Ireland Nature & National Parks

A 250 km² limestone karst landscape where arctic, alpine and Mediterranean plants grow side by side — unlike anywhere else in Europe.

Wild bogland, mountains and Atlantic coastline across 2,957 hectares — the heart of Connemara, with Diamond Hill as the main hike.

A Victorian castle on the shore of a remote mountain lough, surrounded by 16,000 hectares of Donegal wilderness — the walled gardens have rhododendron walks and the herd of red deer is one of Ireland's largest.

26,000 acres of ancient oak woods, three glacial lakes and the MacGillycuddy's Reeks on the doorstep. Jaunting cars, boat trips, Ross Castle and Muckross House — the most varied national park in Ireland.

A narrow glacial pass through the MacGillycuddy's Reeks — 11 km of mountain valley with five small lakes, taken on foot, by bike or by jaunting car.

Granite mountains, blanket bog and glacial valleys beginning 20 km from Dublin — the Wicklow Way long-distance walk passes through the heart of the park, and the Sally Gap road is one of Ireland's finest upland drives.

A 526-metre flat-topped mountain above Sligo Bay — W.B. Yeats country, with the poet buried in its shadow at Drumcliffe churchyard.

Ireland's holiest mountain — St Patrick fasted on its summit for 40 days in 441 AD; 25,000 pilgrims climb it on the last Sunday of July each year.

An 18th-century avenue of intertwined beech trees on Bregagh Road, Armoy — one of the most photographed landscapes in Ireland since its use as the King's Road in Game of Thrones.

A walk-through wildlife park on Fota Island in Cork Harbour where cheetahs, giraffes and 30+ species roam with minimal barriers across 100 acres of former estate grounds.

The highest mountain pass in Ireland at 456 m, crossing the spine of the Dingle Peninsula with panoramic views north to the Castlegregory lakes and south over Dingle town and harbour.

Europe's largest enclosed urban park — 1,750 acres of woodland, open grassland and a resident herd of 600 wild fallow deer, with the Irish President's residence, the US Ambassador's home and the Dublin Zoo all within the walls.

A 327 m hill above Sligo Bay topped by a massive Neolithic passage tomb — Queen Maeve's Cairn is visible from most of the northwest and the 45-minute ascent gives views over Strandhill beach, Sligo Bay and Benbulben.

A UNESCO Global Geopark in County Fermanagh with guided underground cave tours through stalactites, flowstones and subterranean rivers — one of the most accessible showcave systems in the British Isles.

Private steam baths filled with hot Atlantic seawater and freshly harvested kelp, in a purpose-built bathhouse directly on Strandhill beach. The best seaweed bath experience in Ireland — a Sligo tradition since the 19th century.

A 15-metre waterfall tumbling into a wooded ravine on the Sligo–Leitrim border — the waterfall immortalised by W.B. Yeats in "The Stolen Child". Free to visit, with a short walk through old woodland from the car park.

A 300-metre mountain pass cutting through the Slieve Tooey range between Ardara and Glencolmcille — one of the most dramatic and least-visited scenic drives in Ireland. The road descends in a series of switchbacks into the valley with views that open suddenly at the top.

A limestone cave system beneath the Burren holding Europe's largest free-hanging stalactite at 7.3 metres. Guided tours run throughout the day from the visitor centre above Doolin village — an excellent complement to the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren.

A cave system in the heart of the Burren with guided tours past stalactites, a frozen waterfall and a hibernation chamber used by brown bears 10,000 years ago — combined with Ireland's largest Birds of Prey Centre, with daily flight demonstrations of hawks, falcons and owls.

A 15-acre Italianate garden on a small island in Bantry Bay — created from bare rock between 1910 and 1953 by Harold Peto for Annan Bryce. The ferry crossing passes seals on the rocks; the island has a Martello tower, a Grecian temple and plant collections from five continents.

A 46 km traffic-free trail along a disused railway from Waterford city to Dungarvan — the longest off-road cycling route in Ireland. Nine viaducts, three tunnels (including one 400-metre tunnel requiring lights), and views of the Comeragh Mountains throughout.

A 350-acre forest park on the shores of Lough Key in north Roscommon — woodland walking trails, a Victorian walled garden, ruins of a castle on an island in the lake, and the Boda Borg activity centre. One of the best family parks in Connacht.

The highest mountain range in Northern Ireland — 12 peaks over 600 metres, dominated by Slieve Donard at 850m. C.S. Lewis grew up looking at the Mournes from Belfast and said they 'swept down to the sea'; the walk from Newcastle beach to the summit is one of the finest in Ulster.

The 'Stairway to Heaven' — a 7.5 km boardwalk trail up Cuilcagh Mountain through blanket bog and cloud, with a raised walkway on the upper section that gives access to the summit plateau in all weathers. One of the most distinctive walking experiences in Ireland.

A state forest park in the Vale of Avoca containing the birthplace of Charles Stewart Parnell and a 1.5 km elevated treetop walk — 'Beyond the Trees' — that rises through the forest canopy to a viewing tower. One of the finest forest experiences in Leinster.

Ireland's first long-distance greenway — 42 km of traffic-free trail from Westport to Achill Island through Connemara foothills, coastal bog and the shores of Clew Bay. One of the finest greenways in Europe.