entrance, the Aillwee Burren Experience includes a cheese-making dairy producing award-winning Burren Gold cheese (available to taste and buy), a café with Burren views, craft shops, and the Birds of Prey Centre — a collection of hawks, falcons, owls and eagles with twice-daily free-flight demonstrations. The combined cave and birds ticket represents good value. Ballyvaughan village (4 km) is the best Burren base.