The Devil’s Ladder is the gully that walkers have used for a century to get up Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain at 1,038m. It’s the shortest and most direct line to the summit, a roughly 12km round trip of four to six hours from Cronin’s Yard, and that’s the whole of its appeal: it is not the prettiest or the most interesting way up the Reeks, just the quickest. The catch is that decades of boots and Kerry rain have stripped the gully to loose, shifting stone, and it now carries a real danger of rockfall from anyone above you.
So, the honest version first: this is not a beginner’s hike, and the Ladder is the part that catches people out. If you don’t have hillwalking experience, go with a guide or pick a gentler hill. If you do go up the Ladder, the sound advice is to come back down the Zig-Zags instead – the eroded gully is far more dangerous to descend than to climb, which is exactly why many walkers now avoid down-climbing it.
Into the Hag’s Glen
From Cronin’s Yard the route runs fairly flat for about an hour and a half into the Hag’s Glen, a U-shaped valley scooped out by glaciers, with the two dark lakes – Lough Gouragh and Lough Callee – sitting beneath the headwall. The Gaddagh River has to be crossed near the start. In dry weather it’s nothing; after heavy rain it can be impassable, and if it is, the local advice is to go back to Kissane’s shop and take the next track on the left rather than chance the water.
The Ladder
At the head of the glen the ground rears up into the gully itself. This is a scramble, not a walk – hands as well as feet, on loose scree and boulders – and it can take an hour or more. Don’t bunch up behind other groups: a kicked stone here travels a long way. Above the Ladder the angle eases at the col below Cnoc na Toinne, and you turn right for the final stony pull to the summit cairn and its iron cross.
The view from the top, when the cloud lets you have it, takes in Beenkeragh and Caher – the second- and third-highest peaks in Ireland, both right beside you – and out across the Iveragh Peninsula to the Atlantic. The ‘when the cloud lets you’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence: plenty of people summit and see nothing but the inside of a cloud.
What you need to know
- Distance and time: about 12km round trip, four to six hours; allow more in poor conditions.
- Difficulty: strenuous, with a genuine scramble on loose rock. Experience, map and compass essential.
- Dogs: not permitted on Carrauntoohil – please respect the landowners, who allow access on goodwill.
- Parking: Cronin’s Yard (eircode V93 HK71) is a private pay-and-display yard with a small tea room and toilets; Lisleibane is a separate, quieter alternative start nearby.
Getting there
Cronin’s Yard is signposted for Carrauntoohil off the N72 Killarney–Killorglin road, then up several kilometres of narrow lanes – roughly 45 minutes from Killarney. It is not on the N71, and the Devil’s Ladder pin on some map apps points to the wrong side of the mountain, so navigate to Cronin’s Yard specifically.
Weather and gear
The Reeks are exposed and the weather changes in minutes; a summit in summer can feel like winter, and visibility can drop to a few metres without warning. Check Mountain Weather Ireland before you leave and be willing to turn back. Carry full waterproofs, warm layers, food, water, and a paper map and compass – not just a phone. If you’re unsure of any of this, book a guide; Piaras at Kerry Climbing runs the Ladder regularly and knows the ground in bad weather.
Other ways up
The Ladder is the shortest but not the best. The Zig-Zags on the north-west spur are now the favoured descent because of the gully’s state, and longer days are had on Brother O’Shea’s Gully or the full Coomloughra Horseshoe, which links Carrauntoohil with Beenkeragh and Caher. Whichever you choose, start early and plan the descent before you start the climb – getting up is only half of it.