Overview
Poulanass takes its name from the Irish Poll an Eas, ‘the hole of the waterfall’, and that’s a fair description: a cascade of about five metres, dropping in several steps through a wooded gorge above the Upper Lake at Glendalough. Five metres isn’t a lot, and in a dry spell it thins to a trickle – this is a stop for the walk and the gorge as much as for the falls themselves. It sits a short diversion off Stage 4 of the Wicklow Way, the 14.5 km leg from Glendalough to Glenmalure, and most walkers meet it on the way up onto higher ground rather than making a special trip.
There’s no entrance fee. The path is inside the Wicklow Mountains National Park and maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, so check for any seasonal closures before you set out.
The walk
The climb starts on a steep, stepped path through mixed woodland and soon joins a boardwalk that hugs the edge of the gorge, keeping you off slick rock and steep drops while holding back erosion. Wooden steps carry the route up to a viewing platform above the Upper Lake, and from there the boardwalk continues onto the Spinc.
Honest bit: the steps and boardwalk get genuinely slippery when wet, and in winter they ice up – this is not a climb to rush, and sturdy footwear with a decent grip is essential. After storms the National Parks and Wildlife Service sometimes re-routes sections; if the direct Pink Route is closed, follow the silver-arrow detours around the damaged stretch. Mobile signal is patchy in the gorge, so carry a map or download the route first.
If you’ve legs for only one thing here, don’t stop at the falls – keep going up the steps onto the Spinc, where the boardwalk opens out and puts the whole Upper Lake below you. That’s the best of the walk.
The routes
Poulanass is a waypoint on several marked walks:
- Pink Route (Poulanass) – 1.6 km out and back, about 45 minutes; the most direct look at the cascade and its pools.
- Bronze Route – a shorter loop taking in St Kevin’s Cell and Reefert Church, roughly 30 minutes.
- Spinc Walk – the classic strenuous loop (9.5–11.5 km, 3–4 hours) up the boardwalk and steps to the Spinc cliffs, with views over both lakes.
The gorge is damp and shaded, good for mosses, ferns and lichens on the rock, and you may spot treecreepers and jays in the oak and pine, or a red squirrel in the canopy. For photographers, the falls are at their best a day or two after heavy rain; a tripod helps for long exposures.
Getting there and practical notes
The trailhead is at the Upper Lake car park (53.007246, -6.344835), near the Glendalough Visitor Centre, where paid parking applies. The Lower Lake car park is free but adds about 1.5 km of walking each way. Both fill quickly at weekends and through the summer.
By public transport, St Kevin’s Bus runs daily from Dublin (St Stephen’s Green) to Glendalough; it’s about a 30-minute walk from the stop to the trailhead along the Wicklow Way signs.
Routes are colour-coded with arrows from the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake, and the main trail follows the yellow ‘walking man’ waymark. There are no facilities at the falls, so use the toilets at the Visitor Centre before you start. Dogs are welcome on a short lead – worth keeping them close near the boardwalk and platform, where the drops are steep. Full stage notes and maps are in the official Wicklow Way Stage 4 guide.
Two conditions make the difference here: water and timing. Come a day or two after heavy rain for the falls at full flow, and before 10am to get parked.