Ireland is a country that is known for its natural beauty, and any visitor quickly discovers why. Most of these beauty spots are easily accessible to most visitors.
Many of those wonders are found in the western part of the country. County Kerry is home to several of them. Killarney National Park is worth a visit, especially the Torc Waterfall, which is 65 feet high. Another must-see is the Gap of Dunloe between the Purple Mountain Group and the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. Kerry is also the location of Cathedral Rocks, a coastal rock formation so named for precisely what they look like–a grand cathedral.
Heading northwards to County Clare, the Burren is another coastal wonder, this one a strange rock landscape that has been compared to the surface of the moon. Clare is also home to the famous Cliffs of Moher, a gorgeous stretch along the coast.
Still further north to County Mayo reveals the 150-foot sea stack known as Dun Briste, or the Broken Fort, a flat-topped formation just off the coast. County Mayo is also where visitors can find Clew Bay, which is full of tiny and mostly uninhabited islands–legend says one for each day of the year.
County Donegal is a truly remote corner of Ireland, and adventurous travelers won’t want to miss Slieve League, 2000-foot high Atlantic-facing cliffs battered by centuries of rain and wind.
The tallest waterfall in Ireland, Powerscourt Waterfall, is located on an estate of the same name in County Wicklow just outside of Dublin. It is best visited by car or taxi since there is not a footpath leading to it.
All of the above places are in the Republic of Ireland, but one of the island’s most impressive sights is in Northern Ireland. The Giant’s Causeway is said by legend to have been created by a giant; in fact, an ancient volcano made the 40,000 rock columns that give this landscape such an eerie feel.
This is only a taste of the extraordinary beauty of this small island. Visitors who love the natural world will find much to appreciate in Ireland’s wild green landscapes.