Two ranges give this list its shape. In the north, the Dartry limestone runs from Benbulben’s flat table-top through Benwiskin and Tievebaun to Truskmore at 647m, wrapping around the Gleniff Horseshoe, a U-shaped glacial valley with a ruined barytes mill on the hill. In the south and west, the Ox Mountains form a long heather ridge toward Mayo, with Knockalongy at 544m the high point and the Sligo Way running the length of it from Lough Talt.
The two are very different visits. Most people at Benbulben walk the forest loop at the foot rather than the exposed summit route, and pair it with Yeats’s grave at Drumcliffe. The Ox Mountains are quieter and need a car; Cloonacool sits at their foot and makes a base for the Sligo Way and the Coolaney bike trails. Between them, the coast gives the shorter walks: Aughris Head has a 4km loop past a WWII lookout, a holy well and a ring fort on the cliff edge, ending at the thatched Beach Bar on the strand.
Several entries here are viewpoints rather than climbs. Knocknashee, a flat-topped hill in the south-west, looks across to Knocknarea, the Ox range and Croagh Patrick on a clear day. The Curlews carry the Gaelic Chieftain sculpture beside the N4. Even the Dublin train earns its place, for the first sight of Benbulben on the approach to Sligo.
The eroded edge of a limestone plateau, and the county's defining outline; the forest loop at its foot suits most visitors better than the exposed summit.
The county's highest sea cliffs at 30 metres, with a short coastal loop past a lookout post, a holy well and a ring fort between two beaches.
Ireland's only direct rail line to the northwest, running Connolly to Sligo in about three hours and delivering Benbulben as its final view.
A glacial valley ringed by Dartry limestone cliffs, with 19th-century mill ruins, the Benwisken trail and views out to Donegal Bay.
A flat-topped hill carrying one of Ireland's largest Bronze Age hillforts, its 53 acres of ramparts holding cairns and around thirty hut foundations.
15 of 15 shown — tap a pin for the place.
sligo
Benbulben's flat top is the eroded edge of a limestone plateau, left standing when Ice Age glaciers scoured out the valleys around it. Most visitors walk the forest loop at its foot rather than the exposed summit route, then drive to W.B. Yeats's grave in nearby Drumcliffe.
Aughris Head, sligo
Aughris Head marks the south-western tip of Sligo Bay, where 30-metre sea cliffs – the highest in the county – meet two Atlantic beaches. Walk the roughly 4km loop past a WWII lookout, a holy well and a cliff-edge ring fort, then finish with a pint at the thatched Beach Bar down on the strand.
Dublin, dublin
Ireland's only direct rail line to the northwest, opened in full on 3 December 1862 by the Midland Great Western Railway. InterCity 22000 Class trains run from Dublin Connolly to Sligo Mac Diarmada up to eight times a day, covering 216 km (134 miles) in about three hours through Mullingar, Longford and Carrick-on-Shannon. The midland scenery is ordinary until the Shannon crossing and the first sight of Benbulben near Sligo.
Gleniff, sligo
A striking U-shaped valley carved by ancient glaciers, the Gleniff Horseshoe winds through towering limestone cliffs and lush pastures. Take the moderate Benwisken Trail, explore 19th-century mill ruins, and catch sweeping views of the Dartry peaks and Donegal Bay.
South-west County Sligo, sligo
Knocknashee, the Hill of the Fairies, is a flat-topped Sligo hill ringed by one of Ireland's largest Bronze Age hillforts. Its double ramparts enclose 53 acres holding two Neolithic cairns and around thirty hut foundations, with long views from the limestone summit toward Knocknarea, the Ox Mountains and, on a clear day, Croagh Patrick.
Sligo, sligo
The Ox Mountains – Sliabh Gamh, the 'storm mountains' – are among the oldest hills in Ireland, thrown up more than 600 million years ago and worn down to a long heather ridge between Sligo and Mayo. Knockalongy, at 544 m, is the high point; the Sligo Way runs the length of the range from Lough Talt; and Coolaney has the mountain-bike trails. St Patrick is said to have built churches on the slopes, which is why they are also called St Patrick's Mountains.
Sligo Bay, sligo
Sligo Bay opens onto the Atlantic between Aughris Head and Roskeeragh Point, framed by Benbulben and Knocknarea. Its inner harbour holds Oyster Island, just 180 m off Rosses Point, with a still-working 19th-century lighthouse, while several ships of the 1588 Spanish Armada came ashore on nearby Streedagh Beach.
Sligo, sligo
The Dartry range gives north-west Ireland its skyline, from the flat table-top of Benbulben to Truskmore, the 647m high point of both Sligo and Leitrim. The rock is limestone carved by Ice Age glaciers, the folklore runs from Queen Maeve's cairn on Knocknarea to the Morrígan in the caves of Keshcorran, and the walks range from a family forest loop to exposed ridge routes.
Cloonacool, sligo
sligo
Boyle, roscommon
Sligo, sligo
Mullaghmore, sligo
Border of County Leitrim and County Sligo, leitrim
Dartry Mountains, sligo
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