The south-west corner of the county carries the two best known entries here. Slieve League rises 601m out of the sea, and a short walk from the Bunglass car park gives you the full drop without taking on the knife-edge of One Man’s Pass. Inland from Ardara, Glengesh Pass turns up a glacier-cut valley to about 275m on tight hairpins; drive in from the Ardara side so you descend the switchbacks rather than climb them. Barnesmore Gap and the Bluestacks lie east again.
North-west of that, the Derryveagh Mountains hold the densest cluster on the page. Errigal at 751m is the county’s highest, with Glenveagh National Park at its feet and walks running from a kilometre along Lough Veagh to a half-day on the ridge. The Poisoned Glen cuts in below Errigal from Dunlewey, a rough 4km there and back past a ruined white marble church. Muckish, flat-topped at 667m, takes the steep Miner’s Path to its summit cairn. Horn Head’s quartzite cliffs stand about 180m above the mouth of Sheephaven Bay, north of Dunfanaghy.
The rest are drives. Fanad and Inishowen deserve a day each, the Inishowen 100 being a signed 100-mile loop by Malin Head and Grianán of Aileach. Cloud decides everything up here: the long views from Horn Head to Tory Island and Errigal need a clear day, Bloody Foreland earns its name only in the last hour of light, and Crohy Head has one small layby, no facilities and arches reachable only at low tide.
Ireland's second-highest sea cliff at 601m and a fraction as busy as Moher, with a short walk from Bunglass giving the full drop.
A narrow Gaeltacht peninsula between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay, with a climbable headland lighthouse, Blue Flag sand and rugged coastal driving.
A hairpin mountain road climbing to about 275m through a glacier-cut valley between Ardara and Glencolmcille, with a small viewpoint car park.
Quartzite cliffs about 180m above the mouth of Sheephaven Bay, with a clifftop drive and a short walk to the wartime lookout.
The most thinly populated ground in Ireland, rising to Errigal at 751m and wrapping around the free lakes and oak woods of Glenveagh.
28 of 28 shown — tap a pin for the place.
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At 601m, Slieve League is Ireland's second-highest sea cliff and a fraction as busy as Moher. A short walk from Bunglass gets you the full drop; the sure-footed can carry on over the knife-edge of One Man's Pass. It roars after rain and barely whispers in a dry spell.
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Jutting between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay, this narrow Donegal peninsula offers rugged coastal drives, ancient tombs and Ireland’s northernmost Blue Flag beach. Climb the historic Fanad Head Lighthouse, surf the Atlantic swells, or wander through a landscape where Irish is still spoken daily.
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Glengesh Pass is a narrow, hairpin mountain road between Ardara and Glencolmcille in south-west Donegal, climbing to about 275m through a glacier-cut valley. It's a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point with a small viewpoint car park; drive in from the Ardara side so you descend the switchbacks into the valley.
Horn Head, donegal
Horn Head's quartzite cliffs rise about 180m straight out of the Atlantic at the mouth of Sheephaven Bay, a few kilometres north of Dunfanaghy. The clifftop drive and the short walk to the WWII lookout give some of Donegal's best sea views, on a clear day as far as Tory Island, Errigal and Muckish. McSwyne's Gun, the old blow-hole, is a shadow of the spouting spectacle it once was.
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The Derryveagh Mountains cover the most thinly populated ground in Ireland, rising to Errigal at 751 m, Donegal's highest peak. They wrap around Glenveagh National Park, a free wilderness of lakes, oak woods and red deer with a Victorian castle on Lough Veagh. Walks run from a one-kilometre lakeshore stroll to a half-day ridge climb.
Barnesmore Gap, donegal
Barnesmore Gap (An Bearnas Mór) is a glacial valley carrying the only direct road between north and south Donegal through the Bluestack Mountains. For two centuries it was highwayman country; today it is a fast scenic drive with a viewpoint lay-by and one famous roadside pub, Biddy's O'Barnes.
Bloody Foreland, donegal
Bloody Foreland, or Cnoc Fola, is the north-west corner of Donegal, named for the way the evening sun turns its rocks a deep red. It is a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point with views out to Tory Island, a signed 1.5km coastal walk and free parking at the trailhead. Come for the hour before sunset on a clear evening; that is the whole point.
Bluestack Mountains, donegal
The Bluestack Mountains – the Croaghgorms – dominate southern Donegal with rounded granite tops, mist-hung lakes and a landscape shaped by the last Ice Age. The 64.1 km Bluestack Way crosses them over three days, a moderate trek of quiet bog road, open moorland and wide valley views between Donegal Town and Ardara.
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Crohy Head is a remote stretch of cliff and sea arch on Donegal's north-west coast, about 8 km from Dungloe. The tall Bristi arch, locally 'The Breeches', is visible straight from the cliff path, while two smaller arches sit on a beach reachable only at low tide. There are no facilities and parking is a single small layby, so come prepared and time the tide.
Fanad, donegal
Fanad Peninsula juts between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay, a living Gaeltacht of quartzite ridges, sandy beaches and winding roads. Its headland lighthouse, built after the 1811 wreck of the Saldanha, is one of Ireland's most photographed and drew over 65,000 visitors in 2024.
Inishowen Peninsula, donegal
The Inishowen 100 is a 100-mile signed loop around Ireland's most northerly peninsula, taking in Malin Head, the clifftop fort of Grianán of Aileach and the coastal batteries of Fort Dunree. You can drive it in five hours flat, but it rewards a full day with stops for beaches, forts and a waterfall.
Inishowen Peninsula, donegal
The Inishowen Peninsula holds Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head, and the two ways to see it are the signposted 160km Inishowen 100 coastal loop and the 14-stop heritage trail. Between them you get Atlantic headlands, the Grianán of Aileach ring fort, Napoleonic coastal forts and long strands like Culdaff.
Derryveagh Mountains, donegal
Muckish is the flat-topped peak that dominates north-west Donegal, 667m of quartzite and the second-highest of the Seven Sisters. Its northern flank was mined for high-grade glass sand, and the steep Miner's Path still follows the workers' route to the summit cairn and cross; the gentler climb starts from Muckish Gap by the Bridge of Tears. Low-level looped walks along the old Burtonport railway suit families.
Dunlewey, donegal
The Poisoned Glen is a granite amphitheatre below Errigal, near Dunlewey, most likely named by a mapmaker's slip of neamh (heaven) for nimhe (poison). A rough 4km round-trip walk from a hairpin lay-by leads past the ruined white-marble Dunlewey Church into the valley, whose north-facing walls are Ireland's largest continuous rock face and have drawn climbers since the 1950s.
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Rosguill is a small north Donegal peninsula wrapped by the Atlantic Drive, an 11km coastal loop between Downings and Carrigart. It holds a working fishing harbour, the hard-to-reach Murder Hole Beach, and a living Gaeltacht where Seamus Heaney once spent his summers learning Irish.
Teelin, donegal
Teelin is a small Gaeltacht harbour at the foot of Slieve League, among the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Boats leave the pier in summer for the cliff faces and the dolphins, seals and basking sharks below them, and the pubs keep the traditional music going year-round.
Cappagh, donegal
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Northwest Ireland, donegal
Killybegs, donegal
Dunaff Bay, donegal
Near Killea, donegal
Knockalla, donegal
Inishowen Peninsula, donegal
Inishowen Peninsula, donegal
Carndonagh, donegal
Sturrall Headland, donegal
Urris, donegal
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