Twenty-seven entries, and the weight of them falls in one place. Killarney National Park holds Lough Leane, Muckross Lake and the Upper Lake, the 20-metre drop of Torc Waterfall into its gorge beside the N71, and Ladies View looking down the wooded Long Range. Muckross is the deepest lake in Ireland at 75 metres and has a flat 10 km loop round it from Muckross House, through oak and yew woods and past Dinis Cottage. That corner alone would fill two days.
West and south of it the water gets emptier. The Caragh runs off the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks through Caragh Lake to Dingle Bay, a spate salmon river best after rain, with a free roadside viewing point at Scartnamackagh on the N70. Coomasaharn, in the hills southwest of Glenbeigh, is a 2 km corrie lake under steep ridges, with more than 400 cup-and-ring stones in the valley below it. Lough Coomloughra lies directly under Carrauntoohil and is the floor of the hardest walking day in the county.
On the Beara side, Glanmore Lake sits at eight metres above sea level under the Caha Mountains, and is best seen from the Healy Pass above. North Kerry is different again: the Feale at Listowel and the Laune at Killorglin are working salmon rivers with town walks attached.
A 20-metre cascade over Devonian sandstone into a fern-choked gorge, minutes off the N71 and wired into the wider Killarney walks.
Spate salmon and sea-trout water off the Reeks, best after rain, with a free roadside viewing point at Scartnamackagh on the N70.
The largest of six glacier-cut coums above Glenbeigh, with a 12 km horseshoe over six summits and cup-and-ring rock art in the valley below.
A Beara valley lake ringed by the Caha Mountains, good for salmon and sea trout and one of the best wild swims on the peninsula.
24 of 26 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Killarney, kerry
Legend says a cursed man turned wild boar burst into flame and vanished beneath Torc Waterfall, giving the falls its Irish name. The 20-metre cascade tumbles over Devonian sandstone into a fern-choked gorge, offering easy walks, deer sightings, and a direct link to the Ring of Kerry.
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The Caragh runs off the MacGillycuddy's Reeks through Caragh Lake to Dingle Bay, its whole catchment protected as a Special Area of Conservation. It's a spate salmon and sea trout river, best after rain, with a free roadside viewing point at Scartnamackagh on the N70.
Glenbeigh, kerry
Coomasaharn is the largest of six glacier-cut coums in the hills southwest of Glenbeigh, a 2km-long corrie lake under steep ridges. The draw is the Coomasaharn Horseshoe, a roughly 12km walk over six summits with views to Dingle Bay and the Skelligs. Below it the valley holds one of Ireland's richest clusters of cup-and-ring rock art, on the edge of the gold-tier Kerry Dark Sky Reserve.
Lauragh, kerry
Glanmore Lake sits at just 8 m above sea level in a valley on the Beara Peninsula, ringed by the Caha Mountains. One of its islands, Illaunatee, hid the Fenian leader James Stephens in the 1860s; another holds the ruins of an old hermitage. It is a well-regarded salmon and sea-trout water, one of the best wild swims on Beara, and best seen from the Healy Pass above.
kenmare, kerry
A drowned glacial valley cut 55km into Old Red Sandstone between the Iveragh and Beara peninsulas, Kenmare Bay shelters the only Irish population of the northern sea fan. Seals, bottlenose dolphins and re-introduced white-tailed eagles work the water, reached on boat cruises, rib trips, kayaks and dives from the town at its head.
Ladies View, kerry
Ladies View looks out over the Upper Lake of Killarney and the wooded Long Range from a bend on the N71 between Killarney and Kenmare. Named after Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting, who stopped here in 1861, it has a café, two car parks and level access to a viewing platform.
Killarney National Park, kerry
Muckross, the middle of the three lakes, is the deepest in Ireland at 75 metres; Lough Leane is the largest and holds the island abbey of Innisfallen. Ringed by the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and oak-yew woods, the lakes have Ross Castle, boat cruises and free lakeside trails.
Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, kerry
A cold glacial lake in a bowl directly under Carrauntoohil, ringed by Ireland's three highest peaks. It is the floor of the Coomloughra Horseshoe – the classic hard day in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, and one of the finest mountain rounds in the country. Serious walking, not a casual stroll.
Killarney, kerry
Lough Leane is the biggest of Killarney's three lakes, spread beneath the MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Ross Castle stands on the eastern shore, boats run out to the monastic ruins on Innisfallen, and the surrounding national park holds Ireland's only native red deer herd. Park entry and the lakeside trails are free.
Killarney, kerry
At 75 m, Muckross Lake is the deepest in Ireland and the quiet middle one of the three Lakes of Killarney. A flat 10 km loop from Muckross House rings it through old oak and yew woods, past Dinis Cottage and a short climb to Torc Waterfall, and the clear water still holds the rare Irish char.
Kerry, kerry
The Blackwater runs 169 km from the Mullaghareirk Mountains to Youghal Harbour, through Cork and Waterford, and it has long been rated among Ireland's finest salmon rivers. The estuary is a Ramsar site and Special Protection Area for its godwits and other waders. Cruise it from Youghal or Villierstown, fish it with a local permit, or watch the tide flats at low water.
Listowel, kerry
The Feale runs 75 km from the Cork slopes of the Mullaghareirk Mountains through Abbeyfeale and Listowel to the Shannon Estuary. It's a fast spate river – clear in low water, peat-dark after rain – and a serious salmon and sea-trout fishery, with free riverside walking from Listowel's town park.
Killorglin, kerry
The River Laune drains Lough Leane, lowest of the Lakes of Killarney, and runs 23 km through Beaufort and Killorglin to Castlemaine Harbour. Its banks carry 200-year-old drainage embankments and the eight-arch County Bridge, and in 1867 a fisherman pulled an 11th-century bishop's crozier out of the riverbed.
Clare, clare
The Shannon Estuary stretches from Limerick city out to the Atlantic between Loop Head and Kerry Head, with a tidal range of up to 5.4 m at the Limerick docks. The 207 km Shannon Estuary Way loops through Clare, Limerick and Kerry, taking in Napoleonic battery forts, dolphin-watching from Kilrush and the Killimer–Tarbert car ferry.
Tralee, kerry
Tralee was burnt to the ground in 1580 and rebuilt by the Denny family into the wide-streeted Georgian town you walk today. Its signature is the Rose of Tralee festival each August, but the year-round draws are the Kerry County Museum, the town park and its rose garden, and the flat canal towpath out to Blennerville windmill.
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Caragh Lake, kerry
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Ferta, kerry
Killorglin, kerry
Near Killarney, kerry
Clogharee, kerry
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Killarney, kerry
Castlemaine, kerry
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