9-Day / 8-Night Challenging

From your point of arrival, use the public transport information we provide to make the journey to Killarney.

Today’s hike starts with a walk through the grounds of Muckross House & Gardens, the centrepiece of the Killarney National Park. Continue past scenic Torc Waterfall and follow paths along the quiet Old Kenmare Road up into the mountains and through the remote Esknamucky Glen, where you may even spot some Irish Red Deer. A lakeshore path leads you to a café at Lord Brandon’s Cottage from where you enter the Black Valley at the edge of Ireland’s highest mountains. The climb into Bridia Valley will get your leg muscles working overtime but the fantastic views are more than worth it. Transfer from the head of Bridia Valley.

A steep climb over a ridge will get those leg muscles working again as you enter Glencar where you follow a rugged off-road trail around Lough Acoose. From there the hie gets easier with a walk along an old ‘boreen’ before you follow the banks of the Caragh River. Tracks and rough paths lead you through the enchanting Lickeen Forest. A quiet country road leads through the Caragh river valley before a track junction allows you to choose one of two routes around Seefin Mountain. Don’t worry, they’re both beautiful and suddenly open up surprising views of Dingle Bay and the sea!

From Glenbeigh, you have the option to visit beautiful Rossbeigh Strand and dip you toes into the waters of Dingle Bay. From there, country roads and an old coach path take you around Drung Hill, with wide views across the bay and the Dingle peninsula. Pass above an old railway viaduct before the trail descends over wild moorland into the Ferta River valley and continues on tracks and country roads towards Foilmore, near the town of Cahersiveen.

The hike today follows old mountain tracks and paths across the foothills of a long range of mountains, often with far-reaching coast and mountain views. This is the same route used to transfer butter to Cork in the 1800s. Staigue ringfort, one of Ireland’s finest historical sites dates back around 1,600 years and is located just off the trail.

Near Sneem you can visit an art gallery and cafe in a woodland setting before the route passes part of the Parknasilla Resort. Hillsides and woodlands guide you through an ancient landscape, dotted with tiny hamlets and you are never far from the sea.  After crossing the fast-flowing Blackwater River, you descend through woodlands and forests to the shore of Kenmare Bay – a lovely setting for a picnic with views across to the Beara Peninsula. Continue along the hillsides to Kenmare, a pretty market-town with a lively pub scene and some fantastic places to eat.